Tag: mentoring

Can Mentoring Break The Prison Pipeline?

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School To Prison Pipeline

By Tamara Meyerhoff, Polished Pebbles Intern

My mentoring responsibilities aren’t limited just to working with the school age -girls and female college students in Polished Pebbles.  I also find a tremendous about of satisfaction mentoring college/graduate interns as well.  I’m proud to share this blog post that was written by one of our summer interns Tamara Meyerhoff.  Tamara is a senior at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. She is majoring in Social Work with a concentration in Family Studies. This summer she attended the Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture in Hyde Park. Through her classes she was able to experience the culture of Chicago, from the South Side to the North Side. Tamara also completed two part-time internships–one with me at Polished Pebbles, and the other with United African Organization.

As national news continually reports the alarming increase in gun violence in Chicago, I’d like to share with you this infographic from Tavis Smiley Reports on PBS. The school to prison pipeline is the education and juvenile justice system working in tandem to incarcerate mostly lower class minorities. According to the article, schools will unfairly target minority students to be criminally charged for minor acts. As the graphic shows, in 2013, 70% of in-school arrests were of black or Latino youth. Even more shocking, black and Latino students are 3.5 times for likely to be suspended than white students.

The author believes that this harsh reality affects the self-perception of black youth. By constantly being surrounded by a negative stereotype, they start to believe they are nothing more than that stereotype—violent, aggressive, hot-tempered, and criminal. Polished Pebbles is one organization working to fight against the cycle of the school to prison pipeline. It does this in a subtle way. The Polished Pebbles curriculum changes the way African-American girls perceive themselves as young black women. One high school student reported, “Before Polished Pebbles, I had a horrible attitude. Now, I learned that I have to control my attitude because those same people can help me with my future”. Listen to Polished Pebbles success Pertesha share her story through the foster care system. Furthermore, these girls have dreams of becoming doctors, dentists, and even accountants.

These girls have grown because they were surrounded by role models who told them they are capable and deserving individuals. As the article has shown, this is where the school system has been failing black youth. It is here that organizations, communities, and individuals can begin to break the school to prison pipeline.

Share with us in the comments below what can you do in your community to help one youth from entering the school to prison pipeline?

tamara meyerhoff

Tamara Meyerhoff, Polished Pebbles Intern

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrating Men!: President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative

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As we close out “Men’s Month” for my girls mentoring program, Polished Pebbles, in Chicago, we thought it be nice to share an article about President Barack Obama’s “My Brother’s  Keeper,” an initiative to expand opportunity for young men and boys of color, He announced the launched of the initiative last week in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 27, 2014. To read the article click HERE.

dddance

To view some pictures from our non-traditional Daddy Daughter Dance, with our mentoring community here in Chicago, click HERE.  Interested in organizing a similar initiative in your community?  Email me at [email protected].

Now that it’s March, and Women’s History Month, we are holding a Career Panel here in Chicago this Saturday, March 8th at 10 a.m. at the Chicago Urban League.  Panelists will include Congresswoman Robin Kelly, Alderwoman Pat Dowell, Alderwoman Leslie Hairston, Judge Sharon Oden, VP/General Manager Bloomingdale’s Carolyn Edwards.  Email us at [email protected] if you’d like to join us.

we can do it kelly rowland

The Motivation To Give Back

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During the Polished Pebbles volunteer orientation, we asked our volunteers to share their motivation for volunteering. There were a wide range of responses, but one thing that held true was the lasting affect of a supportive mentor relationship. Through these relationships a few of our volunteers  witnessed the significance of building linkages within the community, as well as empowering  today’s youth.  As you view the video,  think about what skills and talents you have to offer your community and the lasting affect you could have as a mentor. Please feel free to leave a comment sharing what it is that motivates you to give back.

“Lady K In Waiting” Welcome To Kelly Fair The Mentor!

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k in waiting

For the last four years, with Polished Pebbles, I have been empowering girls throughout Chicagoland to find their voices by equipping them with effective communications skills, providing access to proper mentors, and exposure to powerful life experiences. It has been an awesome experience to reach over 500 girls with the assistance of numerous organizations, businesses, and hundreds of volunteers and supporters.  But, perhaps what’s been most amazing for me is the opportunity I’ve had to grow right along with the girls, personally and professionally. I often share with the girls that a big of part of my drive in starting Polished Pebbles lies in the truth that I too was a shy girl, and it took me until I got to college to really unleash my leadership abilities, and build my confidence.

I had a personal mentor of mine who always impressed upon me that “we’re always teaching, and we’re always learning.” I’ve had lots of growing pains building Polished Pebbles, and finding my voice in this new venture has been a journey.  But, I’ve come to realize now that we’ve learned a lot in creating Polished Pebbles and growing it from a single site group mentoring program with less than 20 mentors and only 2 girls at our first monthly meeting, to a program that has served 500 girls through 15 program sites serving University of Chicago Charter Schools, Chicago Public Schools, and the Chicago Housing Authority.  I feel impelled and that it’s my responsibility to our communities to share some of what we’ve grown through during this Polished Pebbles experience; this will include strategies that we’ve learned, and knowledge gained from staff, volunteers, partners, and of course our girls.

Every Thursday, you can expect a weekly update to this blog, “Kelly Fair The Mentor” including:

  • Encouragement and support in realizing the role each of us can play in impacting our youth
  • Tips and strategies on strengthening mentoring efforts in your communities
  • Insight from our rock-star staff, volunteers, and families, and of course our girls!

As I continue to grow and develop along with Polished Pebbles, I look forward to sharing the journey with you.

Sincerely,

Kelly