My idea of mentoring may be
somewhat skewed. Unlike the Homeric character and friend of Odysseus from whom
we get the term, though experienced within my field, I don’t see myself as
particularly wise. As for advising, it is at best a risky business. Who knows
what results will arise from any particular choice in life? Random occurrences,
serendipity, and quantum fluctuations in the universe (that whole butterfly
effect thing) can lead to all kinds of unintended or unexpected results.
Telemachus and Mentor. Illustration from
François
Fénelon's, Les aventures
de Télémaque, 1699
So the classic definition of
mentor as “wise advisor” feels a bit unsettling to me. I am uncomfortable with
the idea of appearing in the eyes of my students as someone notable or worth
emulating. Epictetus, the teacher of future Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and
stoic philosopher, said to “...be suspicious if you appear to others as someone
special. Be on your guard against a false sense of self-importance.” In other
words, don’t get a swelled head.
Mentorship is deeply
important but it carries with it carefully defined boundaries, relationships,
roles, and expectations. Consequently I tend to see my role as an educator more
in the vein of a facilitator, coach, or collaborator, working with students rather than for them (or myself for that matter), to
help them develop as rich and meaningful a response to their world as
possible. As an artist I believe it is
my role to foster imagination, technical skill, and critical thinking in order
to generate the most effective and rewarding communication of ideas from the
student.
In general I tell my
students “this is what I would do,”
and remind them that ultimately the choices and consequences are theirs and
theirs alone. I seem to follow a response stemming from the way I was guided in
my own career. Little nudges here and there, referrals, suggestions, passing
along opportunities, or subtly encouraging a particular and promising direction are my preferred methods.
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