Mentoring

The Role of a Mentor

Sparhawk Academy aims to help parents raise their boys to be happy, confident men who by virtue of an excellent academic preparation and a directed emphasis on character development, will be strong future leaders of families and society.

To achieve this lofty goal, we have assembled a faculty of experienced and energetic educators who will guide each boy to develop his unique, God-given talents. Each of our teachers recognizes that his role is not simply to pass on knowledge about a particular academic subject, but rather to care for the formation of the entire person. This means knowing the boy well: his family situation, his likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, his goals and dreams.

Every boy is paired with a faculty mentor. They meet regularly to talk about his experience at Sparhawk, his academic progress, his social interaction, the integration of what he is learning in school with his life at home and among his friends. These conversations will usually generate one or two resolutions for the boy to focus on over the next couple of weeks. For instance, he may be encouraged to have a fixed time and place at home for an hour of homework, free from the distractions of television or music. Or he may be challenged to keep better order in his bedroom, or among his classroom materials.

The mentor will also be in regular contact with the parents, so as to reinforce the family values and traditions each boy is learning from his parents, his primary educators. Every boy at Sparhawk needs to recognize that he is loved and understood, both at home and at school.

Having an engaged and empathetic mentor who takes individual interest in the whole development of each boy is a central value of our school. It is so important that we consider having a small cohort of mentees the equivalent of teaching an additional class every day, and so factor that in to our teacher schedules.