May 19, 2009: Two new briefings from Child Trends cite mentoring as a strategy in preparing young people to make a successful transition into adulthood and in preparing young people to succeed in the workplace.

Both briefings are from the larger report titled A Developmental Perspective on College and Workplace Readiness by Laura Lippman, Astrid Atienza, Andrew Rivers and Julie Keith. The report received support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and draws on research across the fields of college readiness, workplace readiness and youth development to identify the skills and competencies high school students need to master for future success.

To become successful adults, one brief identifies strategies that high schools can use to foster skills not covered in the curriculum -- skills such as problem-solving and a strong work ethic. In working with special populations of children, mentoring appears as a particularly effective way to help low-income and minority youth: "Mentoring programs may increase academic motivation and school attendance and reduce problem behavior ... as well as encourage students to consider postsecondary educational opportunities."

In the briefing on how high schools can help students develop skills to succeed in the workplace, mentoring is an option that increases support for young people: "Pair students with mentors to help develop interpersonal skills and identify career interests and opportunities. Mentors can help foster leadership, communication and social skills."

For the full report, go to www.childtrends.org, and to download the briefings, go to www.mentoring.org/news/120.

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The other premise is "no advertising for personal gain." From our Disclaimer:

*Please do not advertise any services or products on Tampa Bay Mentor Match, or to youth and their families. All mentoring is provided free of charge, on a volunteer basis, in the interest of the greater good, and should not imply or encourage anything beyond imparting knowledge and information to youth. Although mentors are welcome to includea link to your work, if you have a business or service, so MentorMatch visitors can learn more about your professional history or services at your own webpage, **mentoring is not to be used as opportunity to solicit business**.

It dawned on me (slowly, as things do) that people might use mentoring as a form of advertising. My initial thought is that this is wrong. People we're trying to help shouldn't become target markets for services and goods, because then there's an ulterior motive to our help, a private self-serving agenda. How can we truly guide a child to fully develop his or her interests if we're hoping for some private, material gain from the relationship.

Hence, the no advertising caveat. However, I also understand that mentors are giving up their time and expertise for this, and people will naturally learn about their services or business. Hence, including a link on a mentor's profile seems fair enough.

But how do we know when a line has been crossed? And how do we maintain Premise 1 while guarding against Premise 2?

Thoughts?

Terri

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We hope you'll use this wiki to explore mentoring and share resources, and to connect with one another about your mentoring (and being mentored) experiences!

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