Four reasons to consider becoming a peer mentor

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In a peer mentoring relationship, a student guides and supports a younger student through a shared area of interest. Peer mentors often help with schoolwork, provide advice on social issues such as peer pressure and bullying, and generally serve as role models to their mentees.

Mentees gain many benefits from a peer mentoring relationship, such as improved communication skills, increased confidence, and solid, grounded advice and encouragement. But what's in it for mentors?

The following are four reasons students should consider becoming peer mentors:

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Develop friendships

Students who participate in peer mentoring relationships widen their circle of friends and have more opportunities to create contacts for networking purposes.

Influence other people's lives in a positive way

Mentoring is a great opportunity to help others. Peer mentors benefit from the personal satisfaction and sense of fulfilment they get from seeing their peer mentees achieve their goals with their guidance and support.

Enhance leadership skills

Peer mentors act as their mentees' leaders and provide information and advice on a variety of issues, from academic to social. Peer mentors typically encounter situations that call for organizing, action planning, problem solving, and motivational skills.

Become well-rounded individuals

Research suggests that peer mentors have improved self-esteem and become more compassionate and empathetic to others. Peer mentors also develop or enhance conflict resolution skills, and improve their communication skills.

A good peer mentoring relationship provides both mentors and mentees with a solid support system and numerous opportunities for personal growth and development.

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Hugh Guill is an educator from Texas. For more articles on education and mentoring, subscribe to this blog.

Teaching tips: How to promote diversity and tolerance in the classroom

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An increasingly diverse population, reflected in student groups, has resulted in a need for teachers to pay more attention to the issues surrounding diversity and tolerance.

The following are some steps that teachers can take to promote multiculturalism and acceptance of individual differences:

Make the classroom a safe space. Teachers can start by establishing ground rules against bullying, teasing, exclusion, and other actions that are harmful, disrespectful, and intolerant.

Learn about each other. Teachers should take the time to get to know their students as individuals, and students should also be given enough time to get to know each other. This will help both teachers and students gain appreciation for how “uniqueness” brings added value to classroom dynamics.

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Encourage openness. Allow students to ask questions about differences. The teacher should respond to them respectfully and use own life experiences to place the answers in a context that can be easily understood.

Go on a field trip. Field trips to culturally or religiously significant places can broaden a student's worldview. In addition, research has shown that field trips can increase tolerance and improve historical empathy, or the ability to see a person, situation, or idea from the past through another person's eyes. Historical empathy encourages critical thinking and allows students to appreciate the consequences of actions made in the past.

Learn about each other's traditions. Teachers can plan classroom activities for cultural and religious holidays, and create opportunities for students to learn more about traditions beyond the scope of their own experience.

Teachers, in general, want their students to grow up in a caring and inclusive environment where tolerance is the norm and where skin color and religious beliefs do not hinder them from achieving success. Unfortunately, discriminaton still exists. Educators have the opportunity to turn the tide by teaching their students to go beyond tolerance, and not only accept differences, but embrace them.

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The perks and pains of distance learning for students

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 Through advancements in information technology and better access to the Internet, students can now learn and get a diploma from the comforts of their own home through distance learning. This is totally different from the traditional teaching-learning system because there is no direct contact between the teacher and the student, a setup which raises some advantages and disadvantages.

Flexibility is the main benefit of distance learning, allowing the student to choose any topic (as long as it is related to the course being taken), set the studying pace, and learn how to motivate himself or herself. It’s also very convenient and saves time and money; a project or exercise is sent via email or dropped off at the post office, sparing the student the commute to campus. In addition, the study materials become artifacts (whether on paper on in a CD) that future students can access anytime and anywhere.

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However, because distance learning does not involve direct interaction, teachers cannot give input, share their experience, and offer support through meaningful face-to-face engagement. Students need to rely on their own grasp of a topic, and such independence could be overwhelming to some. And without classmates, learning can get very lonely.

These drawbacks might affect a student’s learning curve and motivation, and could ultimately lead to laziness or disinterest. The courses and subjects offered are also very limited.

The effects of distance learning depend on a student’s learning abilities and attitude. This could work if a student is highly driven and has a strong work ethic but with a very busy schedule. If the student, however, thrives in social structure and personal interaction, then regular school is the right learning environment for him or her. Either way is alright, as long as the method chosen can lead to better options for higher education.

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