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

Piecing Me Together Chapter 32 Summary

Piecing Me Together. The title of the book, Piecing Me Together, is a symbol of how the main character, Jade, is struggling to find out who she really is and how she fits into the world. The title is taken from a poem that includes the line, “piecing me back together.” In that poem, the writer is trying to overcome tragedy to piece herself. Book Summary: Jade goes to St. Francis, a private school across town, while most of her neighborhood friends go to the local public school. There are a lot of good things about her school, but she has mixed feelings about the 'opportunities' offered by some of the adults there.

Piecing Me Together Plot Summary

• 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.
• 'A nuanced story about girls navigating the landmines of others’ good intentions, Piecing Me Together will make readers wrestle with every assumption they have about race, economic class, and so-called at-risk kids. An honest look at how girls stitch together their talents to find their voice and power.
• Piecing Me Together Summary Next. In some ways, Jade feels like she must leave her neighborhood in order to succeed: she buses out of her North. Piecing Me Together. The title of the book, Piecing Me Together, is a symbol of how the main character, Jade, is struggling to find out who she really is and how she fits into the world.

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.

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Summary

Chapter 8 begins with the phrase “algo en comun,” which means “something in common.” Sam and Jade sit together on the bus the next day. They talk about St. Francis and agree to meet for lunch. Jade is eager to get to know Sam.

Chapter 9 begins with the word “esperar,” which means “to wait.” It is now October, and Jade and Sam ride the bus and eat lunch together. On the day of the first meeting of the Woman to Woman program, Jade arrives to find her mentor – Maxine – has not arrived. A woman named Sabrina leads the meeting, describing why mentoring is important. Jade's mentor, Maxine, is not present. Sabrina has them all stand in a circle to introduce themselves, using the first letter of their name to add a descriptive word. She describes herself as “Silly Sabrina.” Jade, the only one without...