How high can you JUMP?

Last year I volunteered to lead a program called JUMP. JUMP is aimed at helping freshman students who are struggling academically and/or
socially. At first I was somewhat hesitant because I have never lead a
program quite like this. In short, we were able to accomplish some
great things, but looking toward the future we also have a lot of room
for improvement for a more effective and efficient implementation of
this program.

As I mentioned, we accomplished some fantastic things this past year.
To the program's benefit we had an excellent group of mentors working
with the mentees. The mentors were chosen because they all have an
outgoing and caring personality, and ultimately have the patience and
empathy to work with a group of struggling students. I couldn't be
happier with our group of mentors. They were able to connect with and
relate to the mentees in a way a teacher never could.

Perhaps the most important benefit of this program is that we are
meeting the students where they are. Too often in education we try to
force new information upon our students, whether they are ready for the
new information or not. This mentor program has established itself as
an initiative that meets students where they are, and from there the
students will be able to grow and develop through their own natural
course. It is my hope to grow this program, as well as take my
experiences leading this program and bring them into my classroom to
"meet students where they are."

Personalized and individualized learning are terms that get used often,
but are we really personalizing and individualizing the learning process
for each student? Unfortunately, the truthful answer is no. As
educators our goal should be to address the needs of each and every
student at the current level at which he/she is. The educational
process is not about you or I; it is about the student. The mentor
program has started off in a great direction, but by no means am I
content with it's current form. I wish to continue to grow and to
develop as an educator, while creating an environment that meets the
needs of every student by allowing them to grow and develop at their own
pace. In closing, I am very fortunate and happy I volunteered for the
mentor program, because it has allowed me to grow as a person, as well
as refined my skills as a professional educator. I will leave you with
one question...can we effectively personalize and individualize the
learning process for each student in the current form of education? If
your answer is no, what should we do?