The Scope of the Buddy Club

Within The Education System

In the year 2015, there were about 966,000 juvenile incarcerations in the U.S.

Could that number have been lessened with a quality mentorship program outside of

the home? The buddy system is a one-on-one pairing program that helps kids succeed

socially and academically; a setup that positively impacts students in the present while

preparing them for the future. I plan to start a community within our school in hopes that

all involved adopt beneficial mindsets towards life and education. Kihei Charter School

is full of extremely promising student leaders and it would be a shame to put that to

waste.

Mentorship is generally accepted in most people’s lives, but mentorship towards

children, let alone mentorship from children to children, has many unknown valleys of

research around it. Yet, as Davielle Lakind states, “Perceptions of mentees and their

environments informed mentors’ role conceptualization, with some mentors seeing

themselves as antidotes to environmental adversity.”, (Youth Mentoring Relationships in

Context...) In other words, the mindset of a mentee can be observed by their senior to

favorably affect a mentor’s mental role in their life. Researches of Harvard U., children

psychologists, and top leadership oriented thinkers have found that having someone

closer in age to slightly guide one’s path into the future can do more than an adult can.

Although an adult may have ten times the knowledge his younger counterpart has, that

does not mean that adults always make better mentors for children. Dr. Julie Connor’s
article, “10 Tips to Mentor Youth Like a Superstar” is stock full of practical advice in

creating solid bonds with your buddy. She says, “It is your responsibility to set a good

example as a mentor. Your mentee will lose trust in you if you can’t be depended upon

to honor your commitments.” Connor is communicating the significance of leadership by

example in every facet of communication and relation one has with their mentee. The

buddy system makes one easily capable of completing this with little trouble. The buddy

system is simply a refined aim towards mentorship to children.

Incorporating a buddy system into a educational environment changes lives for

the better when done properly. The Boy Scouts of America are a prime example of an

organization that mastered setup mentor-like relationships between different ages. As

their website states, “The buddy system trains Scouts to look after one another to

ensure safe and enjoyable Scouting experiences”.² That is, Scouts use this system for

the safety and overall betterment of the Scouts and the program. At Kihei Charter

School, the implementation of the buddy system could create safe places for needy

children for homework help, life advice, etc., covering any social and academic need

one might have.

The buddy system is intended to be a club for people with compassion, patience,

and responsible tendencies. Working with younger kids once a week, answering their

questions, and getting to know them will enhance the social skills of both the mentor

and the mentee. Practicing this will help students build confidence to speak up in class

and around their peers. Being a part of this club is also a good way to work on reliability,

since being absent is very frowned upon. Lastly, high school students can receive
volunteer hours for mentoring kids in The Buddy System and they can put these hours

on college or job applications to improve them. Once kids in and outside the program

recognize these pros, even the cynical natured students will feel a disposition to join the

club.

Every school properly fitted with a handful of leaders with initiative could benefit

from starting a buddy system program. Kihei Charter is one of those schools. This

program would create a genuine sense of community to everybody involved, not to

mention teaching younger students manners and respect, providing homework help,

and giving appropriate advice and information to every kid participating. Not only will the

buddy system be helping kids succeed, but it will also be teaching those organizing the

program important skills like collaboration and communication, which can be used after

high school.