"Immediate necessity makes many things convenient, which if continued would grow into oppressions. Expedience and right are different things."--Jefferson

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Mentors to match our message...

 This is a presentation I put together with valuable thoughts about mentoring (I am good at plagiarizing others' thoughts...)

Mentors to Match our Message

Julie had some great thoughts on mentoring as well and how it fits into Vanguard:

Mentors:
Need to have a passion for their subject
Need to have a passion for their students
Ideally same mentor at apprentice and journeyman level
Individual mentoring (especially at journeyman level). Individual study plans..pushing some further when ready. For example some students have a learning style that they favor...reading, writing, digital media, drawing, etc. A wise mentor allows them to express themself often using that learning style but also inspires them to become proficient in all of the learning styles by encouraging growth in new areas.

Classics:
Oliver demille said a scholar looks like a youth reading classics and discussing them and writing about them (and I'll add applying them...)we should whenever possible have the student actually be engaged in reading a classic for their class preparation...both at journeyman level and in vanguard

Simplicity:
Simple curriculum (classics)...discussion and reading environments
Simple structure (individual mentoring plan)...this is the coaching environment
Simple reporting (individual mentoring time)..oral and written (this is the testing environment)

This may feel more complex in ways since it puts more squarely on the shoulders of the youth the responsibility to plan, prepare and choose along with the mentors guidance, but that is what scholar phase is...especially at 14-15.  Self directed scholars should be choosing their own study plans because they are engaging deeply in their own education rather than being led into their own education

Student:
Inspiration and ability to choose what they want to study deeply about...early scholar phase is not the time to fill in all the gaps, it is the time to learn study skills and habits and to change and grow and become as well as study deeply into things you are passionate about
 

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