What Is a Mentor? A Community Literacy and Intercultural Inquiry Paper

What is a mentor? I ask this question as if it has a simple definition, but that is far from the truth. This question cannot be answered in one sentence—not in one page. Even the question itself doesn't begin to represent the real questions I'm thinking about. From working with East End Youth Projects at Carnegie Mellon University for three years tutoring middle school students from at-risk backgrounds, I have learned a great deal about mentoring. It wasn't until I entered Dr. Flower's class on Community Literacy, however, and conducted an intercultural inquiry on the subject, that I truly understood the dynamics of the mentoring relationship. I was forced to examine my motivations and my expectations, as well as those of other mentors, and the teens that we worked with. This exposed me to many facets of emotions with w hich both parties enter the mentoring relationship.