Mentor Perspective

Before arriving at Higher Achievement, I wasn’t sure what to expect from my students or myself. I questioned myself constantly, saying “ do you know what your doing, How are you going to mentor people, will they like you?” I had dreams of meeting smaller versions of myself when I was in 7th grade. The first day of center, those dreams turned into nightmares. Being completely overwhelmed by loud, excited, and unfocused kids was transforming from dream to reality. One thing didn’t change though, the need for people like me to help kids. I soon realized that the kids I was assigned would need all the care and love I could possibly muster. Within 30 minutes my fears evaporated and my confidence shined through to inform the kids I was there. Although this moment came and went, the feeling of confidence is one I would have to battle with. Not knowing whether or not your getting through to a child is a torture on the mentor. It weighed heavily on me because I aspire to become a teacher one day. I wanted nothing but the kids to understand and respect me as I treated them. I also want my kids to become scholars in only a few weeks. When I wasn’t sure of my effectiveness I again began to doubt my skills. But with some skill building seminars and personal conversations with Higher Achievement staff, I was able to rebound and get stronger. Mr. Sam instructed me to take an offensive approach and set a standard for my sessions. He also gave me the confidence to stand behind the check system even when it seems ineffective. Given the right tools anyone can improve the quality of someone else’s life.
Along with confidence, preparation is one of the biggest keys to success. I made the large mistake of not taking the lessons seriously. The students didn’t know I wasn’t prepared, but I knew. That effected my performance when it came to gong beyond what the paper read. To truly make an impact, you must know your material. Being comfortable in your role as leader is important. And to do that, you have to know what your talking about. I realized the difference when I observed that the students retained more information when I was able to expound on it. It’s important we go into battle with the weapons.
Although the two previous tools are important, I cant forget the relationship building. The motto I remember from the HAP training is “RTR”. Relationship, task, relationship. That’s what we have to remember, what I have to remember. The kids I’ve mentored have worked their ways into my personal life. More than just giving back to the community, they’ve become little brothers and sisters to me. That’s not to say I don’t want to get up and walk out, or not show up sometimes. Cause I do, but I don’t allow myself to give up on kids that I can help. By being here more times than not, my group has established a good relationship with our kids. But we don’t need to look alike or speak the same way to understand each other. Patience, concern, humility, courage, and perseverance will always build a better relationship than superficial things, that make people to cling to those, instead of each other. We all have the power and determination to affect a child’s life, so let’s go do that.

By Mr. Hassan