Fifteen years ago I decided to become a teacher and I have never regretted my decision. A majority of my decision was based on wanting to be a mentor to students and athletes who do not have a positive male role model in their lives. Today male mentors are becoming more increasingly difficult to find. I have had my fair share of positive male role models in my life. Besides my father, I can distinctly remember both my grandfathers, a handful of teachers I had, and my high school basketball coach. On the other hand, I could also discuss a few male role models in my life that were complete dirt bags and were hypocrites. I won’t waste my time discussing them here.

With all negativity aside and tomorrow being Veteran’s Day, I want to tell you about a mentor in my life that is exceptional. He is my brother-in-law. My brother-in-law is a former Marine who served in Desert Storm. Besides wanting to extend a big THANK YOU! to him for serving our country, I thought discussing why he is such a great mentor would be be more appropriate and meaningful.

My brother-in-law is one of the most unselfish people I have met. He is always willing to open his home to other people and not just family. He sets time aside for his family before himself. In addition, he is willing to help out someone in need, even if the job may seem too big. I witnessed him working 3 jobs because he felt it was his duty to support his family. He is a reader, which never hurts when it comes to his own children and other children he comes into contact with, including my own. His work ethic is without a doubt superior! He works very hard at whatever he is trying to accomplish. One of the most important aspects about my brother-in-law is that he listens. He always has an open ear and is willing to give a different perspective on situations. Sometimes, that one quality is all someone needs.

I want to thank my brother-in-law for serving our country and making sacrifices for me while I could sleep better at night. Thank you for being a great family member and always wanting to sped time with my children and my family. I love you!

Quality male mentors are difficult to find, but they are out there. Perhaps if you are a male, you can take a minute to just listen to a student, or player. Most of the time boys need to learn how to handle themselves emotionally as well, and that can be very tough without another male role model in their life that can show them.

Colby Sharp discusses in his blog http://sharpread.wordpress.com/ about how there are increasingly less and less male protagonists that are STRONG male protagonists. Is this the trend we are going to see? Check out his blog!

To all of you positive male mentors out there, thank you!

Cheers!