BAM!

I was tempted to search for a photo of Emeril Lagasse since my mentee has decided to "kick things up a notch" but this image is much more appropriate.


She feels comfortable enough with what we had accomplished so far that she doesn't want to continue practicing it, well, let me rephrase that. She doesn't feel the need for me to be close by to hold her hand. She'd like to move on to new skills (which we hadn't anticipated when we originally planned our sessions) and so we are going to take a close look at a grant she wrote earlier this school year.

Being a creamics teacher, she wanted to introduce her students to the art of raku and wrote a grant in order to be able to furnish the materials for this curriculum unit. We sat down and looked at the standards as she had listed them for the activities that were planned. She had added in some tech components but they were very vague. Also, some perhaps were not basic enough for the first baby steps. We decided on one tech component that could be accomplished this term (which will be rather elaborate if students opt to do the full audio-visual route with a powerpoint). Closer review of the grant will be done through the end of the year (yes, we're meeting beyond the required mentor/mentee time).

Last of all, many thanks to Cory Scott for this wonderful image of a raku firing. Wikimedia Commons is an exceptional site for royalty-free images (so long as you abide by fair use policies and attribute things correctly).

Look at This Photograph...

For this session, SS and I wanted to start putting together her webpage. It was storyboarding time and, while it was a very productive session, we really didn't accomplish what we had set out to do. It was a time to flesh out the site but we became bogged down in details.

The main thought was to create the 'floor plan' for her web pages. We have a gallery at the school and it would be lovely to have something online that would mirror that. However, as we started working, we found ourselves getting distracted by the application Photoshop Elements. SS began cropping photos, adding text, and taught ME quite a bit about this photo editing program. We were a good team; when she was stuck with something, I would hit the help menu and try to figure a way through it. It was interesting to see how far we came. Having the luxury of 'studentless' time and a non-admin agenda, we were very productive.

She felt that it was a good session because she discovered some useful shortcuts in the program that she had been using somewhat routinely up to this point. Having a new set of eyes helped her out in this case. While whe was cropping, I was reading up on how the program works. While I wasn't really answering her questions (because she didn't ask any), I was trying to anticipate her needs. We had one moment of pure genius when I found a menu that was more intuitive for her style than the one that she was currently using. I've never used a photo editing program and it was very interesting to watch her at work. It gave me ideas for what I want to do this summer....with all the free time that I'll have since I'll be done with iMet! ;)

For our next session, she will have finished editing her pictures and we will begin 'furnishing' the web page. P.S. I found an interesting site with lots of mentoring resources: Free Management Library.

"Mentoring Saves Lives"

Interestingly enough, this weekend's Parade magazine has an article on mentoring. It's written about a 7-year relationship between an adult and a child/teen. The man chose to do it because of what he could give to the child and was surprised at what he received in return. Both were nourished by the relationship. What resonated with me was the mention of trust. I truly believe that this is what makes the difference; without trust you can't have the reciprocity that is needed for mentoring. Read the article for yourself.

Mamma Mia! Mentor Mia!

I honestly have to say that I believe that scheduling this course the same semester as our culminating project is cruel and unusual. I feel that I have such a split focus. Of course, it doesn't help that my job description has changed this semester as well; I am now teaching French 2/3 (picking up someone else's slack) and have picked up some other duties (because no good deed goes unpunished). But enough about me, more about my new mentee.

She's a veteran teacher who is well-respected in the district. I think the world of her and am glad of the opportunity to work more closely with her. She wants to add content to her web page which will showcase student work and doesn't feel confident doing it on her own. Finding ways to encourage her students and broaden their horizons is always uppermost in her lessons. She never talks down to her students either. She always treats them with respect, even when she disciplines them. I find that respect goes a LONG way in creating a relationship with your students. Love 'em or hate 'em, when you treat them respectfully, they'll generally respond positively (though not necessarily eagerly) to you. Even in situations that are going south fast will it help to reduce the residual damage.

What I'm enjoying about this is that it provides an opportunity to discuss teaching philosophies without having a district agenda pushing us along, like our 'collaboration Thursdays.' SS is very 'hands on' as a student and this fits in well with my own philosophy of teaching. She hasn't expressed any concerns; nothing ventured, nothing gained in her mind. She's looking forward to creating her product.

Changing Horses....

...shouldn't be done mid-stream. At least I did it close to the riverbank. My original mentee decided against continuing with the program.  This showed me something interesting after all; while I was so focused on what I was going to get out of the program since it's reciprocal, I never stopped to consider that the mentee might not be so willing to HAVE a reciprocal relationship. In this case, my original bloke was more interested in receiving than giving (I guess the questions from the first session turned him off).

Happily, I found someone else very quickly who is quite happy to contribute to this. I will keep you posted.