Career

Mentoring: For The Youth, By The Youth

www.6bridges.com; Date: 30-Oct-07

It is common knowledge that class 10th and 12th examinations are the most crucial for students. Success at these exams becomes the critical deciding factor for their future careers. In stark contrast, class 11th is usually given a step-motherly treatment. Relieved from the pressure-cooker situation in class 10th, students are historically known to “chill out” in class 11th before entering another pressure-cooker called class 12th!

But, this attitude to class 11th needs to be revisited. Given that most students in class 11th belong to the formative age group of 15-17 yrs and that they are under relatively lesser pressure from their academic workload, this valuable year could be effectively availed to “sow seeds” for better future. To be more specific, class 11th could be re-positioned as that year when the young blood is given a sense of direction to its ideas, aspirations, beliefs and attitudes.

Various research studies have shown that students undergo gradual changesphysically and attitudinally- during the 7 to 10 years period starting from class 11th. In fact, it is during this crucial period that the youth starts to shape his or her attitude towards self, others and more importantly, life. The experience during these golden years eventually contributes towards the making of a responsible adult - complete with ideas, aspirations and beliefs. Long story short, class 11th could easily be utilized for effective guidance to form a strong and steady foundation for the Indian youth.

However, the present situation is far from the above idea. Given the ever-increasing competition and the never-waning importance of marks, most class 11th students start preparing for class 12th and the plethora of entrance examinations. They have various questions relating to not only their career but also about handling peer pressure, parental expectations, relationships, personality, self-image, etc. For instance, some want to know is it ok to be not-so-clear about future? Others wonder what exactly a software engineer does. But due to the sheer pressure of performance, students hardly get time to think about anything other than marks.

Moreover, the bigger hurdle faced by students as well as teachers- is the sheer lack of mentors who could guide this ambitious and raring to go tribe. Since most teachers don’t belong to their age group, or even closer, students find it difficult to relate with them. Instead, they look up to seniors (not necessarily CEOs) who are much closer to their age-group and have demonstrated successful performance in their respective fields.

It is here that a huge opportunity lies for the Indian youth - specifically the fresh graduates and post-graduates. Usually, graduates and post-graduates think of going back to their alma maters only when they become “somebody important” which is usually when they grey their hair! While those milestones have their own glamourquotient, the senior youth could also harness their experience during the college years and professional life by sharing it with class 11th students. It’s a win-win situation for all. Students benefit by learning from their successful senior’s experience (with relatively lesser generation gap) and seniors develop a sense of satisfaction by literally guiding the country’s youth.

To summarize, India shall be able to leverage the true potential of its youth pool if the senior youth takes it upon them to effectively mentor their junior brethren towards achieving their goals and ambitions. The underlying philosophy remains that “when you reach the top, one should send the lift down”. It is here that class 11th could be seen in a new light - as a stepping stone for juniors and as a mentoring opportunity for the seniors.

Mangesh Sakharam Lalita Ghogre, an alumnus of VJTI and NMIMS, is a freelance writer. He takes sessions at Fr. Agnels Junior College, Vashi to guide class 11th students on non-academic