During my late high school and college years I drove a Royal Crown Cola truck delivering RC Colas (no moon-pies!) in Beaufort County, South Carolina. My daily routes led me into the backwater areas of the lowcountry. Every Friday I sold drinks on Hilton Head Island. This was back in the days before the island was heavily developed. On the main road and tucked away on dirt roads beyond the paved road on the island were juke joints (small buildings with space for serving drinks, snacks, and dancing) that turned to life in the evenings and weekends for the locals. I was always amazed by the numerous drinks the locals purchased for use in their highly-valued social routines.

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At a recent consultation with a school I once again encountered the dilemma faced by school leaders who lack a background in the field of education. This school has been in existence for ten years, well past the “make it or break it” point for a private school. They were at a point in their institutional development where they had the luxury of taking a breath and addressing educational issues that had been long ignored in the flying-by-the-seat-of-our-pants phase. They had a new director and a new assistant director who were eager to see the school step up to a new level as an educational institution, but both lacked formal training in the field of education or educational administration.

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I continue to be fascinated with how people are enamored with the idea of mentoring. It seems to have a romantic hold on people’s imagination. I recently received an e-mail from a friend who is a college program director. She was asking some questions about a program for college students being created at her college. The program design looked pretty good, though it included a “mentoring” component. I sighed and cautioned my friend about the tendency to misapply “mentoring.” Much of what people do under the rubric of “mentoring” isn’t appropriate to their goals, aren’t applicable to their audience, ignores the significance of context, and isn’t designed to be mentoring at all.

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Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics is a favorite journal that, when I have opportunity, savor more than just read. It fills the lacuna of my formal cultural education.

The on-line version of Arion journal for Spring/Summer 2007 has an article by Camille Paglia, whom I always enjoy reading. While I do not always agree with her opinions, she is always thoughtful and intelligent, and rises above the din of contemporary critics and commentators.

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