Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/the-potential-gains-of-peer-mentoring-among-children/5014939/
The historical perspective of what is currently being identified as "peer mentoring" has been found to be a natural component of belonging to a large family, an extended family, a one-room schoolhouse, or a mixed aged classroom. Seizing the general tendency of children to help other children, which occurs almost spontaneously in this type of environment, can be successfully replicated within current learning institutions.Young children acting as human resources for their peers in schools, after school programs, summer programs, community centers, and a variety of programs where children of different ages and abilities come together is beginning to take root. Adults in the form of teachers, counselors, administrators, librarians, and others have taken the initiative to create the structure and provide the support to students and adults in carrying out a variety of creative peer mentoring programs. The account that follows focuses on the development and implementation of a Buddy Reading program at the RCMA Wimauma Academy, a charter school located in rural Hillsborough County, Florida.
Three years ago the Redlands Christian Migrant Association embarked on a journey to develop and design the structure of its first two charter schools. The structure of one of those schools includes grades ...