Miles' Blog
Mentoring Paper
By Nicole Pinto, Miles Shaw, Gia Agrawal, and Tyler Murray
Our issue that we are focusing on is that a lot of children lack the guidance and support that they need. Kids in our community need more mentors and role models because it is a tough and confusing world. They need someone to look up to and help make a difference in their lives. They might struggle with homework or just not have anyone to play with and things as simple as this can cause bigger issues down the road. Sometimes all these kids need is a sibling or a friend to be there for them.
We are interested in this issue for various reasons. When kids are young and don’t get the support they need it effects them not only when they are young but also when they get older. It affects them mentally because when they were younger they didn’t have anyone to teach them life skills and it can be tough when they get into the real world. We also believe that others should take part in helping them because the more people that help the bigger the difference it can make in someone’s life. Whatever size the difference we make it is always a start.
Lack of Guidance
The issue that we are facing is about how children have lack of guidance and support. This affects a lot of kids in our community. The ages that are affected are mostly eighteen and under but sometimes people older can be affected to. Even if it affects older people, it isn’t as common as it normally is with them than with younger ones. This has always been an issue in our society that has been getting worse over time and has just recently been acknowledged. If a child does not have a mentor it can affect their social life and growth and development. According to mentoring.org one in three people grow up without a mentor.
There can be many causes of a child’s lack of guidance or skills for life. Children growing up without parents or with only one parent, kids whose parents work a lot and they don’t get the attention they need, or kids who use technology too much are all reasons for this issue. “Overuse of electronic devices may cause impairment in the development of a child’s social skills.” (Ortiz 2017) Lack of attention can affect them greatly in school and in life “According to the Michigan Department of Education, parents who take the time to read or help with homework have children who are better adjusted at school.” (Diranian 2014) If a child grows up without the help that they had needed it can cause stress, confusion and hardships.
How Mentoring Can Help
Right now, there are several organizations out there that are already addressing this issue. Some of those organizations are Boys and Girls Club of America, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America (BBBSA), and many more. “Sometimes the best thing a child can have is a friend. An adult to look up to, speak with on a personal level and confide in, and who can help with everyday things. Big Brothers Big Sisters is on a mission to inspire children’s passions and encourage them to achieve success in life.” (BBBSA 2018) These organizations have been around for a long time and have a determination to help.
Even if we have many organizations helping this issue, there is still a need for help and assistance and there are still many things we can do. A lot of parents don’t know about all the help that is available for their kids and we can help inform them and spread the word. We can also volunteer in schools which lack a program to help their students. And even helping out with a kid that can be your neighbor or family friend can still be useful. some mentoring organizations have a lack of funding and without money the group can't do their work and mentor. If you are not someone that likes to volunteer donating still makes a difference. We encourage people to help out in this issue in their community.
Our Plan
To help out with this issue we plan to inform parents and kids about help that they can get, and volunteer at Lacy Elementary. Our first step is to create a poster to put around the school. Our group will be doing this and we would require a laptop to type the information for the poster and a printer and paper to print them. The outcome would be that students can know that there is help out there if they need it. Next, we gather around 13 to 15 people and walk to Lacy Elementary where we will help some Kindergarteners with work and help them feel more comfortable with us being there. After this we will go outside and play games like cross the ocean, 4 corners, and infection with them so they can be relaxed and feel like their age.
We encourage people to help out with this issue. There are many reasons why you should help, like it will be something that not only helps them but helps us have fun in the process. When we help these kids it makes a bigger difference in their life than we might think. It also helps us think differently and changes the way we may look at problems that seem small but in reality are bigger than we think. In the end we both Benefit from this.
We have a goal in completing this activity. Our group’s goal is to help kids be more informed about what help they can get and that they shouldn’t be scared to ask about for it. We also want to help kids feel comfortable in themselves and their work. We want to make a difference in their lives. We will know we have accomplished our goal if the they are having fun, are happy and feel more comfortable.
Bibliography
“How to Prevent 7 Common Problems in Mentoring Programs.” Insala. 4/26/13.1/25/18< http://www.insala.com/Articles/Mentoring/how-to-prevent-7-common-problems-in-mentoring-programs.asp >
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. “MISSION: change children’s lives.” bbbs. Military-Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.1/22/18
Boys & Girls Club of America. “Club Impact.”bgca. 1/25/18< https://www.bgca.org/>
“ 7 ways mentoring can help career development.” Management Mentors. 9/20/13. 1/31/18.
“ what is the role of a mentor?.” Do It. 11/30/17. 1/30/18
Ortiz, Adrianne Albarado. “Sound of mind: Negative effects of technology in children.” Standard times. 4/19/17. 1/29/18.
Diranian, Susan. “ how does lack of parenting at home affect a children’s grades at school?” Livestrong. 2/6/14.
By Nicole Pinto, Miles Shaw, Gia Agrawal, and Tyler Murray
Our issue that we are focusing on is that a lot of children lack the guidance and support that they need. Kids in our community need more mentors and role models because it is a tough and confusing world. They need someone to look up to and help make a difference in their lives. They might struggle with homework or just not have anyone to play with and things as simple as this can cause bigger issues down the road. Sometimes all these kids need is a sibling or a friend to be there for them.
We are interested in this issue for various reasons. When kids are young and don’t get the support they need it effects them not only when they are young but also when they get older. It affects them mentally because when they were younger they didn’t have anyone to teach them life skills and it can be tough when they get into the real world. We also believe that others should take part in helping them because the more people that help the bigger the difference it can make in someone’s life. Whatever size the difference we make it is always a start.
Lack of Guidance
The issue that we are facing is about how children have lack of guidance and support. This affects a lot of kids in our community. The ages that are affected are mostly eighteen and under but sometimes people older can be affected to. Even if it affects older people, it isn’t as common as it normally is with them than with younger ones. This has always been an issue in our society that has been getting worse over time and has just recently been acknowledged. If a child does not have a mentor it can affect their social life and growth and development. According to mentoring.org one in three people grow up without a mentor.
There can be many causes of a child’s lack of guidance or skills for life. Children growing up without parents or with only one parent, kids whose parents work a lot and they don’t get the attention they need, or kids who use technology too much are all reasons for this issue. “Overuse of electronic devices may cause impairment in the development of a child’s social skills.” (Ortiz 2017) Lack of attention can affect them greatly in school and in life “According to the Michigan Department of Education, parents who take the time to read or help with homework have children who are better adjusted at school.” (Diranian 2014) If a child grows up without the help that they had needed it can cause stress, confusion and hardships.
How Mentoring Can Help
Right now, there are several organizations out there that are already addressing this issue. Some of those organizations are Boys and Girls Club of America, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America (BBBSA), and many more. “Sometimes the best thing a child can have is a friend. An adult to look up to, speak with on a personal level and confide in, and who can help with everyday things. Big Brothers Big Sisters is on a mission to inspire children’s passions and encourage them to achieve success in life.” (BBBSA 2018) These organizations have been around for a long time and have a determination to help.
Even if we have many organizations helping this issue, there is still a need for help and assistance and there are still many things we can do. A lot of parents don’t know about all the help that is available for their kids and we can help inform them and spread the word. We can also volunteer in schools which lack a program to help their students. And even helping out with a kid that can be your neighbor or family friend can still be useful. some mentoring organizations have a lack of funding and without money the group can't do their work and mentor. If you are not someone that likes to volunteer donating still makes a difference. We encourage people to help out in this issue in their community.
Our Plan
To help out with this issue we plan to inform parents and kids about help that they can get, and volunteer at Lacy Elementary. Our first step is to create a poster to put around the school. Our group will be doing this and we would require a laptop to type the information for the poster and a printer and paper to print them. The outcome would be that students can know that there is help out there if they need it. Next, we gather around 13 to 15 people and walk to Lacy Elementary where we will help some Kindergarteners with work and help them feel more comfortable with us being there. After this we will go outside and play games like cross the ocean, 4 corners, and infection with them so they can be relaxed and feel like their age.
We encourage people to help out with this issue. There are many reasons why you should help, like it will be something that not only helps them but helps us have fun in the process. When we help these kids it makes a bigger difference in their life than we might think. It also helps us think differently and changes the way we may look at problems that seem small but in reality are bigger than we think. In the end we both Benefit from this.
We have a goal in completing this activity. Our group’s goal is to help kids be more informed about what help they can get and that they shouldn’t be scared to ask about for it. We also want to help kids feel comfortable in themselves and their work. We want to make a difference in their lives. We will know we have accomplished our goal if the they are having fun, are happy and feel more comfortable.
Bibliography
“How to Prevent 7 Common Problems in Mentoring Programs.” Insala. 4/26/13.1/25/18< http://www.insala.com/Articles/Mentoring/how-to-prevent-7-common-problems-in-mentoring-programs.asp >
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. “MISSION: change children’s lives.” bbbs. Military-Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.1/22/18
Boys & Girls Club of America. “Club Impact.”bgca. 1/25/18< https://www.bgca.org/>
“ 7 ways mentoring can help career development.” Management Mentors. 9/20/13. 1/31/18.
“ what is the role of a mentor?.” Do It. 11/30/17. 1/30/18
Ortiz, Adrianne Albarado. “Sound of mind: Negative effects of technology in children.” Standard times. 4/19/17. 1/29/18.
Diranian, Susan. “ how does lack of parenting at home affect a children’s grades at school?” Livestrong. 2/6/14.