Core and crust of leadership

The Core and Crust of Leadership is an excellent short article about the balance between strengthening the "core" (or character) of a person verses the "crust" (more technical skills):
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/print/705368535/The-core-and-the-crust-of-leadership.html

Proposed Code of Honor for Mentors

MENTOR'S CODE OF HONOR

No student will be pressured or even asked to accept any mentor’s core faith. We are going to create an environment where faith in God and faith in Christ are openly discussed and linked to personal education and mission. No one will feel that they need to be apologetic about their belief.

We will strive to provide:

outside positive influences; an inspiring peer environment allowing them to feel confidence in themselves; caring mentors; and opportunities to grow in faith and testimony.

We seek to:

-allow all participants to feel free to develop uniquely;

-challenge them to develop their personal inner strength, and encourage them to strengthen their faith in Christ as we show connections between personal beliefs/religion and education;

-encourage an increased sense of responsibility for own actions in their home and lives

(especially with regards to personal work ethic);

-provide a setting free of demeaning or harmful criticism.

The youth and leaders in this group will adhere to high moral standards, dress modestly, use clean language, and show respect towards mentors, visiting instructors and each other.

Vanguard Mission Statement

Mission:

The mission of this group is to empower the youth with a sense of personal mission
and enable them to move forward with that mission by:
(1) Encouraging faith in God as their ultimate mentor
and source of truth through the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ
(2) Helping them find value in their own unique mission and introduce the
to various communication styles so that they may communicate that mission to the world
(3) Helping them come face-to-face with greatness as they study the world,

history, people, and science in order to to prepare them to become future leaders* in society.
(4) Creating an environment of respect, decency, trust, and confidence
(5) Teaching service-oriented leadership
*Leader: someone qualified to lead others in the home, community or world

Proposed Mission statement for youth

MISSION STATEMENT

We will engage in a respectful and inspiring peer environment that will not only help us grow in our faith, but will help us feel free to develop our unique strengths

as well as a passion for learning that will allow us to better ourselves, our families, our communities, and, ultimately, the world.

We, the Vanguard Youth, accept the challenge to move forward in our

pursuit of right and truth.

Mentoring with flair

When working with youth,  (or in any teaching environment) there are things that I believe are important to being successful:
1) doing what you love and being passionate about it-
“A leader recognizes that his attitude determines his altitude.  He knows full well that nothing is as contagious as enthusiasm, unless it is a lack of enthusiasm.  He carries others to accomplishment through the sheer strength of his overwhelming desire to bring success to his assignment.  The leader who gets the job done is one who inspires confidence, who motivates action, and who generates enthusiasm.  You will ever recognize his work—for it will be well done.”   --Thomas S. Monson, “Be Your Best Self” p. 118

2) loving the youth-
Joseph Smith: "When persons manifest the least kindness and love to me, O what power it has over my mind, while the opposite course has a tendency to harrow up all the harsh feelings and depress the human mind." (Daughters of My Kingdom, pg 23)

3) don't be afraid to be flamboyant (it can be a learned behavior to be silly again :)...)-I listened to a talk by Andrew Groft from the 2007 Forum, where he said that a key to great mentoring is to not be afraid to be human in front of the youth, make mistakes, and even do something crazy every once in a while.  It helps let the youth's guard down, and makes you more approachable and real to them.  I had learned very early how to keep myself guarded and controlled, so when I first heard this, I was skeptical..."Surely, I am not one of those type of teachers.  I just couldn't do that!"  Yet, I tried it.  I came out, draped in silks during a class on Pythagoras, that famous flamboyant mathematician.  I cannot tell you how foolish I felt!  However, you could see the youth, first shocked, then amused, then relaxed...all because I had a few moments of being "weird" in front of them.  
I have seen since then how much easier it is for them to connect with me, knowing that I will honestly admit my mistakes in front of them, not pretend to know more than I do (most of the time :)...), and be a little silly every once in a while.

4) be with them--I cannot over-emphasize the importance of this in being a meaningful mentor.  Go to the activities outside of class with them.  Get down on the floor and play the games with them.  Come with your own inspirements.  Stand around and talk to them during lunch.  Avoid the adult tendency to gravitate to other adults.  Sit by them, learn with them, share with them, play with them,...be near them, and it will be easier for them to come to you, connect with you, and trust you.  Not only that, it is in those small, unplanned moments that you can see little glimpses into their souls and personalities that are difficult to gain in class time.
Of course, you must moderate this interaction with other responsibilities, but make the most of the time you are with them to be with them.

Attention Span considerations

Much is said about catering to the limited attention span of youth.  However, how powerful would it be if we took measures to help expand the attention span of youth?  Consider the following incredible article on this subject by Oliver DeMille:

http://www.tjedonline.com/free-article.php?id=166

Vanguard Mission Statement--How to!

The mission of this group is to empower the youth with a sense of personal mission and enable them to move forward with that mission by:


(1)  Encouraging faith in God as their ultimate mentor and source of truth through the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ:

I believe that a person must have a sense of obligation to a purpose or person higher than themselves to truly fulfill a meaningful mission.

I also believe that gaining intelligence is not gaining IQ, but that intelligence is, rather, "the application of what we know for righteousness" or truth. (Quote from David Bednar) I believe that the pathway to true intelligence involves the acquiring and applying/understanding truth and then using that truth to impact the world around us.

I believe that the Holy Ghost is the testator to all truth and will not only confirm truth in a person, but will enable and expand the mind of the earnest seeker of truth to gain more truth.

(2) Helping them find value in their own unique mission and introduce them to various communication styles so that they may communicate that mission to the world:
There are different stages in coming to a sense of mission, that can be assisted or facilitated through the right environment.
This time of a youth's life is also golden for developing tools with which they can express that mission.
Tools to help expand concept of mission

Great "kid's" books--I find I am never too old for a book with a good message...these are great for devotionals or just perspective grabbers:

 "The Treasure" by Uri Shulevitz --trusting inspiration and personalized direction

"The Happy Dromedary"--finding the tools you need, despite what other's may think
"The Apple-Pip Princess"--doing what you can with what you have, with miraculous results
"Leo the Late Bloomer" By Robert Kraus--everyone blooms in their own good time :)
"Just the way you are" by Max Lucado--sometimes what God needs for us to accomplish our mission may look different from what we think we need.

THE OUTCAST
By Adam Hall

A man walked into a room, and all who were there fell completely silent. He wore no crown of gold and bore no rank, but all who knew him knew him as their leader.

He had power of sight and sound; through fire, water, and air he learned. The first two very different from each other, but the last one feeds and destroys them both, working together to find knowledge of truth, and of evil.

He was raised by evil but chose to do good.

He was told vicious lies but chose to find truth.

He deserted the evil and entered the good.

He entered a quest to find only truth but gained much more. He gained friendships only imagined before, and gained knowledge and skills that were dreamed of by all.

This man was an outcast at first, hated by everyone who knew or saw him.

He was labeled as a trouble maker, a member of the evil.

Until one man saw in him free will, free will to do good, not evil. This man helped him on his way, became his first true friend as some might say. He guided him through trials and tasks, helping him choose but not making the choice.

Until the day when finally, the outcast had to go on alone, to find for himself the truth of all his questions. When everything had ended, he knew much more than he had already known.

And when he walked once more across the land, he was known no more as an outcast, but as a leader - strong, bold, and truthful. A leader but for good and not for ill.

A man walked into a room, and all who were there fell deadly silent. He wore no crown of gold and bore no rank, but at the end of the day, all who looked upon him wept.

A man who was evil had decided to find good and became an outcast, then ended his quest by becoming a leader. He had been chosen.

That had been his mission, and he had done it well.

--Adam the Bowhunter

Scriptural references/People:
Moses (Bible and Book of Mormon)
Nephi (1 Ne. 3:7--Book of Mormon)
Abinadi: "It matters not what man can do" Abinadi vs. Army :)
(Mosiah 13:1-7, Moses-like)
Doctrine and Covenants 88:76-80 (LDS Scripture)

(3) Helping them come face-to-face with greatness as they study the world, history, people, and science, to prepare them to become future leaders in society: Hence, the class structure and lenses.

(4)  Creating an environment of respect, decency, trust and confidence:

Creating an environment of respect, decency, trust and confidence is essential to enabling a youth to share what they have learned throughout the week and vocally participate enough to create a truly synergistic environment.

(5) Teaching service-oriented leadership
Service Oriented Leadership is an essential aspect of preparing a youth to use their mission to serve... which is truly the only way to completely fulfill a mission--by putting it into practice!  The missions we are given are never wholly for ourselves, and the youth need to know that.  Try to bring in relevance of personal missions to service opportunities as much as possible.

Young adulthood can be a very selfish time, which is constricting to their self-esteem and confidence. When they are engaged in meaningful service, youth find value in others and learn to appreciate diversity, find strength in themselves as they do things that aren't for immediate gratification, and realize what they have to be grateful for.

The service project opportunities, service in leadership positions within the group, and teaching moments are all great ways to re-inforce this concept.