In my role as instructor at UMaine, I do far more than just teach classes and leave. You see, most semesters I have the opportunity to work with first year students – most of whom are coming to us fresh out of high school. Because these classes are smaller in number (24-30 students per class) I like to take the time to get to know them and to provide a space where everyone feels connected and supported. Sometimes this means we talk about what is happening on campus. Sometimes this means we talk about the future and what life may look like in the years to come. Sometimes we talk about the previous weekend’s football games. The point is … we talk. We connect. And we form a community.
This, in my opinion, should be happening at all levels of education and not just when our students progress to college or directly into their chosen careers. Of course students need to develop the skills required to graduate and move on to the next stages of their lives, but we need to carve out the time for community building. This is why I am so excited about Bangor School Department’s Mentorship Program.
As a member of the Bangor School Committee, I would work to help promote this program (and those like it) and assist in identifying opportunities to build community partnerships so that we could meet and exceed the goal of recruiting 500 new mentors.
I have already submitted my mentorship application and would love to talk to anyone who may be on the fence about doing so.