Mike Smith:
Joining me this week is Inge Cannon of Education Plus. Thank you for being with us, Inge.
Inge Cannon:
Great to be here, Mike.
Mike:
Inge, what is mentoring?
Inge:
Mike, what I've found in the dictionary are four different pictures of mentoring: the counselor, the guide, the tutor, the coach. And every one of those pictures has just a slightly different angle on the role that a mentor has in a student's life.
Mike:
So by what you've answered, I believe you'd say anyone can be a mentor, is that right?
Inge:
Anyone who is willing to take the time and attention and invest themselves in the lives of other people can be a mentor to them. We live in a culture where everything is kind of leaning toward the expert mentality, and sometimes parents feel a sense of intimidation that unless you're an expert, you can't exactly do this, and they don't realize that they are expert just by virtue of the fact that they know their children so well. They know the weaknesses, they know the strengths, and because they care so much about their children, they are willing to roll with the hard places and answer the hard things. And some parents are in a unique position to do it right even though oftentimes they don't feel like they know what they need to know.
Mike:
Well, thank you, Inge. And until next time, I'm Mike Smith.
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