Mentoring In The Odyssey

Mentoring: is the process of a more experienced person advising and guiding a less experienced (and usually younger) person, typically a colleague.

Mentors are people who provide support, strength, and inspiration. Many people have a mentor in their life that they aspire to be like, and seek out for guidance. Mentors play a big role in many lives, including Junior's from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Some of the biggest mentors for Junior are his parents, his Wellpinit teacher Mr. P and his Rearden basketball coach. If it weren't for these mentors inspiration and support, Junior wouldn't have taken some of the risks he does.

Clutterbuck & Megginson (1999, p.17) describe mentoring as being like ‘standing in front of a mirror with a trusted other, who can help you see things that you do not know how to see, or that have become too familiar for you to notice’. It is a helping relationship between an individual with potential and an individual with expertise. This multi-dimensional relationship is a partnership between those in similar roles, who can support each other. A number of roles of the mentor have been listed by Bolton (2010, p.193): role model, enabler, teacher, encourager, counsellor, befriender, facilitator, coach, confidante, supporter and ‘un-learner’. To be successful roles and responsibilities of those involved need to be clear and they need to be matched to each other and understand expectations of them.

“The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches but to reveal to him his own. - Benjamin Disrael This quote is similar to a Chinese Proverb that says “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”(Chinese Proverb). Both essentially say the same thing, and that is, you can only help someone so much until they need to realize they are capable of doing great things on their own. Higher Risk youth benefit from guidance, but once they have figured everything out they can move on alone. These two quotes apply to mentoring because, mentoring is like showing someone the way to life.

What does a mentor do? It gives advice. The mythological archetype is the I picked was mentor. Mythological is imaginary and fictitious, and archetype is the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied. In the novel Tangerine, Luis is the mentor in three ways.

"Mentoring is a special quality, skill set and attitude," she says. "The benefits are not only between the mentor and mentee, but the future generations."

For forty years God had miraculously provided food and water for their forefathers. The current years of blessings and protection caused the inhabitants of the lands to fear God as the nation settled it. They knew something special happened when Israel’s God showed up.

Imagine a society influenced by thoughtless, cowardly leaders. These qualities lead to a major impact on the society, causing an uncivilized nation. For instance, the people will have no hope or faith toward any aspirations in mind because of their fearful behavior. These subjects will also struggle with relationships and reasonable decision-making, due to the careless aspect of their personality. A prosperous society is positively affected by leadership figures, such as Steve Jobs and Odysseus, who have the characteristics of both confidence and intelligence.

A mentor is an experienced and trusted advisor, and as such, mentors guide people to help them make the right decisions and to have stability in their lives. When people are hurt, mentors are there for them at the hardest of times to guide them out of that place. Most mentors are parents, although they do not have to be. In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, one main mentor of Telemachus, the son of the protagonist, is Athena. Athena

One thing I believe is a necessity in growing up is having a mentor. Having a mentor is, not only, beneficial for the mentee but also the mentor. Being a mentor is a learning experience for everyone participating, it helps people grow as a person and friendships are created when a bond if formed. Some people might think it's a waste of time for a child or that it'll never work out for a troubled delinquent but based on the research I've done, I have proven them wrong. Through-out this paper I will provide the pros and cons of mentoring and how they affect both mentor and mentee. To back up my proposal that mentoring is supporting, I will supply examples to answer the question: Is mentoring really important?

Mentoring for the mentor is about challenging himself to perform to greater capabilities while nurturing a mentee and stretching them to realise their full potential. Mentors counsel, tutor and guide their mentees in developing themselves.

Mentorship, as defined by AR 600-100 Army Leadership, is the voluntary developmental relationship that exists between a person of greater experience and a person of lesser experience that is characterized by mutual trust and respect. It goes to further say that mentorship is voluntary and extends beyond the chain of command relationship. Mentorship is not forced but instead voluntary. It is not defined by age or seniority. Mentors and mentees are not appointed, but are instead selected by the persons involved. It is common for this to occur naturally without the relationship being formally defined or initially acknowledged by either. The mentor will advise and counsel the mentee on personal, professional, and career goals through the sharing of personal experience, encouragement, feedback, and guidance.

Functions provided by a mentor include both career oriented and psychosocial. Career oriented functions are done to “enhance career advancement” of the protégé (Greenhaus et al 2010). Career functions include sponsorship, increased exposure and visibility, coaching, protection, and challenging but doable assignments. Psychosocial functions are done to “enhance sense of competence and effectiveness” of the protégé (Greenhaus, 2010, p 212). These functions involve being a role model, providing acceptance and confirmation, being a counselor, and providing

This essay will start by defining mentoring, and giving a brief understanding of mentoring. This essay will then go on to identify and evaluate a number of key factors that may influence the effectiveness of a mentoring relationship. This essay will focus on the example of mentoring within schools and a learning mentor to be more specific.

With the development of the more organic and less formal organisational structures the role of mentors has shifted with these changes. Unlike previously where mentors where seen as formal trainers who taught newcomers the processes and got them acquainted with the cultures and the systems within the organisation. Which required good interpersonal skills and a good knowledge of the activity or tasks the mentee would have to undertake, and be able to effectively relay or demonstrate the tasks or activities to the mentee. As opposed to more recently where a mentor would have to be more of an emotional counselor and demonstrate more skills than were traditionally required from