Personal Narrative: My Mentoring

As a former mentor for ABC Learn, a non-profit agency providing additional literacy training to at-risk students, I was taught to take pride in building a strong relationship with the students and families who face numerous problems from social and economic integration.

He lost the aide that used to help him in his classes, which causes him a lot of anxiety because he no longer has that extra support in the classroom, so I will be giving him encouragement and support the best that I can. He still has very good grades even though his aide is no longer with him. I will also continue to assess his behaviors with the others that work with him such as the mental health specialist, his social skills teacher, and his emotional support teacher. These individuals know Aaron pretty well and are also able to understand his behaviors so they are the perfect people to talk to. They are able to see him in situations that cause him stress and talk with him about it. They can help me identify different behaviors they are seeing in him and what situations are causing him to feel anxious or more

Zach was probably the kid I connected the most with. He is going into fourth grade and he’s very bright! He got all As and Bs this year but shared with me that he needs to work on his behavior. He finishes his work a lot faster than the rest of the class and gets bored waiting for everyone else to catch up, so he starts talking. His third grade teacher would simply yell and make him sit out at recess the first half of the year. Then she caught on to what was happening. She started giving him tasks to do once he finished his work. Like running errands or going to help the librarian for a few minutes. She discovered a temporary fix that made Zach feel important. But he soon grew bored of the simple, repetitive

I had built this relationship with Brandon based upon implementing morning “check- ins” with him in a social and emotional learning aspect. I would make sure he was feeling okay before entering his classes and seeing what I could do to fix any problems that had happened that morning or could arise as the day goes on. Soon later this student was expelled due to continuous defiance and interfering with the safety with himself and with other students. I believe this could have been avoided if Brandon had received social and emotional learning experiences with other

I have began noticing distinct mood changes in Branson Reeve. On his bad days, he results to isolating himself in his room and playing video games. On his happier days, he is social and engages with the family. Throughout this year, I have discovered that he is developed a conventional level of moral thinking. He has been extremely concerned on what is "fair" and "not fair" among specific people and incidents. During this time, I guide him in a positive direction by informing him of my morals and beliefs. At the end of the year, his final progress report arrived, which showed all "A's" and "B's". Branson Reeve's teachers recommended that he takes advanced math and science his eighth grade year. In addition, his art teacher also commented that he has a knack for creativity. He has shown to be effective at managing his time and worked well independently. He is on track and prepared to be an eighth grader. Branson Reeve and his friends had been compiling multiple plans and ideas for their summer. However, they quickly ran out of those plans and became bored. I offered several fun suggestions, but he rejected them

Before I met with the student to do counseling sessions, I got a chance to see him, when he got into trouble for stealing supplies from his teacher. He cried and was very quiet, whenever he was asked about why he stole the supplies. I was nerve about doing sessions with him, because I was told that he was not much of an open person and he had a lot of non-verbal

When registration time rolled around in fall 2015, I only needed 12 hours to graduate in May; however, I knew I would be bored and yearned for a class that was meaningful and would end my college career on a positive note. When Dr. May mentioned the mentoring at-risk youth class I was hooked. Although he tried to talk everybody out of it, I knew that this was going to be a perfect fit for me. I have always enjoyed working with youth, whether it was through coaching cheerleading, volunteering in the local elementary school, or spending afternoons at a halfway house for abused and neglected children. By signing up for the mentoring program I was able to try something I had never tried before— using my love for youth to create a lifelong one-on-one

I have a 13 year old boy at school by the name of Cory and he is finishing up his 7th grade year. Cory is a very nice and respectable young man but all year has struggled to stay on task and turn work assignments in on time. Cory’s mother has to come to the school periodically to help him clean out his locker and at home clean out his back pack to find some of Cory’s missing assignments. Cory has been having a hard time in school with his peers and some of his teachers. His friends thinks that most of the time Cory is being annoying and his teachers complain that he cannot stay on task, does not listen and talks too much. The teachers have spoken to Cory’s parents on several occasions to try to come up with solutions to the problem but so far no success with any long term changes.

My client, whom I will call “Jay,” is an eight-year-old, African-American boy, who was referred to our agency by his mother who wanted him to get “any services he could get for free.” He has some emotional and behavioral deficiencies, and does not handle stress well. He has frequent outbursts in class, and reacts without thinking. He needs to work on his interaction skills, and develop strategies that will help him use his words instead of physical reactions when he is frustrated. Because his trigger is frustration, he needs to learn to respond in a positive manner to his peers and teachers. Also, “Jay” needs to learn how to think and act independently.

As a Venezuelan international student, sharing my voice in English has been a challenge. When I first came to the Community College of Aurora, fear clearly affected my learning process and social life. As I struggled with the language barrier, I received a call from the school to attend a Student Government meeting, where I first met Kathryn Sturtevant. Since then, she strived to discover and understand my professional and personal goals and has pushed me to overcome challenges that have shaped me as a better human being. As advisor of the Student Government Association in which I am Vice-President, Kathryn has incorporated a variety of trainings such as Strengths Quest and True Colors that are meaningfully aimed to improve and empower not only myself but

No, I didn’t interview my mentor teacher. The classroom is well-organized. Routines and rules are clear. Children know exactly what’s expected of them. I would prefer feedback while interacting with children. I did email Mrs. Joy and ask her. “What is the philosophy at your center”? The play is a child’s work. How do children learn best? Children learn through play. As children play, they learn to solve problems, to get along with others and to develop the fine gross motor skills needed to grow and learn. What are your guidance strategies? To insure the safety of each child and adult. Helping children feel important. And let children express and think through their problems and find their own solutions. Have you identified the children you

The mentorship program for the spring of 2018 was first sent out in the middle of January 2018. There I send out an email to my mentor the first week. I was then given a reply back from another mentor that I might have gotten the wrong mentor email. I quickly search up my correct mentor and send out the email the second week which is the end of January. My mentor did not reply back to me until the 12th of February. She mentioned that her schedule is variable at United Hospital and she is working that week at the hospital. During that week I have a few exams and thus I emailed her back saying that the following week will be a much better time.

My partner and I will let him have his space and not force him to talk to us. When he decides that he wants to talk to us we are happily ready to listen to what he has to say. Ezequiel seems to come home from school either cheerful and friendly or sullen and cranky. I attempt to interact with him when he is in a positive mood and give him space with only necessary communication when he is in a negative mood. I believe that these minor changes that Ezequiel is experiencing are normal reactions to being a teenager. He is not a disobedient child and cooperates with my partner and I quite

I started to set a plan and use all the anticipated data to study his case and work on his negative points trying to turn it into positive ones. I did some modification in my way of teaching inside the class to cope with the different personalities inside my class.