Definition and Benefits of a Tutor: What Do You Hope to Gain from a Mentoring Program

Mentoring is as old as humanity. The oldest references to this topic can be found in literary sources that date back to before our era. This word comes from the name of the mentor – a mythical figure, whose teacher was Odysseus – the personification of life experience, prudence and knowledge. Today, we use what our ancestors started, using mentoring primarily in business, but not only.

There are many definitions and approaches to mentoring, but they all go in the same direction – to the relationship between the teacher who is called the ‘mentor’ and the student. Most often we associate it with business, but the truth is that we use the help of a mentor also in other aspects of life. At the beginning the mentor is the parent, then the teacher, and finally we come to the most important stage of our life – professional work. This is the sphere with which mentoring is most associated.

Mentoring provides critical guidance to a young person on his or her path to success. Mentoring is to support and encourage people to make their own learning in order that they boost their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be. Mentoring is a powerful development and consent. A mentor is a guide who can help the mentee to find the right direction and who can help them to develop solutions to career issues. Mentors are advisors, teachers, sources of funding and guides about classes, careers, jobs, graduate schools and life choices. Above all, mentors are motivators and role models, who believe in their mentees, see their potential, and help them get where they want to go.

Mentoring really is something that can benefit everyone. As well as helping the mentee develop and advance through their career, the mentor can gain extra skills and understanding from the relationship. There is satisfaction in being able build up skills in helping someone else grow. The supportive, healthy relationships formed between mentors and mentees are both actual and long-term and contribute to an anchor of benefits for mentees and mentors.

For a mentor, they have an opportunity to invest themselves in someone who looks for what they can offer. Mentoring for a mentor can also help build leadership skill because it helps develop the ability to motivate and encourage others. Another benefit for the mentor is improving communication skills because the mentee may come from different environment or background and the mentor and mentee may not speak the mentor the same language, which leads to finding a way to communicate more effectively as the mentor handles a way through the mentoring relationship. Additionally, the mentor learns new perspectives by working with someone less experienced, they gain a fresh perspective on things and learn a new way of thinking, which can help in work life as well as personal life. Along with that, mentoring can help with advancing your career because showing that the mentor has helped others learn and grow is becoming more and more necessary to advancement in today’s business world. Finally, the mentor gains personal satisfaction, seeing your mentee succeed as a result of your input is a reward itself.

There are many benefits for youth. Mentoring youth can help as they go through challenging life transitions, along with dealing with stressful changes at home or transitioning with adulthood. Having the guidance, encouragement, and support of a trusted and experienced mentor can provide a mentee with a full extent of personal and efficient benefits. Close, healthy, supportive relationships between mentors and mentees that last for a serious portion of time are key to success.

There is a wide range of mentors. Parents and guardian are obvious choices, as they are generally in the lives of youth and some are the most influential people in their lives. But there are teachers, coaches, ministers, and neighbors that are great options outside of parents and guardians. They are referred to as informal mentors because they are naturally-occurring and not matched, they all have the capacity to be good roles models, inspire youth and shaped their future. Mentors for youth are also available through formal and structed mentoring programs.

Qualities takes a big role in mentoring. The most important role of a mentor is to support and encourage young people as they struggle to overcome obstacles and solve problems. Particularly when young people feel glum, upset with families, or unhappy with life situations, mentors are there beside them granting them to talk about anything and reminding them of elemental value. Secondly, a mentor is an active listener. Many times teenagers mention how little they feel listened to by most adults but mentors are different. Mentors always listen first and then speak. Along with listening there is pushing just enough, most teens don’t respond well to being pushed out of their comfort zone. They appreciate when mentors push them beyond what they might think they are capable of. Teens can tell whether an adult is legitimate interested in them and those who are just playing the role. Mentors value young people’s ideas and honor their changing feelings and moods.

Works Cited:

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