Michelle Obama launches mentoring program

I wish what I were seeing was an effort to help all of the volunteer-based tutoring and/or mentoring programs in the country get the resources and volunteers each needs to connect kids with mentors, and keep them connected for many years.

I doubt that this program will provide much realistic understanding for the White House staffers because the kids will be cherry-picked, kids who already are high performing and high potential. They certainly may benefit from the extra adult involvement, but this is not the same as building a tutor/mentor program in an inner city Chicago neigbhborhood, or even within one mile of the Hyde Park area where the Obama's were living, and keeping that program in place for the five to 10 years it might take for each child to go through school and to a high school graduation. It would take even longer involvement to assure that those kids are starting jobs and careers by mid 20s.

I hope I'm wrong, and that because Michelle is a mentor, every CEO in the country will develop a strategy that engages the members of his/her company as mentors, and will provide resources so that the programs where they mentor have well trained staff, funding for background checks, or to pay for rent and insurance, so the volunteers can connect with more kids.