Teachers and mentors: Making a difference

It is the season of graduations. For parents, seeing their children going up on stage to receive the much awaited diploma is exhilarating. For both parents and children, there is a wondrous sense of accomplishment at achieving a major milestone.

Young graduates, full of idealism and hope, carry the flame of their goals and aspirations, ready to stake their own claim for the future. Many of them may not even be aware of it, but society looks upon them as a stable for future leaders. But the kind of leader they turn out to be in future depends very much on what kind of mentoring they got within the hallowed walls of academe, and even more basic than that, within their own home.

Every aspiring leader must come under the guidance of a mentor if he is to become better at what he does.

The word mentor applies to one who is: “a trusted friend, counselor, or teacher, usually a more experienced person.” A mentor is someone who willingly and generously provides his particular expertise to less experienced individuals so that they may be helped to advance their careers, enhance their education, and build their networks. If he is a good mentor, he will forever be remembered by those who came under his tutelage as a great influence in their lives.

I distinctly remember the teachers who made a difference in my life from grade school to postgraduate learning. Likewise, I remember with much love and nostalgia how my mother would spend countless hours tutoring and patiently teaching me. She encouraged me to dream dreams. When I declared I wanted to be a doctor, she simply said “then make good for you will take care of me when I grow old and sick.” When she indeed grew old and sick, I was there at her last moments in hospital, ministering to her as her doctor son.

My own wife Mila, a doctor herself, teaches not just her cardiology residents but also her undergraduate medical students in our clinic office, in her own time. She calls those times spent with her students “teachable moments” and “mentoring.” I am frequently amazed at the level of trust that she and her students have, but I realize this is because she takes to heart the role of mentor, and she does it out of a sense of responsibility for the young lives entrusted to her care during their formative years as a doctor.

The word “mentor” comes from the Greek term meno, meaning enduring relationship. It is used in the New Testament 118 times. Towards the latter part of Jesus’ earthly ministry, he frequently referred to the “steadfast relationship” He experienced with His disciples.

The scriptures are filled with many significant mentoring relationships, among them Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Barnabas and Paul, Paul and Timothy, Naomi and Ruth, and Jesus and His disciples. The chronicles of their lives and the interactions among them are instructional in providing insight into the power of mentoring associations.

Keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (v.35). His compelling message, taken in today’s context, is that what we have, whether it is talents or treasure, is multiplied a hundred fold if we generously share it with others. In the context of leadership, a leader who selfishly keeps his knowledge or talents to himself, eschewing any mentoring role, is shortchanging his mission and abdicating his role.

The way of the teacher

The model of learning, formal or informal, taught in classrooms today, is the Greek method. The teacher would stand and speak before the students throwing questions or lecturing. The learners sit at the foot of the teacher, listening. The main objective is to understand the ideas of the teacher and hopefully, make them their own.

There is however a suitable alternative, which may just be as old in its origins — the Hebrew method. This is more of an on-the-job-training and is built on relationships and common experience. This was the method by which crafstmen over the centuries learned and taught their knowledge and skills. They took on apprentices who worked by their side. They kept these apprentices until they had developed enough mastery to go on their own. From there, the apprentice turned expert was expected to repeat the process and pass the skills on to the next generation. This was the way Joseph trained Jesus to be a carpenter.

A dedicated and trusting one-on-one relationship between mentor and protege is the building block of the mentoring process.

Teachers and mentors, far from being wealthy in terms of financial gains, are by far the richest in terms of their contributions to the countless lives they touch. They are the ones who toil quietly and soldier on to make the world a better place than when they first found it. Remember to treasure a good teacher when you see one. Hold them in high regard.