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The projects that have the greatest influence on young people are those that actively engage them in creating positive changes in their lives. Peer mentoring provides just such an opportunity for students.
The Society for Safe and Caring Schools & Communities (SACSC) has piloted a peer-mentoring project in Alberta schools for the past two years. During the 2012/13 school year, 162 students in Grades 7–12 were trained as mentors and mentored 225 students.
Student mentors provide friendship, guidance and support for their younger peers. “Other students in the school ask us about what we’re doing and why. It makes me feel good!” said one mentor. Mentors positively influence the skills, behaviours and attitudes of those they mentor. “I don’t get in as many fights now and making friends is easier for me. My mentor helps me keep out of trouble,” said a student in elementary school. The students participate in activities that focus on building relationships and increasing the awareness of relational aggression, all while spending time together and having fun.
Students have also participated in opportunities outside their schools. For example, they have shared their experiences with Premier Redford at the Creating Safe Spaces Waffle Breakfast; led and participated in media projects involving YouTube videos; attended luncheon events with the RCMP and MLAs to discuss leadership; and practised public speaking at assembly and peer presentations.
As a staff facilitator from Peace Wapiti Academy in Grande Prairie said: “Mentors have become individual leaders. We’re giving them the skills to cope with their own situation so they can help others.”
If you want your students to learn skills to help them make better choices about their behaviours and have your school become a pilot school in next year’s peer-mentoring project (with a focus on cyberbullying), contact the Society for Safe and Caring Schools & Communities. Telephone: 780-822-1500; e-mail: office@sacsc.ca.
