The Benefits of Mentorships
This article relates to Piecing Me Together
Renee Watson's excellent Young Adult novel Piecing Me Together follows the life of a high school junior. Jade, who is African American, receives a scholarship to a new, predominantly white school, and finds herself feeling alone. Her guidance counselor approaches her with information about participating in a mentorship program called Women to Women, which targets girls who are seen as being at risk. Jade is initially reluctant to participate; however, after she weighs the opportunities, she realizes that she should take advantage of the program. So, she does. She meets her mentor, Maxine, who is also African American. Maxine is a college graduate, and she's from a prosperous family. With Maxine by her side, Jade sees a side of the world that would've likely been hidden from her for many years. What constitutes mentoring can have slight variations, but Mentor: The National Mentoring Partnership defines it in the following way: 'Mentoring, at its core, guarantees young people that there is someone who cares about them, assures them they are not alone in dealing with day-to-day challenges, and makes them feel like they matter.' The benefits from participating in mentoring programs are vast. Youth.Gov states that some of the perks include 'increased high school graduation rates, lower high school dropout rates, healthier relationships and lifestyle choices, better attitude about school, higher college enrollment rates and higher educational aspirations, enhanced self-esteem and self-confidence, improved behavior, both at home and at school, stronger relationships with parents, teachers, and peers, improved interpersonal skills, and decreased likelihood of initiating drug and alcohol use.' With these kinds of results, there is no surprise that so many communities participate in mentoring initiatives. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is one of the country's most popular and largest mentoring programs. Started in 1904, it 'makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers ('Bigs) and children ('Littles'), ages 6 through 18, in communities across the country.' This organization positively impacts its mentees' self-confidence and education. Other mentoring programs target more specific groups of teens. For example, Boys to Men Mentoring pairs adult men with oftentimes fatherless boys to help guide them. BEST Kids, Inc. in Washington D.C. works to positively impact youth in its surrounding areas. Just Us Girls, based in Georgia, is one of the country's mentoring programs for young women. If you know of a teenager who might benefit from a mentorship program, all you have to do is some quick research to find the best one for them. There are so many wonderful, successful organizations ready to help guide today's youth. And if you have the time, there is no better way to nurture both the future of one person and the future of the world by becoming a mentor yourself.
Mentoring people graphic courtesy of drbacchus.com Mentoring lightbulb graphic, courtesy of maryhogarth.com
Filed under Society and Politics
This 'beyond the book article' relates to Piecing Me Together. It originally ran in March 2017 and has been updated for the June 2018 paperback edition. Go to magazine. This review is available to non-members for a limited time. For full access become a member today. Membership Advantages
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Piecing Me Together Chapters 41-60 Summary & Analysis Chapter 41 Summary: “familia - family” Jade has been distancing herself from Maxine since the symphony outing, but she agrees to attend “Soul Food Sunday,” Maxine’s weekly family tradition. This Study Guide consists of approximately 56 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Piecing Me Together. North Portland is where Jade lives. It is filled with families living at or below the poverty level. This article relates to Piecing Me Together. Renee Watson's excellent Young Adult novel Piecing Me Together follows the life of a high school junior. Jade, who is African American, receives a scholarship to a new, predominantly white school, and finds herself feeling alone. Jun 13, 2018 Title: Piecing Me Together Author: Renee Watson ISBN: 058 Pages: 264 pages Publisher/Date: Bloomsbury Children's Books, c2017. Awards: Newbery Honor Award (2018), Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner (2018) The front of the folder shows a group of black women-adults and teens-smiling and embracing one another. Woman to Woman: A Mentorship Program for. Jan 26, 2018 Piecing Me Together is a brilliantly crafted novel that may help young readers understand better the black experience in America. Watson tackles so many issues in this novel, issues that deal with race, opportunity, class, identity and body image. This is done in a positive and realistic way through the remarkable character of Jade Butler.
1
español Spanish language
I am learning to speak. To give myself a way out. A way in.
2Characters In Piecing Me Together
tener éxito to succeed
When I learned the Spanish word for succeed, I thought it was kind of ironic that the word exit is embedded in it. Like the universe was telling me that in order for me to make something of this life, I'd have to leave home, my neighborhood, my friends.And maybe I've already started. For the past two years I've attended St. Francis High School on the other side of town, away from everything and everyone I love. Tomorrow is the first day of junior year, and you'd think it was my first day as a freshman, the way my stomach is turning. I don't think I'll ever get used to being at St. Francis while the rest of my friends are at Northside. I begged Mom to let me go to my neighborhood high school, but she just kept telling me, 'Jade, honey, this is a good opportunity.' One I couldn't pass up. It's the best private school in Portland, which means it's mostly white, which means it's expensive. I didn't want to get my hopes up. What was the point of applying if, once I got accepted, Mom wouldn't be able to afford for me to go?But Mom had done her research. She knew St. Francis offered financial aid. So I applied, and once I got accepted, I received a full scholarship, so I kind of had to go.So here I am, trying to pick out something to wear that doesn't look like I'm trying too hard to impress or that I don't care about how I look. St. Francis doesn't have uniforms, and even though everyone says it doesn't matter how you look on the outside, it does. Especially at St. Francis. I bought clothes with the money I made from working as a tutor at the rec center over the summer. I offered Mom some of the money I earned, to help with the bills or at least the groceries, but she wasn't having any of that. She told me to spend it on my school clothes and supplies. I saved some of it, though. Just in case.Mom comes into my room without knocking, like always. 'I won't be here tomorrow morning when you leave for school,' she says. She seems sad about this, but I don't think it's a big deal. 'You won't see much of me this week. I'm working extra hours.'Mom used to work as a housekeeper at Emanuel Hospital, but she got fired because she was caught stealing supplies. She sometimes brought home blankets and the small lotions that are given to patients. Snacks, too, like saltine crackers, juice boxes. Then one of her coworkers reported her. Now Mom works for her friend's mother, Ms. Louise, a rich old lady who can't do much for herself. Mom makes Ms. Louise breakfast, lunch, and dinner, gives her baths, and takes her to doctors' appointments. She cleans up the accidents Ms. Louise sometimes has when she can't make it to the bathroom. Ms. Louise's daughter comes at night, but sometimes she has a business trip to go on, so Mom stays.I know Mom isn't here just to tell me her schedule for the week, because it's posted on the fridge. That's how we communicate. We write our schedules on the dry-erase board and use it to let each other know what we're up to. I close my closet, turn around, look at her, and wait. I know what's coming. Every year since I started at St. Francis, Mom comes to my room the night before school and starts to give me the Talk. Tonight she's taking a while to get to it, but I know it's coming. She asks questions she already knows the answers to—have I registered to take the SATs yet, and am I still going to tutor at the rec, now that school has started?—and then she says, 'Jade, are you going to make some friends this year?'Piecing Me Together Book
Excerpted from Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson. Copyright © 2017 by Renee Watson. Excerpted by permission of Bloomsbury USA. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
