Mentoring is becoming increasingly popular in Ukraine, especially in education, where the traditional approach often fails to provide enough personalized attention to each student. On International Mentoring Day, we spoke with Petro Sitek, head of mentoring at a Ukrainian school. He told us why mentors play an important role in children’s lives and how they differ from classical school teachers.
Mentoring in schools: why is it important?
“A mentor is a person who may not even be a teacher in the traditional sense, but whose main role is to help children and adolescents develop as individuals. This includes developing reflection skills, realizing their strengths and areas of development, setting goals, and lifelong learning,” explains Petro Sitek.
According to him, a classroom teacher, who already has a large teaching load, does not always have the time and opportunity to engage in individual conversations with each student, work with their motivation, or help them overcome personal challenges. A mentor, on the other hand, is focused on this.
“A classroom teacher can be a good teacher, but due to the high level of workload, they often don’t have time to meet with each student regularly, set goals with them, and help them achieve them. Mentoring helps to fill this gap,” he adds.
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A mentor is more than just a teacher
Mr. Sitek emphasizes that a mentor is not a classical teacher, but rather a person who helps children find their way and develop the skills they need to succeed in life. This includes working with group dynamics, analyzing achievements and challenges, and supporting them in making certain decisions.
“A mentor not only guides, but also helps to understand what responsibility, self-reliance, critical thinking, and the ability to reflect are. This is a person who builds trust by sharing his or her own experience and, at the same time, leaving space for the child and teenager to be independent,” says Petro Sitek.
The peer-to-peer principle that underlies mentoring is especially important. This means that the mentor is not an authoritarian figure, but a person who communicates with the student on an equal footing, regardless of age or experience.
“For me, it is important that a mentor is not afraid to open up to his mentee, to share his own feelings, experiences, and even mistakes. This creates trust. When a child sees that the mentor is sincere, he or she also opens up in return,” Petro notes.
How does mentoring help children develop?
One of the key tasks of a mentor is to support a child’s individual development. In this process, the mentor helps to improve such competencies as:
Responsibility
Students learn to set goals and take responsibility for achieving them.
Critical thinking
A mentor supports students in finding solutions and analyzing different situations.
Reflection
Mentoring teaches children to analyze their successes and mistakes.
Self-reliance
Teenagers and children learn to resolve their own conflicts and work independently.
“This is not friendship, not teaching, and not parental care. It is a special balance between support and guidance. The mentor’s task is to create conditions in which the student can make decisions, make mistakes, analyze and grow independently,” explains Petro Sitek.
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How is mentoring in Ukraine similar to international practice?
Mentoring in Ukrainian schools is increasingly resembling international practice. According to Sitek, over the past five years, mentoring has become a trend that is supported by both public and private educational institutions.
“In Ukrainian realities, mentoring is no different from foreign standards. It works just as effectively, and we see more and more schools implementing this practice every year,” the mentor comments.
Challenges of mentoring
Despite its many benefits, mentoring also has its challenges. One of the main ones is the balance between support and autonomy.
“If a mentor starts to take care of a student too much or make decisions for them, it can become an obstacle to personal development. The mentor’s task is not to make decisions for the child, but to help them find answers on their own,” explains Petro.
Another challenge is to avoid “friendships” in their classical sense. “A mentor cannot be just a friend or a teacher. They have to maintain a certain distance to remain objective and effective in their role,” he adds.
“So mentoring is more than just the transfer of knowledge. It is personalized support that helps students become more confident, responsible, and better prepared for the challenges of life.
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