Ethnicity in Mentoring
My job as a mentor and positive influence for first-graders at O’Melveny Elementary School in San Fernando remains one of the more significant roles I assume. But I am not Hispanic, and the article “On the Lookout for Mentors” (Aug. 13) made it seem impossible for a non-Latino teacher to motivate students.
There are always exceptions, and even though I am Caucasian, I like to think that my goal of becoming a teacher at a predominantly Hispanic school is still worthy of pursuing.
If we want to help these students, teachers should be sought not for their ethnicity or common background, but because they care about the students.
Nearly 200 hours of my time has been spent volunteering at O’Melveny, and no one has once commented that my influence could be greater if I were Hispanic.
ALEXIS SHERMAN
Northridge
Sherman is a junior at Harvard-Westlake School in Studio City.
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