The Importance of Being a Mentor for Our Students

The Importance of Being a Mentor for Our Students

By Michael Wimmer
EDI 550/551 Psychology of Adolescent Students

School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
June 3, 2009

Last night’s class was one of the more valuable experiences I have had this semester. In the class, we got a chance to not only share about ourselves, but to also learn from the experiences of our classmates. Listening to each person speak about their role models was very touching, but also made me realize something that I feel makes my decision to become a teacher even more important.

What amazed me last night is that we had 13 people speak about the person who was most influential, and besides Professor Boyanton, none of us was able to use one of our teachers. For a group of people who are making the decision to enter education, that is surprising. This shows that so many of us have had all these years of school, yet none of us can look back on a teacher who influenced us more than anyone else. That is a sad thing. While it is understandable for people to find influence elsewhere, it hurts to know that our academic lives have not been as fulfilling as they should be.

This once again made me realize how important it is to be a strong teacher. So many students go through their adolescent years without a true understanding of where they are headed. I was lucky enough to have a strong support system as I grew up, but I know there are people who are not as lucky. I hope one day to be able to give the students I come into contact with some sort of positive influence, that way this can change. We need more teachers like Professor Boyanton’s advisor, and it is up to each one of us to become that.
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