What does it mean to be a mentor? What separates a mentor from a friend or tutor? While reading the first chapter of the Peer Mentor book I learned the difference between these two and many other things. The journey to becoming a mentor is not a short easy one, you have to be dedicated, hardworking, and willing to be able to change things about yourself that may not be the best. While reading the book I read that the first step to becoming a mentor is finding yourself and your strengths and weaknesses. Once you have identified this you can better prepare yourself to becoming a mentor by imporving your weaknesses. I also learned that when your a mentor you need to be able to find a happy medium of keeping your realationship not to formal and not to friendly. You do this so your trusted yet also respected. That way it helps you to be effective when helping your student or students
While in class we also discussed a little more about what it takes to become a mentor and the amount of effort you need to put in. When I got the syllabus I was a little surprised, I didnt realize that the amount of work we needed to put in was gonna be this big, but I am willing to take on the work load with a positive attitude and ready to become the best mentor I can be!
Cory- Your positive attitude is wonderful! I'm glad to see you're committing to maintaining a positive attitude and you've identified some of the areas you need to work on. I assure you that even if it seems like a lot of work now, the need for preparation will be clear to you next fall when you're in the role!
ReplyDeleteI was also suprised when I first saw the syllabus and the amount of things and detail that were in it, but I'm ok with that. I like your positive attitude towards this as well.
ReplyDeleteCory --
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I too had to deal with separating the friendship I had with my mentees from my professional relationship with them. It is difficult, but as long as you set the standard from the beginning that you are in charge and then let the friendship follow afterward, I'm sure you'll have great results. The syllabus does look a bit lengthy, but it's really not as bad as it looks on paper. Keep up the positive attitude!
I also was also surprised when I first saw the syllabus and how lengthy it was but I am sure it wont be that bad once the semester gets going!!
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