'The Effects of Mentoring at-Risk Youth\r'

'THE EFFECTS OF MENTORING AT-RISK YOUTH Abstract: Mentoring has arguments both(prenominal) for and against its effectiveness in relation to at-risk offspring. These programs devote been cognise to help in argonas of self-esteem, attitudes toward drugs and alcohol, grades, attendance and disciplinary problems in school. Although, the scope of at-risk c all(prenominal)owness can be preferably narrow, if administered correctly it can be inclusive of completely teens with horny and wayal problems. These programs should not be considered a quick fix to much(prenominal) a pear-shaped problem, but it can be used as a means to an end.Mentoring programs for youth and teens considered to be at-risk take aim begun to grow throughout the country. Not all programs insure on a full generalized approach, but it is fairly to say the concept is the identical when dealing with this aggroup of youth. The condition mentor is basically described as a trusted counselor or learner. The term at-risk, for purposes of this withdraw, relates to youth from single p bent mobs, who exhibit emotional and behavioral problems. The everywhereall consensus is to pair a responsible and lovingness big(a) with a trouble adolescent youth.The ultimate goal is for a family family relationship to run and to build a bond of trust with an adult who can in turn, help them deal with the troubles that oft arrive in life. Unfortunately, many adolescents atomic number 18 neer given the opportunity to build relationships with caring adults. near a quarter of all American children al deplorable live in single-pargonnt homes, and half of the current metres of children willing live in a single-p arnt household during round point in their childhood (Dryfoos, 1998).There atomic number 18 a host of detailors that contribute to this situation such(prenominal) as changing economic, accessible and cultural conditions adopt incr embossmentd the vulnerability of negative life out bob ups for adolescents’ (Dryfoos, 1998). inbred mentors are described as close family members such as father, mother, uncles, aunts, brother’s, sister’s and/or grandparents. In set out to address the problems that pitch come to light as a result of the little availability of natural mentors, volunteer mentoring programs ave multiplied in recent years (Freedam, 1993; Rhodes, in press). Just as natural mentoring, volunteer mentoring involves building a relationship between the youth and adults, as to off prevail in meeting the youth’s pedantic, social, career, and/or personal goals (Dubois, et al. , in press). It is estimated that as many as five million American youth are involved in roughly(prenominal) flake of mentor program being it in school or community based.They range from such programs as the noted extensive Brothers/Big Sisters to other less unified programs. Without such programs to assist these youth, once they are adults, they are more probably candidates for divorce, high unemployment; physical and noetic problems, drug and alcohol abuse, and quite a lot croak involved in more criminal employment (Patterson, Debaryshe, & Ramsey, 1989). If left unchecked, these problems could prove costly both to union and the individual.Whereas the approximate average cost of a easy organized and operated mentoring program is estimated at around $1,000, victorious into neb a per child per year projection, it could use up or at least marginalize the ingest for future social ser unrighteousnesss (Grossman & Gary, 1997). Youth without the befitting social backup man framework or low levels of social software documentation, has a tendency to be withdrawn, and memorialize a lack of concern active their future. They are negligent, and more likely to harm others than were youth who had the favour of being exposed to a proper social support system (Kashani, Reid, & Rosinberg, 1989).Although tho a vice mentoring could provide some social support and could make better the way these youth function in society. strong-nigh theorize that youth develop deviant behavior because they lacked the opportunity to interact and or relate with authoritative role models in spite of appearance their community (Hawkins & Weis, 1985). Mentors can at times be that beacon of hope or the voice of reason which would allow these youth to calculate and appreciate appropriate social behavior and could in turn curve their delinquent behavior.Most mentoring programs are forced to rely on the kindness of the community for support and this usually comes in the make of volunteers and donations (Keating, Tomishima, & Foster, 2002). Even though the effectiveness of mentoring programs are a lot brought into question, the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America formation has a proven booster cable record of successful unions between caring adults and at-risk youth. This organization conducte d a study of at-risk youth over the extend of approximately one year to show the personal effects of a positive mentor to mentee relationship.The results revealed they were less likely to become involved in the following activities: 46% illegal drugs, 27% start drinking, 52% hop-skip a day of school, and 37% to skip a class. The mentees were more trusting of parents, and not as accustomed to lie to them, they also felt more support from their friends. High intensity programs can be effective, oddly those with more one-on-one interaction in the form of frequent meetings throughout the month, meeting between 2-4 hours at each visit along with frequent forebode contact (Tiernay and Grossman, 1995) (Keating, Tomishima, & Foster, 2002).In this age of technology there is a host of opportunities available for the tech savvy to benefit on when it comes to mentoring. E-mentoring is the next step in mentoring programs. A program has been in existence for the past 11 years, created by a group of researchers from Drexel University called the â€Å"I Could Be” program, in order to study the effects of online mentoring. So far the results have been aroundly positive. Online mentoring can be both an effective and viable option when compared to the traditiona contentionicistic face-to-face method.Given the current nature of working conditions, organizations whitethorn adjudicate to implement e-mentoring programs due to their ability to be both cost-effective and time saving compared to the traditional approach. The study showed that students who were comfortable using computers tended to get the most out of the program. Students with the lowest level of confidence at the beginning of the program saw the biggest gains. One of the major(ip) drawbacks is that, you’re not face-to-face. The major advantage is the ease of access to more than one mentor.Concerns regarding the overall certificate of children may have helped to slow the growth of this ty pe of program. Unfortunately high dropout order and worthless academic put to deathance have seemingly became synonymous with the sustain of African American male youth. Upon visiting rightful(prenominal) about any exoteric school in the Country you are bound to find African American male youth almost aimlessly wondering the halls, as if they have been alienated from the reproductional process and left to their own devices to discover the American dream for them.Their presence is scarcely seen in the dexterous and advanced academic classes, while at the same time they are highly represented in remedial classes. When it comes to suspension and expulsion they dominate the list in comparison to their White male counter-parts (Bailey, 1996; pertain for the Study of Social Policy, 1990; â€Å"Federal Report,” 1999; Ford, Grantham, and Bailey, 1999; Lee, 1992; Skiba, Michael, Nardo, and Preston, 2000; Trescott, 1990). They are often observed hanging out on thoroughfare co rners or in the malls, where they are viewed with both dismay and contemptment.They often give up on the grooming process entirely because they feel as if the involvements wise(p) there do not apply to them and they look for elsewhere for success. The educational system is often viewed as a way to place a strike out upon them and to stifle the potential for them to grow as individuals (Narine, 1992) (Bailey & Paisley, 2004). Reports have stated that approximately 1 out of all(prenominal) 4 male African Americans have to wrap up for court ordered supervision and that there are more African American men controlled by the court than there are enrolled in college (Bass & Coleman, 1997; spirt & Wright, 1992; Mauer, 1990).Although save 15% of African American youth are represented in the juvenile population, they become approximately 43% of juveniles in public facilities and 34% in private custody (Bailey, 1999, FBI, 1996; Sickmund et al. , 1997). There is an ap parently clear overrepresentation of African American male youth in juvenile facilities. This in turn makes for a negative self-image as well as creating an acquire distrust and disrespect of authority (Lee & Bailey, 1997) (Bailey & Paisley, 2004). Minority and low-down populations are grossly underserved within the educational system.As a result these students are less likely to be assigned to classes that would prepare them for college and they are quite often being taught by teachers working out of their subject (The Education Trust, 1998). Unfortunately, the majority of most minority and poor populations have the least amount of qualified teachers. The fact is most of these kids will not escape the moderate of such experiences and thus will not seek higher education because of feeling an inability to perform in the college arena (Bailey & Paisley, 2004).African Americans populate a upright 17% of the total school system, moreover they account for 32% of susp ensions and 30% of all expulsions (Skiba et al. , 2000). When it comes to graduating from college African American males have a devastating 1 in 12 chance and when it comes to high school dropout rates they have a 1 in 4 chance (Trescott, 1990). For those who realize the need for higher education and choose to pursue college and university enrollment in the coupled States, they will find what it means to be a true minority because African American males only account for 3. % of the college population (U. S. Bureau of the Census, 1998) (Bailey & Paisley, 2004). Mentoring is viewed by some as an intervention for at-risk youth who need assist and preparation for adult life as well as being a conduit of sorts to curb dropout rates, delinquency, unemployment and a host of other ill’s associated with troubled youth (Mech, Pryde, & Rycraft, 1995) (Blechman, 1992). The effects of mentors and mentor programs in general vary greatly and according to how the study is conduct ed it allows for target area to be set in order to value the study.Some studies suggest that mentors have no beneficial pertain on the mentee, while they do note some changes occurred but some of the changes were outside the scope of the study (Royse, David, 1998). The first thing we should mention is that the study conducted by Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America was conducted over a 15 month period. It is believed that more relevant changes great power have taken place had the study been conducted over a 24 or 30 month period. Longer matches between mentor’s and mentee’s were believed to be more productive by parents than shorter ones.It is of import to note while mentoring does have positives effects, it is not and should not be considered the quick fix to our at-risk youth, problems (Frecknall & Lurks, 1992) (Royse & David, 1998). The second thing to consider is although most mentors kept accurate logs concerning time spent with mentee’s, some did not. This in turn do it tight to accurately account or herald the times of volunteers since these logs were incomplete. With that being said, it made accounting for echt time of contact between mentor’s and mentee’s difficult, to say the least.If the mentor is not coherent when meeting the mentee, the overall objective could be hindered significantly (Roaf, Tierney, & Hunte, 1994). It is vital to keep records in regard to the relationship between the mentor and mentee. This can be difficult because mentee’s are sometimes concerned about their image among peers so they are reluctant to beg off the presence of a mentor. Even though some results say mentoring is ineffective, the fact remains that the lives of at-risk youth are substantially affected by a caring adult (Garmezy, 1985; Rutter, 1987; Werner & Smith, 1992; O’Sullivan, 1991).This should be evidence passable as to the need for even more mentoring projects to be formed, refine d, and applied to those in need of such services. These programs may not always have immediate visible results. They have proven to be not pernicious while at the same time, having potential to trebuchet mentee’s into their destiny (Royse & David, 1998). In conclusion, I’ve often heard it said that children are the future and we should teach them well and let them lead the way. Although they are the future, yet and still, America is letting a minority component fall by the way.One thing is sure, if people are not given hope and allowed to see themselves as viable members of society; they will abandon all morals and rules that govern the land. Although mentoring can be a key element in getting at-risk youth back on track, it should not be the only source to help these youth. This must be do with all due diligence in order to insure the future survival of all Americans. If something is not put in place soon, America will have alienated an entire generation.This will have created a third world society within the borders of the land of the free and the home of the brave. References: Bailey, D. F. , Paisley, P. O. (2004). Journal of counsel and Development v. 82 no. 1 p. 10-17 http://www. icouldbe. org/csewi/public/pg_evaluation. asp http://www. infed. org/learningmentors/youth_mentoring_in_perspective. htm Keating, L. M. , Tomishima, M. A. , Foster, S. (2002). Adolescence v. 37 p. 717-34 Royse, D. (1998). Adolescence v. 33 no 129 p. 145-58\r\n'