Reclaiming the Village Mentorship: Always Giving Back, Always Gaining & Everyone Has Something to Give

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The power of strong mentorship begins with in childhood. The child’s first mentors will be the child’s parents, and if the parents are not present, the child’s guardian. At this young age, the mentorship relationship is more of an adult pouring into the child, but adults can learn a lot from children as children learn from adults.

Mentorship is necessary to society according to the Aristotelian principle that everyone needs a mentor or a friend. If more formal mentorship existed today in American society, I believe that there would be a decrease in crime and teenage pregnancy and higher attrition rates in high school and college graduations. As it stands, the American youth is not competing as highly as it could with other developed countries in terms of education when it comes to secondary education.

When it comes to youth and mentorship, it is important to protect the youth from outside forces that can manipulate the youth. Adult-youth relationships should be fostered but should also be monitored just in case there any abuse or harassment cases arise. There is a grey area when a youth and his adult mentor share a friendship but also a hierarchical relationship until perhaps the youth enters adulthood and can make conscious decisions of his own will.

This is seen perhaps in the Christian faith where it is not uncommon for a youth pastor or youth leader to meet a youth and then after the youth leaves the youth atmosphere and enters adulthood, to engage in a romantic relationship with that youth. As long as the non-platonic, romantic relationship is pursued among consenting adults, the youth’s judgment and innocence can be protected.

In the Christian faith, another term for mentorship is discipleship. Many other faiths have similar practices when they induct members into the faith and have continuing religious education, training the individual in the way that he should live.

However, mentorship should be implemented into all life – secular and religious. Peer mentoring is the means of making each other better and reflecting the person that each person wants to be.

Each person should ask himself, “Who is my mentor?” You can have more than one for different fields – academic, health-wise, career-oriented, spiritual and the list goes on. And then we should ask ourselves, “Whom are we mentoring? Which younger person or peer are we pouring life into?”

From youth workers to members of the government, everyone needs to ask themselves these questions. Everyone needs someone else.