Welcome to “Morris Academy Mentors – Bronx Collaborative”

Welcome to the inaugural posting of “Morris Academy Mentors – Bronx Collaborative”, a blog that shares some of my thoughts and experiences with the Morris Academy Mentor Program. Before I begin, I want to first give this disclaimer: The contents of this web site are mine personally and do not reflect any official position of the Morris Academy for Collaborative Studies or its teachers and administrators, nor does it reflect the position of the New York City Board of Education. I’m not an attorney, so the point of this is not a legal one. The reason I want to stipulate this point up front is because there are a number of hard-working, dedicated individuals and organizations that make the Morris Academy Mentor Program a reality. I would hate to ever unintentionally misconstrue any of those efforts in this blog in a way that would be detrimental to what they are doing and will be doing. So with that caveat, onward…

I want this blog to capture more the experiences of the mentors, including feedback after events, documenting the planning process, and personal reflections on the relationships and interactions with our students. I also anticipate that there will be occasional postings that address higher-level ruminations regarding the goals of the program, the many reasons for formal high mentor programs, the necessity for having one in the South Bronx, and what I believe about our shared responsibility for serving the community. If some of these views come off as overly didactic and self-righteous, please excuse them for what they are, which is merely my less-than-developed writing skills.

The reasons for becoming a mentor vary among the mentors themselves. For some, their personal beliefs compel them to serve others. For others, myself included, it was a desire to feel part of an integrated community that one felt some vested interest in progressing forward. Some mentors feel an innate connection with those younger than them, and want to use that gift for the benefit of others. Some mentors just want to do something productive and structured with their Saturday mornings. Some volunteer on the basis of the relationships they have with other mentors going into the program, and therefore they find value in the shared experience of volunteering their time. Some do it in part because they genuinely believe it is time well spent. And underlying all of this is a bond among mentors and between the mentor and his or her mentee. They do it for the same reason that friends help friends, they just do.

The other reason for doing this is the inspiration provided by Charles Osewalt, school director at Morris Academy and a truly dedicated, life-long educator. He possesses a view that brings learning outside of the classroom and makes it a collective calling of the community, including parents, teachers and seemingly disinterested constituents. He tries to involve as many people in the education of his students as need be, and in the New York City public school system, that need is aplenty. His dedication to his cause is truly inspiring. How many principals in life have you come across that knows the personal story of each of his students? As a general rule, I tried to avoid my high school principal, as there was typically little upside and a whole lot of downside. Charlie’s role as school director at Morris Academy could not be anything further from this view.

The fact is that many of these students need that kind of attention. Some are from single-family households and some are from households in which they are one of many children who have responsibility in not only raising themselves but also their siblings. Despite his best efforts, Charlie is only one person. It’s often said that “it takes a village” to raise the next generation. My only complaint with that statement is that it is oftentimes used in too high a level by politicians and social commentators lacking an overt desire to put their thoughts into action. However, the underlying premise is true. Charlie’s vision of a “collaborative community” partners teachers with administrators with parents with community groups with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with private enterprises and so on and so forth. That is where the Morris Academy Mentor Program comes into play. As a community-based mentor group, we seek to offer a perspective and resource to the students that they would not normally have in the school environment. We are adult figures that hope to serve as positive influences for and counselors to the students. We are peers in which they can feel comfortable in interacting. We are sometimes conduits to their parents who may sometimes feel a generational gap with their children. We are their friends and they are ours. In the end, I hope that our program can add something to the lives of our students in a way that is real and lasting.

With these introductory thoughts, I’ll conclude my inaugural posting. There is so much more to say about this program, but thankfully I will have many more postings to offer those up. I’ll also on occasion post photos from some of our events so you might get a flavor of what we’re doing. If anyone reading is interested in finding out more about the program, please visit our website at http://www.morrisacademymentors.org/. If anyone reading this blog has (1) ever considered becoming a mentor and is (2) interested in learning what it means to join the Morris Academy Mentor Program, please email us at recruiting@morrisacademymentors.org.

In the meantime, take care and have a wonderful fall weekend.

(Also, in the future, I’ll try to not sound so formal in my postings. I seem to have a bias towards formality when typing. It must be some subconscious view that printed or published words have some level of permanence. I generally don’t talk like this, so that must be it. Anyways, I’ll try.)

Best,
Howard