TOPIC Should schools create mixed-age mentoring programs?

KEY WORDS TO NOTICE COMMUNITY, CONFIDENCE, RELIABILITY, RESPONSIBILITY, EVIDENCE

QUICK READ Mentoring needs training and supervision to work well. Pairings may fail if personalities and needs do not match. Supporters raise real benefits, but the case against remains stronger.

OPENING REMARK The stronger position is no: schools create mixed-age mentoring programs should not become the default approach. A persuasive argument should weigh practical effects as well as ideals, and on balance this position offers the sounder path.

POINT 1 First, mentoring needs training and supervision to work well. This point matters because it shows the immediate effect on students, families, or institutions rather than relying on vague promises. That is useful EVIDENCE for the overall ARGUMENT.

POINT 2 Second, pairings may fail if personalities and needs do not match. The REASONING becomes stronger when we ask who benefits, who carries the cost, and what kind of school or society this decision would encourage. In other words, this choice shapes more than one small part of daily life.

POINT 3 Third, teachers and counsellors already provide support in more reliable ways. A persuasive case grows stronger when one point leads naturally to a wider effect. That wider effect helps explain why the position deserves support.

COUNTERARGUMENT A serious COUNTERARGUMENT is that older students can guide younger ones through school routines. That objection should not be dismissed. However, it does not outweigh the stronger case once fairness, evidence, and long-term consequences are considered together.

STRONG CLOSING REMARK Overall, the negative case is stronger because caution, fairness, and real-world limits matter as much as good intentions.