Susan McGlohn

I know, the newbie with the all the questions :-)

I have tried for many years, unsuccessfully, to find a
mentor for my daughter in several areas.

First with piano. We couldn't find a person willing
to teach her the way she wanted to learn, and after a
year of traditional piano lessons, her love of playing
was virtually murdered. Never did recover from that
one.

Then art. Sarah has taught herself, because she has a
natural talent. It took us many years to find an art
instructor willing to teach her *real* work, and take
her seriously, but finally, on teacher no. 3, we have
struck gold. But that was by chance.

Our latest frustration has been that Sarah (12yo)
wants to become an animal rehabilitation specialist,
and in the state of VA a person must be 18 to work
with wild animals (even of the rabbit and squirrel and
bird variety). So she raises guinea pigs and has
studied animals for years, but can't go anywhere else
in the direction she wants to until she is 18.

We have tried the volunteer route as well. No go.
She has to be 14 to volunteer in the people hospital
and 16 to volunteer with a veterinarian.

I realize that people are so afraid of lawsuits that
they have these arbitrary rules set up to protect
their own hind ends, but it is sooo frustrating!
Sarah is extremely mature for her age, both physically
and emotionally. She could easily do what is required
in any of these areas, probably better and with more
commitment than most kids older than she.

So my question is, how does one go about finding
someone willing to take on a kid to mentor in a field
of interest?

Thanks for any insight!



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Susan c[__]
eclectichomeschooler@...
AOL IM: WifeToVegman

my web page:
http://theeclectichomeschooler.homestead.com/TheEclecticHomeshooler.html

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In a message dated 12/13/2001 9:10:23 AM Eastern Standard Time,
eclectichomeschooler@... writes:


> Our latest frustration has been that Sarah (12yo)
> wants to become an animal rehabilitation specialist,
> and in the state of VA a person must be 18 to work
> with wild animals (even of the rabbit and squirrel and
> bird variety). So she raises guinea pigs and has
> studied animals for years, but can't go anywhere else
> in the direction she wants to until she is 18.
>
> We have tried the volunteer route as well. No go.
> She has to be 14 to volunteer in the people hospital
> and 16 to volunteer with a veterinarian.
>
>

Lelia is 12 and has a job with a local dog training and dog day care place.
At first, she tried with vets and was really discouraged. She got this
position right off the bat, after getting more specific about exactly what
she was interested in doing.

One of the young people in our unshcool group did volunteer work at a Nature
Center working with animals of all types. She had a mentor, a person who
agreed to take her under her wing when she came to volunteer. She quickly
proved herself a real assest to that community. She was eight when she began.
Our unschool community just had a meeting on this very issue. . . and many
good ideas came from it. I think we have to re-educate the public on how
homeschoolers, and more specifically unschoolers CAN contribut and be an
assest in these situations. They need to understand we are not looking for
teachers, but rather opportunities to follow along and observe and
participate with older people. They need to be educated that they are not
performing a baby-sitting service, that these young people will show up on
time, and contribute. Our group is considering writing a manual to have on
hand for people interested in being mentors. We are beginning in "our own
backyard" and trying to tap the resources of the families and extended
families and acquaintances of the unshcooling families of our organization.

I also believe in asking the Universe, God, higher power, or however you wish
to define it for what I am ready to receive, in this case a mentor. What I
would do is make a very specific list of the qualities of the person I am
looking for and ask for that person to come into our lives. That is how my
daughter got her position.

living in abundance
lovemary

I cannot judge my own path and SELF, having the knowledge that I have chosen
to come here to experience these specific issues and grow, learn, and
Remember Who I Am.


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