Background Checks for MMSD
Every year mentors need to fill out the background form with MMSD. You should have done this when you first became a mentor. Please fill this out by mid-September. Your coaches will follow up with you.
Weekly Training Resource
This week’s training resource is the the second chapter, about practicing cultural humility, of a training called Becoming a Better Mentor.
How does this help me in my mentoring relationship? “How do your experiences and social identities influence your assumptions about your mentee and your interactions with them? Engaging in this critical self-reflection may bring up uncomfortable feelings, such as anger, shame, guilt, fear, or sadness. These feelings are a normal part of this self-reflection process around social identity, oppression, and privilege, and it is important that you explore these feelings further and sit with them. We suggest that you engage in this self-reflection before, during, and after your mentoring relationship takes place. By engaging in this critical self-reflection, you will be ready and more open to learning about your mentee’s experiences.”
I also found the end of the chapter very helpful – there were several questions for self reflection as well as questions about your mentoring relationship.
Don’t forget to fill out the response form after completing each training.
Challenge for the Week
For August, the challenges will center around the theme of Friendship. This week’s challenge is to talk to your mentee about what it means to be a good friend. Some things that make a good friend are:
- Remembering important things (birthdays, accomplishments, etc.)
- Being reliable
- Doing kind things for one another and using kind language
- Helping out when a friend is sad or has a problem
- Spending time together
- Having fun with one another
A few ways you could teach your mentee about what it means to be a good friend are by role playing, setting a good example, reading books about friendship or watching movies about friendship. As always, talk, question, listen, challenge and encourage your mentee while participating in any activity and have fun!
Tip of the Week
Your mentor peers and your coach aren’t just meant to support you once per month. Have you swapped phone numbers and/or emails with the other mentors in your group? If not, go for it and then make an effort to reach out when you are faced with a challenge, need a little encouragement or want to share an accomplishment. Also, don’t forget how valuable your advice is to other mentors in your group! Take the opportunity to share about your experiences and offer yourself as a resource. You are not meant to mentor alone and you certainly aren’t meant to keep all of the wonderful things you’re doing a secret. What you do matters, the questions you have matter and the advice you can offer matters.
We love seeing photos of you and your mentee spending time together! Please share them with us via your coach or using the hashtag #intentionalmentoringmadison
Mentor Coaching Group Meeting Dates:
VAL: Monday, September 26th 6:30 – 7:30pm val@intentionalmentoringmadison.org
RYAN: Monday, August 29th 5:30 – 6:30pm Ryan@intentionalmentoringmadison.org
If you have a change in personal information (phone/address/email) please respond to this email or notify your mentor coach ASAP.
All the best,
Intentional Mentoring