A select group of students are learning more than academics at Columbus High School. They”re learning how to be men.
Principal Craig Shannon, in concert with teachers and parents at CHS, put out the call in February for 20 men to come in and serve as examples to a special population of young men. They received 23 responses, equaling 23 mentors and 23 strong male figures.
Shannon, who”s in his second year as principal at CHS, isn”t sure why a mentor program hadn”t been enacted at the school prior, but he says a clear need existed.
“We were seeing a population of our school, particularly young men, who didn”t have the skills to be successful throughout high school and life,” he said.
Beginning in early February, the mentors were subjected to background checks, given a list of suggested topics to discuss with the children and assigned a mentee. Each mentor agreed to meet with his mentee twice a week for 30 to 60 minutes.
The only criteria the mentors were asked to meet, according to Shannon, was to honor their commitments.
“We don”t want anybody who”s going to start and stop. These kids have had enough of that. They need somebody who”s going to stick with them,” he said.
The students, who were referred to the program by teachers or parents, were somewhat leery of confiding in strangers at first.
“I was scared at first. I didn”t know what I was going to say or what I would have to do,” said Jonquil Ball, 16, a ninth-grader at CHS and mentee to Columbus firefighter Michael Miller.
But the students came to rely on their mentors.
“Once it got started, it was a big hit,” Shannon said. “They love having another person in their life that cares for them. It gives them a chance to get advice from somebody who”s had some life experiences.”
Those experiences manifest in several forms. They can mean knowing when to stop talking and just listen. They could lead a mentor to share a personal experience or story. But as you may expect, advice is the most common response. And the mentors have plenty to dispense.
“If you want things to happen in your favor in the future, then you need to create a process,” said mentor and Lowndes County District 4 Supervisor Jeff Smith, giving an example of a jewel he dropped on his mentee. “Education is one (part). Being responsible for your actions is another.”
Greg Lewis, with the Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority, often councils his mentee on employment.
“He likes working with children and sports. We”re trying to find something where he can work with children during the summer,” Lewis said.
Columbus Ward 1 Councilman Gene Taylor has advised his mentee on everything from behavior to studying to church activities to proper attire.
“Mostly I talk to him about being a gentleman,” Taylor said.
While the mentors” primary intentions are to serve as an example rather than a friend, most have formed a personal bond with their mentees. Taylor has been to his mentee”s home to meet his family. Lewis” mentee paused a pickup football game for a friendly chat when he spotted him one Saturday at Propst Park.
Martin Andrews, a captain with the Columbus Fire Department, knew his mentee”s parents before joining the program.
The connection between mentor and mentee is often born of shared circumstances, but differences can provide new perspectives for both parties. What”s important is that a positive connection is formed.
“What (the relationship) has really done for me is re-identify the importance of having someone there for you,” Smith said. “I come from a single-parent home. I was blessed that I played sports and back then coaches and neighbors and grandparents were a presence where fathers weren”t. I realize times have changed and the neighborhood concept is not as supported as it used to be.”
To maintain those connections and display their commitment, mentors will be allowed to follow their mentees into the next school year.
Every student on this year”s mentee list has been paired with a mentor, but Shannon plans to expand the program next year to include more students. And potential mentors don”t have to be county supervisors or city councilmen or firefighters to qualify as a positive example to those students.
“They”re looking for everyday people in the community being able to connect with kids in the environment they”re in,” Taylor said.
In some cases, the environment is a single-parent home. Poverty or emotional stress sometimes factor into the equation. But just as there is no prototypical mentor, there is no stereotypical mentee.
“It wasn”t like they picked out the worst kid in school and said mentor this kid,” Lewis said of his mentee, whom he describes as mannerable and alert. “He really is a good kid. He just may need a little more guidance and attention.”
Martin describes his mentee, Jarvis Buchanan, 19, a senior at CHS, as “unique and very smart. But like any young man that age, he needs guidance.”
As the program expands to include more mentees next year, this year”s mentors encourage more adults to get involved.
“It”s a great opportunity to get inside the school and meet with some of the young men who need some guidance,” Taylor said.
“It”s a badly needed program. You”ve got so many young people who are lacking support at home and need direction,” Smith said.
“I would say more people probably need to participate in the program,” Lewis said. “It”s very little time they”re requiring and, since I”ve been involved, I want to make more time to get involved.”
Ball, who admits he was frequently in trouble for not completing his school work, says his time with Miller has made him more accountable for his actions.
“He”s showing me how I should act in school. Most of my goals I”ve got done because he helped me,” Ball said.
Miller describes his role as a supporter more than an authority figure.
“Mainly, I let him know he”s got somebody in his corner to help urge him on,” he said.
Andrews, who has been mentoring in the community for almost 20 years, admits he doesn”t have all the answers to his mentee”s problems, but he”ll go out of his way to find the people who do.
“I”ll go to his classes and talk to his teachers and find out what his weaknesses are and what I need to do to help,” he said.
Academically, that means finding tutors. Buchanan admits he”s struggled with his grades in the past but has pulled his D”s up to a B average.
Socially, that means teaching respect for self and others.
“We talk about how to be a man. I told him I want to be a firefighter like him because I like to help people out,” Buchanan said.
Not only is Andrews inadvertently recruiting students to become firefighters, he also recruits firefighters to help students.
“I try to get firefighters involved to help (students) reach their goals in life,” he said.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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