During the blizzard of 2011, I was unable to come to the site in person, but that did offer me time to read over many articles on the Tutor/Mentor Connection website regarding the influence of university leaders and how they can impact an organization such as this one. They also made me realize how much it makes sense for university involvement in programs that aid disadvantaged children through the school system, especially colleges that focus on social justice. By assisting a child not only in Kindergarten or in high school, but through every stage of their schooling, that child will have a much better chance to enter into the college level of education and could therefore become a part of a model population of success involving education-based prevention in the society. In future weeks, I will be working on a simpler visual graphic to better explain my thoughts on this topic, but in meeting some of the children and volunteers, I feel as though everyone involved with this program feels as though it is the best form of prevention of larger social issues involving crime and poverty.
My thoughts are slightly fleeting at the moment, as I have absorbed a lot of ideas since my last post, but I hope to interact more with the volunteers and the children tomorrow, and I will attempt to incorporate their ideals into my model of how this program is an essential piece of a social justice ideology, as those advantaged individuals come together to assist those less fortunate in the realm of school and mentoring.