Beyond helping youth with schoolwork, there is a whole different facet of tutoring that is emerging. Plenty of academics now discuss the role that tutors can play in the lives of youth as mentors, and their impact goes far beyond academics. For many parents, especially those who were lucky enough to see their own children helped by tutors, becoming tutors themselves offers them an opportunity to give back.
Greg Fritzberg is a professor of education at Seattle Pacific University and a leading voice in the academic community promoting the benefits of tutoring and mentoring – for the child and for the tutor.
“We can clearly see the benefits of a long-term, stable relationship with an adult that takes an interest in you,” Fritzberg says. “But what we have seen is that it isn’t just good for the student. It can change both student and teacher.”
Fritzberg has spent 20 years working with inner city youth and running mentor programs, looking at the “equality of opportunity” for students in schools today. He says that often young people need more than a tutor; they need a connection.
“Relationships are the core to meaning in life,” he says. “Meaning is what ignites academic interest, academic potential and academic performance. Being liked by someone you admire feels like an important part of your life. There are so many kids now searching for those relationships. Tutoring is only the beginning.”
Fritzberg, the parent of two children himself, says that many parents have their hands full and find volunteering a difficult proposition. That is why many of the mentors today are younger people in college, unencumbered but ready to get involved or “empty nesters” ready to give some time.
He would also like to see more parents involved with other people’s children. “My belief is that during those 18 years, when so many of us feel like we are just hanging on, we need to find a way to see ourselves as more than parents. We are parents, but we are also citizens. As parents, we guard our pathways of our own kid. But alongside that path is the idea of seeing the other path, the larger one in the city or nation,” he says.
He encourages parents to look to mentoring or tutoring outside of their geographic neighborhood, helping in South Seattle or in other communities that are desperately searching for help.
“When you tutor or mentor someone, you can help them survive the system they are born into. The simple act of creating a relationship can make that difference,” he says.
Fritzberg has worked for years with students in West Seattle. Now he is working with schools in Southwest and North Seattle on a new project, the “University Mentors Network,” which pairs university students with tutoring opportunities.
There are many other similar programs in the city, pairing up tutors from college and retirees with those needing tutors.
“The value of long-term relationships with committed adults for children and youth is not questioned,” he says. “The questions that remain involve political will, policy and planning.”
For more information on becoming a volunteer tutor, call or visit your local school or library or contact Fritzberg at 206-281-2363 or gregf@spu.edu.
Lauri Hennessey is a public relations professional, freelance writer and parenting columnist who lives on Vashon Island with her three children and husband.
