Happy Valentines Day

Well, it’s a little after 4am and it’s still 40⁰ outside, which is pretty awesome. I am really looking forward to this week of warm weather. I’m just sitting in Howe trying to finish a homework assignment with a couple of people, and I thought I would take a break and blog J This past week both groups did a nice job leading the class. Bethany and I will be leading it this week, so watch out!

Most of the topics covered in this chapter can relate to things outside this class. The book asks six questions to identify what stage you are in the mentoring relationship: Who are you, why are we here, where are we going, how are you doing, what is working, what is not working, and are we there yet? These kinds of question can be used during any type of project or activity. They make you stop and evaluate your goals and how you plan on achieving them. This is important for next year too. Right now we should be asking ourselves all these questions before we lead our own classes next year. This is one of the purposes of 311, to define who we are as people, and why we want to help the freshman next year. Next fall we need to start over and evaluate our classes as the semester progresses.

Later on in the chapter the book talks about honesty, commitment, boundaries, confidentiality, and expectations. We need to keep all these in mind next year. We need to be honesty to our students. We are their peers and fellow classmates here at ISU. Don’t be afraid to tell them that a certain class will be hard, or that finals week is going to suck. Also, if you don’t know something, tell them you’re not sure and you will check into it. Don’t give them wrong information just because you don’t want them to think you don’t know something. When you’re honest to your students, and they know you are being honest, you build up a lot of trust with them.

Commitment goes both ways next year. If you say you will get something done or bring something to class, make sure you follow through with it. The same goes with the students. If they tell you they will have something done by the next class, they should. The students will follow by example here. If you show them that you are committed to the class and what we are doing for them, they are more likely to respond positively to it.

Boundaries need to be set up early on in the semester. You need to let them know that while we are their peers, we are still in charge. Also, boundaries need to be set for what kinds of topics will be discussed in the classroom. We are not there to talk about partying on the weekends, and they should know that it shouldn’t be discussed during class. They also need to understand that mentors and mentees can NOT date. If you separated yourself from them in that kind of social situation, this really shouldn’t be an issue.

Confidentiality is very important. If a student is having some personal problems, they should be able to come to you without the fear of everyone else finding out. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t confide in Allie or Silas though. If it is a serious enough issue, Allie and Silas will probably be able to help. Also, if a student comes to you with concerns, you should let your co-mentor know. They also should be aware of any issues going on.

Expectation need to be set up in the beginning of the semester, to ensure that the semester will go by smoothly. Let them know that you care how they are doing in their classes, and encourage them to strive for that A. We, as mentors, should always be keeping their best interest in mind. If you’re not sure what to do with a certain situation, GO ASK FOR HELP. You don’t need to solve all the problems by yourself.

I’m sorry if some of this seems a little incoherent, or it seems to jump. I am a little tired right now, and my brain is starting to slow down. I hope you all enjoy the weather, and I will see you on Tuesday.

Happy Valentines Day!!