For several years I’ve been trying to get a high school to reinstate a mentoring program. There are always reasons why it can’t be done, and all of them make perfect sense. Research shows that having one sustained adult mentor in a child’s life can make all the difference. Why are we so unwilling to do what’s necessary even when it might be difficult? It’s like the teacher who gripes about a student being out of her/his class to meet with someone who is trying to get the kid on track. So often schools put a bandaid on the problem instead of going to the root. Yeah, the kid might miss a couple of periods, but if that fixes his/her problem of not studying, being tardy, being a discipline problem, wouldn’t that be worth it? I guess I get frustrated that people don’t see the big picture. But I’ve learned that I am a big picture person and some are not. How do I come to terms with that when I think that I obviously see what’s best down the road and other people won’t bend? Maybe in some way that’s the frustration of all educators.