How have mentors positively

impacted my life?
By: Vincent
My first mentor I am going to talk
about is my piano teacher. Over
the years I’ve had 3 but they all
have different teaching methods..
My first piano teacher taught me
patience and discipline. She was
strict but still made students feel
comfortable and relaxed while
teaching.
There’s a respect between us as a student and
teacher, I think that’s a very important trait. Knowing
that your teacher respects you creates a good
environment to learn in. Respect builds bonds, trust,
and safety. I can trust that my teacher is leading me on
the correct path and that this path is a safe option for
me and my future.
How I got these piano teachers to teacher
me was the fact that they were recognized
by the community. Finding a successful/
reliable mentor I think is a very crucial
thing to keep in mind. You don’t want a
mentor that is constantly making mistakes
and giving you bad advice.
Because I’ve had 3 different teachers I can tell
which ones were enjoying teaching. Of course they
all liked teaching but my second piano teacher had
somewhat of an additude. Whenever I would be
struggling, I could faintly hear her exhale and that
would demotivate me. Mentors need to know
when to keep their cool. If the mentee, is visibly
struggling, expressissing annoyance is not
encouraging.
Similar to knowing how to give criticism correctly and
in a efficient way, knowing how to talk to each other is
just as important. As the student, I always try and
maintain a positive additude to make sure my mentor
feels needed and that I appreciated them taking time
out of their day to help me.
My other two piano teachers were great
mentors. You could the way they were very
encouraging meant that they really mean
everything they say and would want the
best for you. They were also stern
sometimes and that’s when you knew that
you needed to be better. They were harsh
but in a way that you knew was for the best.
Another thing my piano teachers did was bring us
out of our comfort zones. Twice a year all the
students gather and play a song infront of
everyone. This is a creative way to motivate,
encourage, and ispire students by showing
everyone what they’ve been working on.
Speaking of positive attitudes, remaining calm even
if your in a stressful situation is very important if
your a mentor. For example, one time a teacher
rolled her eyes at me because I was struggling on a
question. Doing that discourages the student. No
matter what, if you are angry don’t take it on the
student.
Speaking of remaining calm, my driver instructor
was one of the best teachers/mentors. He always
remained calm despite me doing some “scary” or
“reckless” things during the beginning. This helped
me correct what I was doing wrong while not being
scared of being yelled/shamed at.
Being able to adapt is a very reconizable trait on
top of being patient. Adapting could mean a lot of
things, adapting to a potentially dangerous
environment, how to handle and take care of a
person, or being thrown into something new all
together.
The way my driver instructor was able to adapt and
change his teaching style to my driving skills and
knowledge was great. When I was new, he noticed
that I could do many technical stuff (the actually
driving) well, so quizzed me on road signs, road
lines, hazards and more. I did not do very well
because I was too focused on controlling the care
that I didn’t pay attention around me.
My third mentor is a family member. My dad is into
accounting, stocks, business, and all that complicated
stuff. He’s very knowledgeable about what he’s talking
about and loves to go into detail. I can tell he’s
legitimately into whatever he’s researching at that
moment and is passionate.
Sometimes he’s too into what he’s researching though
and it becomes too stale to listen to. I think a good for
being a mentor is knowing your audience. There’s a
point in a conversation where my sister and I zone out
and I can clearly tell that my sister wants to get up and
leave.
My dad is not one to lie. He’s very honest when
speaking. Not sugar coating is a great trait. It helps
the mentee and hardens their skin so if something
similar like this happens again, it will be less hurtful.
Additionally, speaking truthfully has many benefits.
It gives you the information you need straight away
to give you enough time to cope and deal with the
problem rather than your mentor drawing out the
problem. Yes, the truth may be harsh and you may
not want to hear that you are not ready, but it’s
better to know what you need to know as fast as
you can so you can improve.
Many people think that mentoring is easy. I personally think that it wasn’t as bad as what people say but
after researching and reflecting, I can tell it is very hard. You need to keep your emotions in check while
observing your mentee and how they feel.
On top of focusing on your mentee and yourself,
there’s also external problems to focus on. My
previous example, being a driver instructor. You
need to focus on how your mentee is doing while
focusing on the road, signs, and if you need to press
on the brake. Being a mentor requires you to
multitask.
Mentors are extremely important. They help raise confidence as well as problem solving abilities. They
add their skill set to yours and help you develop and create your own unique skill set. Apparently having a
mentor can be a increase in emotional health too. This makes sense as you have a senior to console with
your problems as well as someone to confide with to boost confidence.
Thank you for listening
:)