Planting.

The idea of a mentor has its roots in Greek mythology. The word appears in Homer’s Odyssey – written in 800 BC – where Mentor was the right-hand man to Odysseus, the King of Ithaca. As Odysseus leaves for the Trojan wars, he assigns Mentor with the duty of raising, nurturing and protecting his son with the intention of preparing him for the throne. Mentor must now be a teacher, role model, counsellor and encourager to this young student (Carruthers, 1993).

The knowledge of mentorship has persisted for centuries. The guiding principles remain unchanged and yet, the discussion around mentorship is no longer commonplace.

A mentor has the ability to create an environment where creativity can flourish, risks can be taken, skills and knowledge can be developed, and value systems and principles can be supported (Pleiss and Feldhusen, 1995). But most important of all, a mentor has the opportunity to plant seeds of thoughts, principles and skills for future success.

Planting seeds is a critical moment in the mentorship process. At this time, students’ minds are malleable and impressionable. Therefore, intentionality of what is being envisioned for and planted into the student should be at the forefront. As mentioned before, it is impossible to know what seeds will take root, so it is important to be purposeful with what types of ideologies are being invested into the mentee.

Through support and encouragement, certain seeds will be nourished and begin to sprout. The mentor’s responsibilities transition from planting seeds to cultivating the sprouts.