As students of all ages move through their educational years, it is often the focused care of mentors and tutors that provides the encouragement, support and assistance they need. Some mentors and tutors such as family members who are in a student’s life permanently. Others are temporary, there to help their charges meet specific goals, such as a tutor who works with a student to master a challenging subject or a mentor who is an older student helping a younger one transition into a new school.
Defined, a mentor is: "A wise and trusted counselor or teacher; an influential senior sponsor or supporter."
A tutor is: "A person employed to instruct another in some branch or branches of learning; a private instructor."
Mentors and tutors care for, instruct, counsel and sponsor a wide range of people: Mentors include teachers who mentor other teachers or students, students who mentor other students and adult family members who mentor students in the family: tutors, of course, are professionals that work with students individually.
HeartMath products and programs are ideal additions to any mentoring and tutoring program because they are based on care, particularly how to care more for oneself and others. As mentors and tutors guide their students to improve performance and excel academically, socially, athletically and in other endeavors, the relationships they establish often allow for advanced levels of care, something HeartMath has spent many years learning about and teaching.
Facts at a Glance:
The U.S. Department of Education has a mentoring program.
A Google search for "tutor" nets more than 33 million results. Tutoring is big business these days.
Mentoring new teachers has been shown to improve teacher retention.
Many schools have resource centers with mentor and tutor directories.
There are resources available to parents so they can learn to mentor their children/students effectively.
There are "mentor matching" services that help bring mentors and mentees together.
Who Needs HeartMath Research-Based Programs?
Adults who mentor and tutor
Students of all ages who need or have mentors or tutors
Public and private organizations, services and agencies that provide mentors or tutors, including schools, school districts, adult education services and colleges and universities
How HeartMath Can Facilitate Mentors and Tutors
Research is showing that it’s the cumulative emotional stress from family issues, peer pressures, overwhelm and boredom that increases blocks and resistance to learning and test-taking. These pressures erode self-motivation, and especially stifle the desire to learn. Mentoring and tutoring are focused relationships designed to ease these pressures and help students and/or their teachers improve performance and well-being. HeartMath offers a variety of products and programs to enhance mentor and tutor effectiveness while providing ways to add meaning and care to the lives of the people – young or old – they serve.
Research also tells us there is a direct link between a person’s ability to self-manage emotions and overall performance. People who become more self-aware and socially and emotionally competent become more confident and energetic about their learning abilities. They tend to try harder, motivate themselves, set goals, organize their approaches to study and perform at higher levels.
Self-awareness and the giving and receiving of sincere care can make permanent, positive differences in the lives of mentors and mentees and tutors and students.
IHM Research Publications and Articles Related to Mentoring and Tutoring
Dramatic gains in areas such as locus of control, peer empathy, work motivation and parent compliance, and a decrease in the influence of at-risk behaviors led to a cross-age HeartMath mentoring program with 17 middle school students tutoring 55 second- and third-graders… Read the Research.
In a second phase of the above study, the HeartMath program was expanded into the middle school curriculum as a full-year elective course called HeartSmarts™. The course was designed to reinforce resiliency skills and positive citizenship among students, while counteracting the negative effects of mental and emotional stress on learning. The course reinforced the application of the techniques through a variety of fun, experiential games and activities, including participation in a cross-age mentoring program with elementary school students. The students’ training also included a heart-rhythm education component… Read the Research.
Products and Programs to Support Mentors and Tutors
Qualified Instructor Program – Heart-Based Education: The first course offered under the program is the Resilient Educator®, an engaging, activity-based, stress-management workshop for in-service staff development. Because so many staff members are likely to be involved in mentoring and tutoring in one way or another, all members will find that the Resilient Educator is a highly relevant training program. It helps educators boost performance, improve school relationships and strengthen resiliency.
Soon, we will offer additional courses that will enable Qualified Instructors to expand their range of HeartMath workshops to college students, administrators, noncertified staff and parents affiliated with school organizations. Go to Qualified Instructor Program.
emWave® PC/Mac Stress Relief System: Working together on goals as diverse as classroom stress management and passing a high-stakes math test is much easier when a mentor and mentee or tutor and student spend time understanding the link between their emotions and their ability to increase cognitive function and performance. The emWave PC/Mac has been scientifically proven to facilitate this understanding and improved performance.
Go to emWave PC Stress Relief System or emWave® Mac Stress Relief System.
The TestEdge® Series: Among IHM’s most popular products and programs is the TestEdge line, offering classroom integration models as well as an interactive CD learning program. Adults who mentor students of any age will find valuable insight and practical applications that are easily adapted to one-on-one relationships and/or classroom use. Student mentors working with younger students will love sharing the interactive CD version of TestEdge, which is guaranteed to spark lively discussion. Go to TestEdge Line.
HeartSmarts™: Originally created for grades 3-5, the HeartSmarts program is being embraced by people of all ages, including those in elderly care situations, because it is so simple, visual and heart centered. Its visually attractive format, which includes posters, a flip chart, instructions for activities and much more, will provide the mentor or tutor with fresh ways to inspire. Go to HeartSmarts Kit.
Testimonials from Mentors and Tutors
"Words seem inadequate to describe the quality of support, caring, understanding and encouragement that IHM has and demonstrates for teachers and the teaching profession. It’s the ultimate anti-burnout prescription. The bonding and sharing of ideas and concerns is truly outstanding and helps to support confidence and hope as well as providing tools for taking care of yourself."
—Lynne Marsh, Teacher, Long Beach Unified School District, Long Beach, Calif.
Note: Although IHM does not offer one-on-one mentoring services for educators, the Resilient Educator program has lots of practical methods and ideas teachers can use to mentor one another. Go to Resilient Educator.
"One student I was working with … was 100% in high coherence (as measured by the emWave® PC/Mac). Then he fell a little into medium level and I softly reminded him to focus on what he appreciated. He had shared with me his memory was an amazing birthday last summer when his family went to Hawaii. He had told me his birthdays are always special because they coincide with his family’s vacations in the summer. So, all I said was, ‘Remember what a great time you had in Hawaii,’ and blip, he was back in the green."
—Jeff Lagozzino, Principal, La Primaria Elementary School, El Monte, Calif.
"You listen and then you feel the other person’s emotion in your heart, and you can tell whether they are happy or sad, angry or calm." —This was a fifth-grade boy’s answer to the question, "What does it mean to listen with your heart?" and was part of a HeartSmarts Module 3: Listening with Your Heart program exercise designed for students to use in pairs.
Funding Tips for Mentors and Tutors:
The following list provides information about a variety of federal, state and private educational funding sources for schools and districts interested in purchasing Institute of HeartMath® programs and products. Go to Funding Information.
For useful information or to learn how to apply to be a recipient of the IHM Heart-Based Education Sponsorship Fund, go to Education Sponsorship Fund.
The U.S. Department of Education offers Mentoring Grants. Assistance is provided to promote mentoring programs for children with the greatest need. Grants are provided to programs to achieve the following: (1) Assist such children in receiving support and guidance from mentors. (2) Improve the academic performance of such children. (3) Improve interpersonal relationships between such children and their peers, teachers, other adults and family members. (4) Reduce the dropout rate of such children. (5) Reduce juvenile delinquency and involvement in gangs by such children. Go to Government Mentoring Grants.
