By Cecily Barnes
Mark Mallinson, 35, project manager and senior research engineer for NASA, spends two days a month talking to Argonaut students about physics and engineering. Argonaut is Mallinson's alma mater, and his bimonthly visits are part of a volunteer mentorship program run by the district Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) Coordinator Terri Raynaud.
For the past three years, Saratoga Union School District has recruited mentors from the professional community to share their expertise with small groups of interested students.
"Usually someone recommends a child because they have a very high interest in an area, and we feel that we can really encourage them to pursue that," says Raynaud, emphasizing that all students are eligible for the GATE program.
The district is always in need of more volunteer mentors, says Raynaud. Areas of interest include chess, art, writing, math, science and technology. Those who have committed to be mentors say the experience has been extremely rewarding.
"It's really very important that children in America get the kind of education they should be getting. I really stretch their little brains," said volunteer mentor Mallinson. "I teach them college-level physics and engineering brought down to a level that they can understand. I deal primarily with concepts, not formulas."
According to Mallinson, Argonaut students have responded enthusiastically to his lectures and labs.
"We have a very successful lecture lab that uses chocolate chip cookies," said Mallinson. "But probably my favorite lab and lecture is on aerodynamics, when I teach them about fluid flow, the different kinds of air pressure and how an airplane wave makes an airplane fly. Most adults don't even know what makes an airplane fly."
The schools mold their schedules to accommodate various mentors.
"We have a couple of mentors that come in the morning before school, some that come after school and some during lunch," said Raynaud.
Those interested in being a mentor can contact Terri Raynaud at 867-3424, extension 206.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, December 18, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved