I've read this excerpt recently in the book "Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life" by Gregg Levoy and thought it was worth sharing:
"The term "mentor" comes from a character in The Odyssey by the same name. He was an old man who was entrusted by Ulysses with the care and education of his son, Telemachus, while Ulysses was away at the Trojan War, a job that ran into quite a bit of overtime, as Ulysses finished up the war but was then blown around the Aegean for the next ten years.
It so happened, too, that Athena, a goddess of wisdom and daughter of Zeus, has a fondness for Ulysses. Disguised as Mentor, she would often help guide the young Telemachus. What this suggests is that the gods operate through the medium of our mentors, and one of the prime characteristics of mentors has traditionally been that they're "enthusiastic." That is, god-inspired. Trough good mentoring, we can touch that part of ourselves, we can be helped with what psychologist Daniel Levinson calls "the realization of the Dream," with the awakenings in our own lives.
A mentor is a kind of soulmate and carrier of souls, a kindred spirit who sees something special in us, not just as we already are but as we could become. It is someone, as actor-director Elia-Kazan once said of his own mentor, who sees "the great possibilities." The best mentors are also those who are students at the same time, other people's mentorees.
Such mentors are also possessed of a great faith, the kind it takes to realize big dreams." (Levoy, 1997)
What a food for thought! Think about yourselves as mentors and how you can empower your students to achieve the new heights. The power of faith in someone may bring the results, unexpected and bigger than anticipated. It may lead to discoveries not imagined, perhaps different from one's initial intentions. I've seen it, not once, with many students. The change, finding the true calling, that aha moment that comes when taking a new class. I would be very interested to hear from you stories of your own and of your students as you continue growing as academic mentors.
"The term "mentor" comes from a character in The Odyssey by the same name. He was an old man who was entrusted by Ulysses with the care and education of his son, Telemachus, while Ulysses was away at the Trojan War, a job that ran into quite a bit of overtime, as Ulysses finished up the war but was then blown around the Aegean for the next ten years.It so happened, too, that Athena, a goddess of wisdom and daughter of Zeus, has a fondness for Ulysses. Disguised as Mentor, she would often help guide the young Telemachus. What this suggests is that the gods operate through the medium of our mentors, and one of the prime characteristics of mentors has traditionally been that they're "enthusiastic." That is, god-inspired. Trough good mentoring, we can touch that part of ourselves, we can be helped with what psychologist Daniel Levinson calls "the realization of the Dream," with the awakenings in our own lives.
A mentor is a kind of soulmate and carrier of souls, a kindred spirit who sees something special in us, not just as we already are but as we could become. It is someone, as actor-director Elia-Kazan once said of his own mentor, who sees "the great possibilities." The best mentors are also those who are students at the same time, other people's mentorees.
Such mentors are also possessed of a great faith, the kind it takes to realize big dreams." (Levoy, 1997)
What a food for thought! Think about yourselves as mentors and how you can empower your students to achieve the new heights. The power of faith in someone may bring the results, unexpected and bigger than anticipated. It may lead to discoveries not imagined, perhaps different from one's initial intentions. I've seen it, not once, with many students. The change, finding the true calling, that aha moment that comes when taking a new class. I would be very interested to hear from you stories of your own and of your students as you continue growing as academic mentors.
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