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Ladies in Leadership: A high school mentor group goes above and beyond

A mentor group at Newton County High School goes beyond the classroom, helping girls with social issues teenagers struggle with on a daily basis.

“Peer pressure is obviously one of the major topics and peer pressure comes in so many different forms.”

Patrice Tealer is a 9th grade Language Arts teacher at Newton County High School. She’s also a mother of two girls, making her passion for inspiring young women personal.

“I thought what better way to serve than to be a mentor and to try to help others outside of the classroom as well," she said.

After speaking with the school counselor, an inactive mentoring program called Ladies in Leadership was re-birthed. Four other teachers, who are called sponsors, also volunteer their time. The group of girls meet for an hour after school to discuss personal and social issues.

Renecia Davis, a 9th grader, shared how one of her friends committed suicide after being bullied last year.

“My friend was getting bullied and we tried but she never went to the counselor and we found out that she ended up in the hospital and then she died and it was really sad. I didn’t know how to process it because I talked to her the day before it happened,” Davis said. She added she's learned, “You are not alone and you should speak to anybody that can help you."

Tealer describes the top three forms of peer pressure she's seen as an educator.

“Peer pressure in the form of social media. I think that is one of their biggest downfalls because they are still learning, they are still growing and as a result they are learning and growing through their world which is social media. Peer pressure in the terms of friends, and then peer pressure from parents as well. I don’t think that the parents realize how much pressure they put on their children – kind of that helicopter parenting because they are in high school so they want to give them freedom and space but then at the same time you want to protect them."

The girls participate in a community service event once a month. Tealer said seeing a change in their attitudes is the ultimate sign of progress.

“It can be in the form of self-confidence. Young ladies who were shy but then who want to raise their hand, who want to participate. Community service, just seeing them involved. We have community service events every month and the numbers started small and now they are growing.”

Although it may seem cliché, the students are Tealer's inspiration.

“The same time I am a teacher and they are learning from me, what they don’t realize is that the process is reciprocal and I am constantly learning from them. So, every day I aspire to be better than I was the day before. Every day I aspire to be a role model. Knowing that I teach kids, knowing that I live in a digital world, knowing that I’ve taught over a thousand students in my lifetime, that’s power, because that’s influence, because you are literally affecting someone else’s life.”

Ladies in Leadership meets once a week on Tuesdays.

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