Back to School
Updated: 2 hours ago
Do you feel that our K–12 system is properly preparing our young people for adulthood? Did it ever?
A recent Question of the Day poll asked that very question. Eighty-nine percent of respondents said no.
So where does that leave us?
There are certainly positive steps being taken. The province is expanding its skilled-trades programming to another 21 schools, which is a step in the right direction. But despite initiatives like these, there remains a great deal of pessimism about whether our education system is truly preparing young people for what comes next.
And perhaps part of the problem is that we don't actually know what the world will look like
tomorrow.
The jobs young people will have, the technology they will use, the challenges they will face, and the skills they will need may be very different from what we can imagine today. If that's the case, how do we prepare someone for life after Grade 12?
Maybe the answer isn't to try to predict the future. Maybe it's to help young people develop the capacity to navigate whatever future they encounter.
And that is where mentoring has an important role to play.
School has always been a place of extremes, but it seems those extremes are becoming even more pronounced. Today, children have the world at their fingertips. They can create, learn, explore, and build an entire world without ever having to leave their room. Access to gaming, information, and technology can give children incredible opportunities to learn and connect, but it can also come with a darker side. For many children, that constant access can contribute to crippling anxiety, and those struggles often have very deep roots.
As we embark on a brand-new school year, the same challenges are once again on the cusp of re-emerging: learning disabilities, lack of resources, overwhelmed systems, and very little hope that the systemic issues facing Newfoundland and Labrador’s education system will improve anytime soon.
But there is something we often underestimate: one person can make a difference in a child’s life.
One person can make a difference.
That person might be a youth worker, a parent, a teacher, a coach, or any other mentor figure. One of the reasons children struggle in school is that they lack self-confidence. They begin to lose confidence not because they lack ability, but because they have been struggling for so long that they begin to believe the labels placed on them.
When a child repeatedly hears that they are behind, that they are struggling, that they are “not good at” a particular subject, or that they simply aren’t capable, eventually they can begin to internalize those messages.
There are two things every child can benefit from that can make school a little less stressful and, more importantly, help them develop self confidence.
#1: At least one person who believes in them.
The more people, the better. But if a child has even one person in their life who genuinely believes they can be successful, who believes they are smart, and who refuses to let them believe the negative voices around them, that can make an enormous difference. They need someone who will provide unwavering support and who, no matter how badly they mess up, no matter what label they bring home from school, no matter how much trouble they get into, or what the bullies say or do, continues to remind them:
“I believe in you. They are wrong about you.”
Sometimes, that belief is the first thing a child needs in order to begin believing in themselves.
#2: Foundational math skills.
The second thing we often underestimate is the importance of foundational math skills. Kids don’t fail at math because they “just aren’t math kids.” More often than not, they are missing foundational skills that everything else is built upon.
When those early concepts aren’t solid, children begin to guess. They forget. They become frustrated. Eventually, that frustration turns into a lack of confidence, and the child starts to believe that they simply cannot do math.
This is where we can actually make a difference. There are three great resources available to anyone looking to help build a child’s math skills and, ultimately, their confidence: Khan Academy on YouTube, Ms. Jackie, @dolphinmath1 on Instagram and this Guide to Mastering Times Tables.
But there is another important piece to this, and it applies not only to math, but to every subject a child struggles with: mentorship can be the bridge. The goal isn’t to have a child depend on that mentor forever. In fact, quite the opposite. The goal should be to help that child become an independent learner—someone who eventually learns how to find answers, solve problems, ask questions, use resources, make mistakes, try again, and figure things out for themselves.
We don’t want children to believe that they can only succeed when someone is standing beside them. We want them to develop the confidence to say, “I don’t understand this yet, but I know I can learn it.” A teacher is a facilitator in that process. If you have a good teacher who believes in a child’s potential, that’s fantastic. But if you have a teacher who believes that some kids can do math and some kids simply can’t, that is something to be wary of, because that simply isn’t the case. Too often, we confuse a child’s current ability with their potential ability. They are not the same thing.
It’s a matter of perspective.
Use resources like these to help explain concepts. Slow things down when necessary. Go back and build the foundation when a child has gaps in their understanding. Give them opportunities to practice without making them feel ashamed of getting something wrong.
Most importantly, give them the opportunity to discover that they can learn.
And perhaps that is one of the most important roles of a mentor. It isn’t necessarily about teaching them all the material; it’s about teaching them the process of learning.
How do I find the answer? What can I try? Where can I look? What happens if I make a mistake? Can I try again?
These are skills that extend far beyond the classroom, because eventually, the child has to become their own teacher. That is how you help build confidence. Give a child the foundational skills they need, along with patience, practice, encouragement, and support, and you can give them something much bigger than better math marks. You can give them confidence. And here’s the thing: you can’t convince a child that they’re “not a math person” once they start realizing that they can understand math. Math is logic. Math is a language. It is something that can be learned, practiced, understood, and improved upon. Learn it. Help your child learn it. Practice it together. Make friends with math. It may just become the best friend they ever had.
Math may just become the best friend they ever had.
But perhaps most importantly, teach children that learning isn’t something that belongs only to smart kids, the privilaged kids. Learning is something they are capable of doing. Once a child begins to believe “I can learn this,” you’ve given them something that extends far beyond the classroom. You’ve given them a foundation for lifelong learning.
The goal isn't dependence. It's development.
The most effective mentor doesn't create a young person who needs them forever. They help create a young person who eventually learns to trust their own ability to think, choose, learn, recover, and move forward.
Barry Smith
A Different Way Forward
If you believe that young people need more than answers, that they need the confidence and skills to discover their own, you may be interested in the Mentoring Process: Join the next free introductory workshop and experience the framework for yourself.
Free monthly workshops • Limited spaces • St. John's, NL
Want to explore the Mentoring Process for your whole team?
We also provides workshops and training for schools, sports organizations, youth-serving organizations, and other teams working with young people.
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