13th
The Mentorship Bridge
by Brian Geremia
Sir Ken Robinson is a noted education and creativity scholar; his brilliant 2006 TED Talk “Do Schools Kill Creativity” is foundational viewing for those interested in transforming educational practice. Robinson’s work focuses on helping individuals find their passion. He stresses that all people are tremendously creative and possess incredible capacity to accomplish amazing things. He points out, though, that this potential is rarely realized because of narrowly focused, linear education systems that have been created cross-culturally. Systems that invariably favor academic intelligence over equally valuable sub-sets of intelligence: linguistic, musical, mathematical, spatial, kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intra-personal.
In his wonderful book, The Element, Robinson spends considerable time highlighting the importance of mentors in breaking this mold and finding a personal passion. In short, he acknowledges mentorship as an essential component of human development. He writes that mentors can “turn a light on a new world or fan the flames of interest into genuine passion.” He also deems the work of mentors as “exalted work.”
We agree.
Mentors are talented, often self-realized, individuals who recognize unique ways to connect with others. They are able to focus on a specific aspect of an individual’s development, then easily bridge to another. Most importantly, mentors are able to bridge the gap between focused learning (biology, baseball, dancing) and broad personal development. They help individuals improve academically (A+), athleticly (1st Place), and artistically (1st Prize), but also help them improve instrospectively (inner peace). They encourage mentees to internally catalogue their experiences and continuously construct meaning. These evolving constructions ultimately lead to acute self awareness that guides them toward their passion and gives them the gall to follow it.
