Over the last two years of After School Academy, I have learned a great deal about supporting and relating to our Scholars. I have learned to really listen to scholars and to take time to find out what’s happening in their world. I have learned how important it is to give them a voice and to collaborate with them. I have learned that it isn’t always easy or fun to mentor scholars, but it’s needed for them to grow. What I love most about working with our scholars is that they allow me to connect to the part of me that still loves being a child. Sharing in moments of banter with Hakeem, working with Avery through his tantrums, or watching Jason successfully implement the algorithm for solving a rubrics cube in fifteen minutes are all opportunities to connect with the scholars and learn. In all the business of Center, making time to share with them my connection to being their age and identifying with their successes and struggles is challenging, but necessary for them, and for me.
Supporting the mentors has been a personal learning experience, but one that has allowed me to see things from a broader perspective. Meeting people from all walks of life and learning to see the things from, and respecting their perspectives has been key to developing a culture at Center. The most impactful thing I have learned at Higher Achievement is the concept of task, relationship, and task. This idea is grounded by the belief that if you take care of the person that they will take care of the task. It has been my goal that Center is a place where mentors can come and contribute not only in relation to being a support for their scholars, but also to be a part of larger communities where they can explore their interests further and grow. The seed of this idea was planted with Ms. Heather’s pen pals program last year, and further instituted with Ms. Kate’s Career Fair. To see mentors incorporate areas of their personal lives into their mentoring sessions and to be more engaged at Center are great indicators of the kind of culture I want to see at Center. Moreover, watching returning mentors step forward and lead our community, while newer mentors grow and learn has been so inspiring. All of your needs for growth, engagement, support and development have facilitated opportunities for me to improve as well. Thank you all for helping me grow.
This year has had its ups and downs; it hasn’t been perfect, but it has been full of inspirational moments. Thank you all for the wonderful moments and memories and for allowing me to get to know and serve all of you.
Showing posts with label Mentor Perspective. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mentor Perspective. Show all posts
Friday, May 8, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Mentor Perspective
Before arriving at Higher Achievement, I wasn’t sure what to expect from my students or myself. I questioned myself constantly, saying “ do you know what your doing, How are you going to mentor people, will they like you?” I had dreams of meeting smaller versions of myself when I was in 7th grade. The first day of center, those dreams turned into nightmares. Being completely overwhelmed by loud, excited, and unfocused kids was transforming from dream to reality. One thing didn’t change though, the need for people like me to help kids. I soon realized that the kids I was assigned would need all the care and love I could possibly muster. Within 30 minutes my fears evaporated and my confidence shined through to inform the kids I was there. Although this moment came and went, the feeling of confidence is one I would have to battle with. Not knowing whether or not your getting through to a child is a torture on the mentor. It weighed heavily on me because I aspire to become a teacher one day. I wanted nothing but the kids to understand and respect me as I treated them. I also want my kids to become scholars in only a few weeks. When I wasn’t sure of my effectiveness I again began to doubt my skills. But with some skill building seminars and personal conversations with Higher Achievement staff, I was able to rebound and get stronger. Mr. Sam instructed me to take an offensive approach and set a standard for my sessions. He also gave me the confidence to stand behind the check system even when it seems ineffective. Given the right tools anyone can improve the quality of someone else’s life.
Along with confidence, preparation is one of the biggest keys to success. I made the large mistake of not taking the lessons seriously. The students didn’t know I wasn’t prepared, but I knew. That effected my performance when it came to gong beyond what the paper read. To truly make an impact, you must know your material. Being comfortable in your role as leader is important. And to do that, you have to know what your talking about. I realized the difference when I observed that the students retained more information when I was able to expound on it. It’s important we go into battle with the weapons.
Although the two previous tools are important, I cant forget the relationship building. The motto I remember from the HAP training is “RTR”. Relationship, task, relationship. That’s what we have to remember, what I have to remember. The kids I’ve mentored have worked their ways into my personal life. More than just giving back to the community, they’ve become little brothers and sisters to me. That’s not to say I don’t want to get up and walk out, or not show up sometimes. Cause I do, but I don’t allow myself to give up on kids that I can help. By being here more times than not, my group has established a good relationship with our kids. But we don’t need to look alike or speak the same way to understand each other. Patience, concern, humility, courage, and perseverance will always build a better relationship than superficial things, that make people to cling to those, instead of each other. We all have the power and determination to affect a child’s life, so let’s go do that.
By Mr. Hassan
Along with confidence, preparation is one of the biggest keys to success. I made the large mistake of not taking the lessons seriously. The students didn’t know I wasn’t prepared, but I knew. That effected my performance when it came to gong beyond what the paper read. To truly make an impact, you must know your material. Being comfortable in your role as leader is important. And to do that, you have to know what your talking about. I realized the difference when I observed that the students retained more information when I was able to expound on it. It’s important we go into battle with the weapons.
Although the two previous tools are important, I cant forget the relationship building. The motto I remember from the HAP training is “RTR”. Relationship, task, relationship. That’s what we have to remember, what I have to remember. The kids I’ve mentored have worked their ways into my personal life. More than just giving back to the community, they’ve become little brothers and sisters to me. That’s not to say I don’t want to get up and walk out, or not show up sometimes. Cause I do, but I don’t allow myself to give up on kids that I can help. By being here more times than not, my group has established a good relationship with our kids. But we don’t need to look alike or speak the same way to understand each other. Patience, concern, humility, courage, and perseverance will always build a better relationship than superficial things, that make people to cling to those, instead of each other. We all have the power and determination to affect a child’s life, so let’s go do that.
By Mr. Hassan
Friday, March 6, 2009
Mentor Perspective
My perspective for this week has been shaped by a scholar’s reaction to a change in the size of his mentoring group. This brought new challenges during our session that took precious time to handle.
On Tuesday, Keyon and I were the only two individuals partaking in our usual math session. I had grown accustom to teaching in a certain way based on our group including Keyon and Diamond. In fact, without Diamond present I assumed things would go more smoothly since I could focus my teaching on one person; however, this was certainly not the case.
As we moved through the lesson, Keyon started to lose patience and pay less attention to my teaching. I didn’t know why this was happening, but it was. Things got so bad half-way through the lesson that I had to stop and think about how to change the path we were on. I asked him if he wanted to take a five minute break and he agreed.
At this point, I realized that our lessons go well when Diamond is present for two reasons: the group has more of a social dynamic, and competitiveness is present between the two scholars. Both of these features help them pay better attention. On normal days, Keyon, Diamond and I joke and socialize about relevant events in our lives in between teaching points, and this keeps the group focused. This may sound contradictory but it prevents scholars from getting restless. Our group also has small competitions to see who can solve math problems quickest, or most creatively. These features help to ensure that both scholars focus on the key points in the lesson.
As we started up again, I made an effort to compensate for Diamond’s absence and talk to Keyon more frequently and joke around a little more. I then introduced a competition between him and myself, structured in a way that created a level playing field and really brought out his competitive nature. Both steps helped get us through the lesson, but I’m still surprised at how such a seemingly insignificant change to the session could cause the situation it did.
It’s impossible to predict which changes to your group/session/etc. may negatively impact a scholar’s reaction to the lesson you are teaching; however, now I will be more aware that such problems can crop up and better able to react quickly the next time something similar to this happens.
By Mr. Gary Brooks
On Tuesday, Keyon and I were the only two individuals partaking in our usual math session. I had grown accustom to teaching in a certain way based on our group including Keyon and Diamond. In fact, without Diamond present I assumed things would go more smoothly since I could focus my teaching on one person; however, this was certainly not the case.
As we moved through the lesson, Keyon started to lose patience and pay less attention to my teaching. I didn’t know why this was happening, but it was. Things got so bad half-way through the lesson that I had to stop and think about how to change the path we were on. I asked him if he wanted to take a five minute break and he agreed.
At this point, I realized that our lessons go well when Diamond is present for two reasons: the group has more of a social dynamic, and competitiveness is present between the two scholars. Both of these features help them pay better attention. On normal days, Keyon, Diamond and I joke and socialize about relevant events in our lives in between teaching points, and this keeps the group focused. This may sound contradictory but it prevents scholars from getting restless. Our group also has small competitions to see who can solve math problems quickest, or most creatively. These features help to ensure that both scholars focus on the key points in the lesson.
As we started up again, I made an effort to compensate for Diamond’s absence and talk to Keyon more frequently and joke around a little more. I then introduced a competition between him and myself, structured in a way that created a level playing field and really brought out his competitive nature. Both steps helped get us through the lesson, but I’m still surprised at how such a seemingly insignificant change to the session could cause the situation it did.
It’s impossible to predict which changes to your group/session/etc. may negatively impact a scholar’s reaction to the lesson you are teaching; however, now I will be more aware that such problems can crop up and better able to react quickly the next time something similar to this happens.
By Mr. Gary Brooks
Friday, February 6, 2009
Mentor Perspective
Being a mentor is a rewarding experience. The scholars’ desire to know more, do better in school, and to carve out a brighter future for themselves is fuel enough to get me at Center by 6 in the evening even after a long exhausting day at work. It is amazing to see scholars’ positive and bright attitudes when I know that many of them live in tough situations -- they provide me a deep insight into the promise they see within themselves despite the economic or social setbacks they face. It also makes me appreciate the opportunities I have had growing up and the opportunities afforded to me now as an adult.
But it is hard work. There is already a lot of work even before I set foot at center: download the evening’s literature lesson, review it, understand it, and prepare for it. And then during mentoring sessions, I need to be diligent and keep the scholars focused. I manage behavior, attention, and interaction among four spirited and bright young minds that are easily distracted by a side remark. Afterwards, there is deep reflection required to assess what they learned and what skills they acquired. When one adds up the time and energy expended to go through this process, it is more than 2 hours of academic mentoring work. But I go home inspired and fulfilled because on a nightly basis, I see my scholars grow and develop into fine young men. Each mentoring night, they become more confident and more diligent than the previous week.
The heart of Higher Achievement’s mission didn’t become real to me until after I started mentoring at the Ward 6 Achievement Center. I only have been Higher Achievement’s CEO for about four months when I began mentoring Nile, Ciara, and Lamonte in October 2006. Now, added to that group are Avery and Linstrum. And after two years, it often pains me to think that they will be off to high school after this summer. They have already given me much more than I can ever provide to them – on a daily basis they give me hope that there is a generation coming forward better prepared to address the challenges we face as a community. My mentoring them also provides me with the experience and context that makes me bolder in my effort to make Higher Achievement a stronger and a more viable organization. It is how my mentees are growing to become fine young citizens that tells me that Higher Achievement does have a niche in ensuring that all students have the opportunity to realize their full potential.
-Mr. Richard
But it is hard work. There is already a lot of work even before I set foot at center: download the evening’s literature lesson, review it, understand it, and prepare for it. And then during mentoring sessions, I need to be diligent and keep the scholars focused. I manage behavior, attention, and interaction among four spirited and bright young minds that are easily distracted by a side remark. Afterwards, there is deep reflection required to assess what they learned and what skills they acquired. When one adds up the time and energy expended to go through this process, it is more than 2 hours of academic mentoring work. But I go home inspired and fulfilled because on a nightly basis, I see my scholars grow and develop into fine young men. Each mentoring night, they become more confident and more diligent than the previous week.
The heart of Higher Achievement’s mission didn’t become real to me until after I started mentoring at the Ward 6 Achievement Center. I only have been Higher Achievement’s CEO for about four months when I began mentoring Nile, Ciara, and Lamonte in October 2006. Now, added to that group are Avery and Linstrum. And after two years, it often pains me to think that they will be off to high school after this summer. They have already given me much more than I can ever provide to them – on a daily basis they give me hope that there is a generation coming forward better prepared to address the challenges we face as a community. My mentoring them also provides me with the experience and context that makes me bolder in my effort to make Higher Achievement a stronger and a more viable organization. It is how my mentees are growing to become fine young citizens that tells me that Higher Achievement does have a niche in ensuring that all students have the opportunity to realize their full potential.
-Mr. Richard
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