 |
| Governor’s Mentoring Initiative - Frequently Asked Questions |
| 1) What is a mentor? |
A mentor is a person who chooses to volunteer his or her time to help another person, often a younger individual. A mentor will consistently provide support, friendship and positive modeling. The mentoring relationship can be characterized by its ongoing nature, the opportunity for interaction between the mentors and mentees and the mentor's volunteer commitment. The older, more experienced individual is called a "mentor,” the younger individual is called a "mentee.” |
| 2) What is the difference between a mentor and a tutor? |
| As a result of the research and interviews conducted by the Arizona Mentoring Initiative (AMI) over the past two years, it has become clear that there is a lack of understanding among many groups regarding the difference between mentoring and tutoring. In its simplest form, tutoring involves the teaching of a skill or set of skills to either an individual or group of individuals. While it may be advantageous, it is not necessary that the same person serve as the tutor to an individual or a group over an extended period of time. The reason for this is that tutoring is not based on a personal relationship between the person doing the tutoring and the person being tutored. Mentoring, on the other hand, is heavily dependent on the establishment and nurturing of a close, personal relationship between the mentor and mentee over time. |
| 3) What are the different types of mentoring programs? |
| Site based - Mentoring relationships which occur at a specific site (e.g. school, community center, etc.) Community based - Mentoring relationships which occur in the community in general. The meeting location and activity for each meeting is left to the discretion of the mentor and mentee. Peer Mentoring - Mentoring conducted by peers or fellow students. |
| 4) My time is limited. I have a family and a job. Does this prevent me from mentoring? |
| Absolutely not. There are a variety of mentoring opportunities available, each with its own program and schedule. In addition, many employers offer a volunteer policy that would provide you flex time to mentor. |
