Archive for the ‘Mentoring’ Category

All About Juvenile Mentoring Programs

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

When you think about Mentoring, what do you think of first? Which aspects of Mentoring are important, which are essential, and which ones can you take or leave? You be the judge.

Guiding young people toward a better life can be a rewarding experience, but it can be a difficult and harrowing experience as well. Many young persons are not necessarily open to being guided, and will often protest that they are shackled and constrained especially when someone insists on being the wiser being over them. Young persons need to be approached in a certain manner, and with a certain mien and creativity that should not go overboard into cuteness or cheesy lines. In other words, young persons need to know that they have someone to talk to, and in the process, they can still be guided.

It is in this league that juvenile mentoring programs operate. The process of mentoring involves matching mentors to a suitable younger person who need an adult who is responsible and caring. The adult mentors that participate in juvenile mentoring programs are usually not related to the teen or the child in question; this is because relatives are not often perceived with trust, especially where children of broken homes or abusive parents are concerned. The adult mentors that participate in juvenile mentoring programs are also usually volunteers who work through a program that is sponsored by the local community; a local school or community college; or the local church or religious group.

The mentoring process may be either formal or informal. In formal mentoring, the juvenile mentoring program has certain criteria to match mentors to their protégés, and these criteria are determined by social service workers, social psychologists, psychiatrists, and other experts who are working with the local community or the state. Formal mentoring might even involve a regimented schedule around which the mentoring will progress, where the mentor will be provided modules in order to guide the protégés or youth that are assigned to them.

I trust that what you’ve read so far has been informative. The following section should go a long way toward clearing up any uncertainty that may remain.

Informal mentoring can also be done in a juvenile mentoring program. In this case, the criteria are not as stringent, and there are no set deadlines or schedules around which the mentoring will operate. Instead, the mentor will simply aim to educate and encourage the mentee, protégé, or youth to whom he or she is assigned. In some cases, there may be more than one mentee to a mentor, and it is these support groups that likewise help each other succeed.

There are many juvenile mentoring programs that are available around the world. For instance, there are after-school programs in which youth leaders help younger persons succeed in the world by teaching them different skills, knowledge, and even arts and crafts that are meant to impart independence and creativity. Such organizations might include the local 4-H or FFA. There are also programs in which young delinquents are assigned to mentors who will help them get a better education. Moreover, there are programs in which at-risk youth, such as those in inner cities or in the ghettos, are helped by mentors who will help them overcome their personal limitations and thus succeed in life.

Some juvenile mentoring programs might include the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, which helps youth do better through the help of older teens or young adults. There are still many other juvenile mentoring programs that are being developed, especially now that there are also many different kinds of dangers to which youth may fall into. Such dangers may include drugs, smoking, pornography, and even the Internet, where children may be preyed upon if they are not wise and careful enough.

If you want to find out more about juvenile mentoring programs, look online for programs that may either help you as a mentee, or train you as a mentor. You too, can help the younger generation do better in the years to come.

That’s the latest from the Mentoring authorities. Once you’re familiar with these ideas, you’ll be ready to move to the next level.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit my latest acquisition: Adsense Sites and make sure to download the free adsense sites package!

Mentoring Nurses as a way of Empowerment

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

Mentoring provides an opportunity for a nurse to develop their careers and an opportunity to aim for leadership positions. A mentor should be able to train and guide a newbie nurse to better understand the importance of his or her profession. Mentors should be able to give support, reinforcement to motivate and to increase the job satisfaction rate of a mentee-nurse. Mentoring is a helpful method in the recruitment and retaining staff members in a medical institution for the citizen of the community.

Mentoring is?

? A relationship that is professional and based on free will.
? A relationship that has communal respect and goals.
? A relationship that is beneficial to individuals involved.

The two types of mentoring are?

? Formal: a peer kind of mentor-mentee relationship.
? Informal: mentor-mentee relationship that is structured and created at a general practice.

Mentoring relationships needs?

? Trust
? Respect
? Commitment
? Confidentiality
? Accessibility
? Flexibility

The crucial facets of a mentoring relationship are?

? Objectives and goals.
? Shared networks and resources.
? Time and process for evaluation.

Mentors may assists mentees by?

I trust that what you’ve read so far has been informative. The following section should go a long way toward clearing up any uncertainty that may remain.

? Making new nurses understand their role in general practice.
? Making new or veteran nurses manage in the ever changing role in nursing practice.
? Making new or veteran nurses manage practice settings with issues that are new and existing.
? Making new or veteran nurses manage professional practice that deal with personal needs.

The benefits and advantages of being a mentee is?

? To understand how the general practice functions.
? To build up interpersonal skills.
? To receive encouragement, support and feedback.
? To acquire know-how about practice nurse roles.
? To have a chance to expand networks and lessen isolation in the profession.
? To get help in clarifying career pathways and goals.

The benefits and advantage of being a mentor is?

? To take part in the chance to contribute one’s experience and wisdom.
? To build up interpersonal skills.
? To achieve a feeling of self worth and satisfaction.
? To achieve further know-how in a new role.
? To achieve recognition and acknowledgement among colleagues for the contribution to the general practice as mentor.
? To have a chance to expand networks and lessen isolation in the profession.

The benefits and advantages of mentoring nurses in the general practice is that?

? Through mentoring nurses are becoming more productive and motivated.
? Through mentoring the general practice have the upper-hand in catching the attention of prospective staff members.
? Through mentoring staff members improved their teamwork and communication skills.
? Through mentoring participating staff members are gaining positive commitment.

What not to anticipate of mentoring in the general practice:

? Mentoring is in NO way a substitute to meet education needs.
? Mentoring is in NO way a universal remedy for all concerns, issues and problems.
? Mentoring is in NO way a substitute for a professional educator.

In general practice a mentor is not?

? An advocate.
? A tutor.
? An educator.

Thus mentors should not be expected to know all the answers to all questions and queries. On the other hand, mentors should be able to give guidance and assistance to significant matters that may need relevant information and sources. Basically, mentors are only there to guide mentees in the search for learning experiences that are not taught in the four corners of a classroom.

That’s how things stand right now. Keep in mind that any subject can change over time, so be sure you keep up with the latest news.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, who just launched this great product..
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The Fine Art of Mentoring

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

The following paragraphs summarize the work of Mentoring experts who are completely familiar with all the aspects of Mentoring. Heed their advice to avoid any Mentoring surprises.

Mentoring doesn’t have to be a complicated process or business. Once it is designed to fit a particular need, it can be a very effective and simple method to implement, something that will be easy to use once it’s established. Although it consists of certain processes and procedures, mentoring is actually like fine art in that it requires creativity in design and implementation. It’s also a practice that requires flexibility and adaptability and will require participants to look beyond the mere series of techniques in order to put it into practice more effectively.

Why use mentoring programs
In many organizations, a gap often exists between the actual needs of the individuals and the established practices. Depending on how well the organization works to fill this gap, the difference may be great or small. The role of mentoring is to close this gap and allow staff, employees, personnel or students to access resources that will allow them to improve their learnings and skills.

Mentoring is also used to increase the quality of the intellectual capital of an organization, allowing employees to be trained in order to meet set standards of quality in terms of qualifications and technical skills. It is also an excellent tool for improving the standards of service in an organization. As a recruitment and retaining tool, mentoring is also effective, allowing businesses to attract quality employees by providing new ones with a means to adapt well to their new environment.

The fine art of mentoring
When people view mentoring, they see it as a means to transfer knowledge. However, it is so much more than that. Choosing, designing and implementing a mentoring program often requires inventive solutions in order for it to remain attractive, relevant, updated and useful. It has proven to be a very effective method in improving business processes and has become one of the highly valued issues within many organizations.

Now that we’ve covered those aspects of Mentoring, let’s turn to some of the other factors that need to be considered.

Matching
The main concern of mentoring is matching, something that requires patience and imagination on the part of the administrator. Having a good pairing between the mentor and the mentee is crucial to the success of the program. If the match is in place, both parties will benefit from a strong, mutually rewarding relationship. If the matching fails, either or both parties will suffer from negative learning or feel frustrated about a system that does nothing.

This is why administrators who wish to implement an effective mentoring system should find creative ways to determine the matching qualifications between the mentor and his protégé. Certain factors, for example, such as temperament, personal characteristics, values, philosophies or similar goals can impact the relationship. There is no set standard for matching, which makes it important that those who wish to implement the program should be able to apply a certain adaptability and imagination when determining a successful match.

Keeping the mentoring system fresh
A mentoring program also thrives on being up-to-date, which keeps it interesting. Implementing a mentoring program that is outdated can have disastrous results, encouraging participants to perceive it as ineffective and useless. Like art, mentoring must remain dynamic and appealing, keeping participants’ interests up, which gives them more reason to use the program.

Establishing a successful mentoring program
Mentoring is like fine art in that it needs to remain relevant and an effective source of motivation. As such, it has to undergo improvements along the way and must be open to changes. The best way to determine the success of the mentoring program is to compare the initial goals of the system to the results. This may be done through feedback and evaluations, allowing participants to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the program. Without a set feedback system in place, it will be difficult indeed to quantify the efficacy of mentoring within an organization and thus rate its success.

About the Author
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Teacher Mentoring Defined: Uses, Advantages and Limitations

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

For many professionals, such as those involved in education and academics, mentoring is an important resource, particularly because it helps encourage new learnings and improve on established ones. Mentoring is a highly valued practice and it is a recognized method used by many educators for sharing information and knowledge. It is also a way for more senior members of the academe to train beginners, allowing protégés to be sponsored both professionally and organizationally.

The purpose of teacher mentoring
Teacher mentoring involves the pairing of a beginning teacher with a teacher who has more experience. Sometimes, the pairing can involve one or more new teachers or a group of more experienced teachers, depending on the perceived need of the beginning teacher/s and the goals of the organization.

The purpose of teacher mentoring is not only to build a mentor-protégé relationship between two or more individuals but also to provide support for the new teacher. This will help establish the teacher’s confidence, allow them to settle into the organization immediately and maximize their effectiveness as instructors.

Mentoring can also help establish an educational system’s quality standard, allowing a school to ensure compliance with prevailing benchmarks. It is also helpful in the recruitment and retention of new staff.

As a process, teacher mentoring may be used formally, such as when a school wishes to implement particular programs or informally, where no programs are in place. Either way, it can benefit a system if the program is implemented correctly.

It’s really a good idea to probe a little deeper into the subject of Mentoring. What you learn may give you the confidence you need to venture into new areas.

Benefits of teacher mentoring in education
Teacher mentoring is one of the best interactive systems that mentors, mentees and the educational system can actively participate in. It helps create a quantitative program to help train new teachers, develop more experienced educators and improve the techniques and methods used in instruction. It also helps build a sense of community within the school and help it comply with existing standards.

Limitations of teacher mentoring
Teacher mentoring has its benefits and has been acknowledged as very advantageous especially for beginners. However, it has its list of disadvantages. In 1996, teacher mentoring was criticized as a means with which to promote practices and norms that are deemed too conventional. Critics say that most teacher mentoring programs encourage participants to learn and implement outdated practices. Teacher mentoring participants may also risk picking up bad habits as demonstrated by their mentors.

The lack of trust and follow-up can also spell a huge difference in teacher mentoring programs. If the system cannot be assessed or evaluated properly, it is easy for the program to fail. An ineffective evaluation system can also frustrate the mentor, especially if the system is too saddled with details and other unnecessary activities.

Implementing an effective teacher mentoring program
The most important consideration when implementing a teacher mentoring program for an educational institution is determining its match to the goals and objectives of the school system. Choosing the type of mentoring programs that are appropriate to the grade level of the teacher mentee is also essential. If there is a fit, it is easier for the program to be designed and put into practice. It is also important that the processes and methods are clear and specific, something that can be quantified and measured, to allow administrators to determine whether the program works or not.

It is also important that the teacher mentoring program receives sufficient support from the school management and that sufficient resources are provided for the participants. Without support from the administration, a mentoring program will be difficult to sustain if it is run independently of the institution. Appropriate methods for assessment of the program is also important, to allow the organization to determine if it is effective or if there is a need to improve certain aspects.

So now you know a little bit about Mentoring. Even if you don’t know everything, you’ve done something worthwhile: you’ve expanded your knowledge.

About the Author
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The Concepts of Coaching and Mentoring

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

Guiding people through the right way through life can be a daunting task for any person who is tasked to do it. A person who has to do the guiding has a lot of delicate balances to strike: he or she has to be strong enough to reprimand the person who is following him or her when that follower is not being obedient or is straying from the right path; on the other hand, he or she has to sometimes allow the follower the chance to stray, so that the follower can gain experience and thus be much wiser. There are many different things that a person has to do to guide his or her follower or followers, and these concepts of guidance are covered under coaching and mentoring.

The process of mentoring involves the relationship and bonding between master and pupil, a togetherness that is more commonly referred to as mentor and protégé. A mentor is someone who may sometimes be older, but who is certainly more knowledgeable, more wise, and perhaps even more serene and settled than what might predictably be a less knowledgeable, less wise, and flighty protégé. The mentor’s task is to be the guide for the inexperienced protégé: as the protégé learns more and more from the mentor, the protégé is farther thrust into greatness.

The mentor-protégé relationship has long existed in history, and has been glorified by pop media. There are also many different mentor-protégé relationships in the modern world. For instance, when an employee first enters a company or business, he or she is adopted by someone who has been in the company or business for a long while. Because a new employee might experience culture shock, or might not be prepared for the rigors of the current workplace, the mentor serves as a buffer and guide through how the company or business operates, making the transition easier for the protégé.

If your Mentoring facts are out-of-date, how will that affect your actions and decisions? Make certain you don’t let important Mentoring information slip by you.

Still in line with workplace relationships, an existing employee might show potential as someone who could one day lead, or who could move on and be great elsewhere. In this case, a person experienced in the company could informally take on this employee and be his or her mentor. In this relationship, the mentor will teach the protégé the necessary skills to advance in the workplace, so that one day, the protégé might perhaps take the mentor’s place, advance elsewhere in the hierarchy, or move on to another company and do even better.

The concept of coaching, on the other hand, is quite different from that of mentoring. In coaching, a method is employed in which a leader or overseer directs the movements of a person or a group of persons. In coaching, the instruction and training given are done with a definite end goal in mind. The methods of directing people’s movements and thought process might include giving motivational talks. There are also ways to train people in order to make them perform better, such as through seminars or workshops, or through practice, such as those done by sports teams.

In mentoring, a mentor teaches a protégé how to live better or how to function better. In coaching, perhaps better seen as a more specific method of mentoring, the coach guides his or her team in order for them to meet an end goal. For sports coaches, this will mean victory in a game. For marriage coaches, this will mean a stronger marital bond. For family coaches, this will mean a stronger familial bond, between parents and children, and sometimes, amongst the children themselves.

There are many different kinds of mentoring and coaching, as well as different techniques associated with each. For more information, you can talk to professional mentors and coaches, or do more research online.

About the Author
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Mentoring: A Glue that Binds African Traditions

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Imagine the next time you join a discussion about Mentoring. When you start sharing the fascinating Mentoring facts below, your friends will be absolutely amazed.

When the subject of conversation turns to rich culture and traditions, Africa would definitely be a part of that discussion. And with the voyage of Africans to the Great Americas, these people have endured so much?poverty, discrimination, racism and numerous other attacks. The society, as it seemed, had waged war against this race but they were resilient. And now that they are among a different nation, it is imperative that these African Americans uphold their traditions.

Just looking at how African Americans survived the slavery and intolerance against them, you would grow to respect these people. But what made them pliant to all these trials? Was it keeping their traditions? If it was, how did these traditions reach the modern day African American kids? Handing down these customs to younger generations meant having someone teach the ways of the old. This is where mentoring comes in.

Mentoring is simply defined as a process where an experienced individual gives support and encouragement to a person who has less experience. The mentor then serves as the advisor though his example and guidance. Mentoring could be informal or formal.

With formal mentoring among African Americans, the mentor could be the guide of the student on his academic works. He could also guide the student to community affairs which aim to maintain their traditions through several factors such as religion, music, poetry, and others. It could also be as serious as coping with racial discrimination and how to be confident despite the environmental circumstances. With informal mentoring, it could simply mean teaching time management or networking with the same groups of people.

Hopefully the information presented so far has been applicable. You might also want to consider the following:

But what are the traditions that need to be handed down to the next generation? Looking at the younger generations of African Americans now, we can conclude that they have gone a long way and have improved immensely in all aspects. Confidence and self-worth is a great part of African American mentoring. What is there to be ashamed about their culture anyway? They are a great people and they value close family ties, respect for the elderly and they excel in arts and sports.

Due to this need for mentoring among the black race, 100 Black Men, Inc. was born in 1963. Its purpose is to improve African American lives in a community full of whites. Currently, there are famous members such as Denzel Washington, Bill Cosby, Michael Jordan, to name a few.

Mentoring was and still is an essential duty of this organization. One of their programs intended that children ages nine until post secondary learning would get holistic knowledge through some rites of passage which includes preparation of the males for their manhood. Also, the subjects cover aspects of heritage, family, etiquette, survival and other skills, and even faith. Resource management, athletics and tutoring are also essential parts of the learning process.

By taking part in such mentoring activities, the young African American would develop better understanding of his culture. Pride and self-esteem would also be established without disrespecting other colors or race.

The mentoring process, in general, teaches respect and appreciation for the African culture. By knowing the rich history and contemporary assets of these people, they are better able to keep and protect what rightfully belongs to them which no amount of slavery would be able to corrupt.

When word gets around about your command of Mentoring facts, others who need to know about Mentoring will start to actively seek you out.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit my latest venture: GVO to claim your $1 trial membership!

Best Practices in Mentoring

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

Imagine the next time you join a discussion about Mentoring. When you start sharing the fascinating Mentoring facts below, your friends will be absolutely amazed.

What is mentoring? Mentoring pertains to the development of rapport involving a more knowledgeable mentor and a less knowledgeable protégé or mentee. A protégé or a mentee is a person who is guided, supported and protected from an experienced mentor. A mentor is the one who boosts the career of a protégé or a mentee.

What is best practice? Best practice is an organizational idea which states that there is a standard activity, process, method, technique, reward or incentive that is more effectual in accomplishing a specific result. The idea is that a desired result is delivered with few or no unexpected complications and/or problems. Best practices is also described as one of the most effective and efficient way in carrying out a task, based on tried and tested procedures.

Therefore, best practices in mentoring involve the development of an equally beneficial correlation that improves the proficient intelligence of the mentor and the protégé or the mentee. A good mentor usually projects expertness, candidness, affability, and communication skills. Enthusiastic protégés or mentees have a tendency to express desire for knowledge, utmost discipline and self-respect.

A Good Mentor

A good mentor is a mentor who (is):

? Listens well and treats the conversation with the mentee as confidential.
? Determines what is important to a mentee and explore their ambitions, propensities and skills.
? Knows the importance of the learning process by creating a candid and open relationship to promote confidence and trust.
? Accepts the fact that in some cases a mentee may need to seek other sources of assistance and help.
? Appropriately trained and has vast knowledge in mentoring.
? Should have a professional approach in mentor-mentee relationship.
? Refrain from mentoring those who are directly reporting to them, no matter how professional the relationship is, this will avoid other colleagues to think that the mentor may influence some matters pertaining to the issues concerning the mentee’s decision and position.

A Good Mentee

A good mentee is a mentee who (is):

So far, we’ve uncovered some interesting facts about Mentoring. You may decide that the following information is even more interesting.

? Very enthusiastic to be taught and trained and is liberated to new ideas or concepts.
? A team-player who can interact well with other people.
? A risk taker who is not afraid to go beyond the boundaries of safety and venture into uncertainties to learn.
? Patient enough to realize that an ambition in life cannot be acquired overnight.
? A positive attitude, even in the midst of a crisis.
? Demonstrates inventiveness and resourcefulness in any task assigned.
? Accepts feedback, negative or positive, about behavior and skills, with an intention to improve and learn from it.

When is a Mentor-Mentee Relationship Good?

A good mentor-mentee relationship is not just gauged by the personality of each that they bring into the relationship, more significantly, the occurrence of proper interaction and behavior is needed all throughout the process. What the mentor accomplishes with the mentee, and how eager the mentee responds and receives it, is what matters most in such a relationship.

A good mentor-mentee relationship cultivates and successfully carries out the following:

? Career Roles:

1. A mentor that introduces new opportunities to the mentee, which the latter believes in.
2. A mentor that coaches and sponsors a mentee, which the latter gratefully accepts.
3. A mentor that protects and challenges a mentee, which the latter understands as part of the relationship.

? Psychological Roles:

1. A mentor who is a role-model, which the mentee looks up to.
2. A mentor who counsels, which the mentee receives wholeheartedly.
3. A mentor who befriend a mentee, but is still focus enough to achieve the goals of the relationship.
4. A mentor and a mentee who accept and confirm each others ideas.

Within this representation, a mentor serves as a leader, a teacher that encourages thinking abilities, an advocate of realistic principles, an overseer, and an analyst. A mentee on the other hand is a student who is willing to be taught and is ready to embark on a journey towards an absolute learning experience.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit my latest venture: GVO to claim your $1 trial membership!

Learnings from Mentoring Quotes

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

“Mentoring”, this Greek term has been used in countless ways so you can expect that there are various wise mentoring quotes that abound. But it all refers to the same concept, giving guidance and advice to another person. The term “mentoring” actually comes from the Greek word that means enduring. This is a committed relationship between a youth and an adult wherein the adult has the patience to teach the youth whatever he knows from life. It is the adult’s responsibility to provide support, assistance, and guidance as the younger one faces new challenges and problems everyday. Mentors usually take the role of the parents when the parent is busy or unavailable during the critical stages of a person’s life.

There are basically two types of mentoring; the first is natural mentoring and the second is planned mentoring. Natural mentoring can come from everyday situations wherein anyone can be your mentor. You can learn through collegiality, through friendship, through teaching, or through counseling. On the other hand, planned mentoring comes from a structured program wherein the mentor and the mentee are chosen from a list and matched through a formal procedure.

Currently, mentoring is becoming increasingly popular in the workforce as well as for personal development. This is partly due to various testimonials among people who have tried it and derived a lot of advantages from the mentoring program. But how does mentoring exactly work? Well, if you wan to look into the formal mentoring programs, you should be aware that your mentor will be chosen by an authority figure through interviews, comparative index outlook, and by looking at their personal profiles.

Those of you not familiar with the latest on Mentoring now have at least a basic understanding. But there’s more to come.

Of course, in most cases, the mentor and the mentee would need to get acquainted first before the mentoring program can start. Mentors are needed because they can be a positive influence on the mentee who is learning from them. As Gandhi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Mentors can be a force of change and they can influence a lot of people, including you, by becoming a respected authority figure.

Ralph Waldo Emerson stated that, “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” And indeed, mentors are doing kindness when they take on the responsibility of helping other people learn from their experiences. Through this, they can give back to society and make career growth, personal development, or intellectual achievement possible for the person they are mentoring.

As you can observe, mentoring is helpful for educational purposes wherein the mentor will help the mentee improve their overall academic achievement. Likewise, mentoring is also very helpful in the workplace because mentors can provide the necessary insights and perspectives on what a person should do to achieve his goals. Meanwhile, having a mentor would also be a very helpful option in your personal development because the mentor can help you during tough personal and social stress and offer guidance just when you need it the most.

A very nice quote from an unknown author read, “A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could.” The mentor does just that, they believe that their mentees can do it. This, in itself, is usually encouragement enough for the mentee to do their best to succeed in life.

You can’t predict when knowing something extra about Mentoring will come in handy. If you learned anything new about Mentoring in this article, you should file the article where you can find it again.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, still having the Free Adsense Templates available for instant download

Improving Student Performance through Mentoring

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

When you’re learning about something new, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of relevant information available. This informative article should help you focus on the central points.

Mentoring is an important aspect of schooling, although it is often neglected, even by educators themselves. Although many students often do well without extra assistance, they can do so through extra effort and work on their part. Many students, however, either lack the opportunity or the will to perform better. As a result, they often require mentoring in schools.

Beyond academics
Many experts also believe that mentoring can make a difference for students who are exposed to unreliable and even risky influences, such as those that push them to abuse drugs, become sexually active too early, experience early pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. Some students may also be exposed to delinquency, truancy and even violence. With the right mentoring programs, exposure of students and other youths from these risks may be reduced or even eliminated.

Implementing mentoring programs in schools
Although recognized as an important part of certain academic processes, mentoring remains as one of the least understood practices in many educational institutions. If not implemented properly, it can become under-utilized, mismanaged or even turn out to be a costly yet ineffective endeavor. To ensure success in the use of mentoring programs in schools, certain considerations must be kept in mind:

Proper planning
The goal of mentoring is to improve student performance in schools and ensure that they are well-prepared for interaction with their social environments. It is important that an organization understands what they wish to attain through their mentoring programs by ensuring that qualitative and quantitative standards are in place.

Goals and objectives of the mentoring program must also be specific and well-structured to allow those implementing it to determine if the procedures are being followed. This is important if compliance is an issue.

I trust that what you’ve read so far has been informative. The following section should go a long way toward clearing up any uncertainty that may remain.

Building the core group or staff
A mentoring program within a school will be more effective if a central core of educators is on hand to design, implement and assess it. This will help ensure a well-organized program that is easy to monitor and run.

Recruitment of mentors
The type of mentors to be chosen for the program is indicative of its success. Mentors may be selected through volunteer programs, where other students and even members of the faculty can sign up for the task or through active recruitment wherein mentors may be sought out and asked to join. If necessary, other members of the community may also be tapped.

A set of qualifications may be set in order for mentors to meet quality standards and help streamline the application process.

Screening for mentors
The next step in creating a mentoring program for schools is to screen the mentors for eligibility. After reviewing the applications, the core group can begin interviewing the mentor applicants to determine their fit in the program. This is especially important if there are certain activities that may require extra tasks for the mentors or the mentees. If certain activities off-campus are required, for example, students may have to involve parental permission in order to participate.

Training for mentors
An important part of a mentoring program is mentor training. Just because a person is qualified does not make him a perfect candidate for mentorship. He or she must be able to understand the goals of the program. He must also be informed about certain limitations and boundaries he must work in. Certain communication skills must also be checked or improved if necessary.

Matching mentors with mentees
As one of the final steps for implementing a program for mentoring in schools, pairing mentors with mentees can be a challenge. However, it is important that this is considered carefully. There are no set standards about pairing but most experts suggest it’s best to consider personality and mentoring styles in order to create a perfect match. If a certain match proves to be bad, corrections must be implemented immediately.

There’s a lot to understand about Mentoring. We were able to provide you with some of the facts above, but there is still plenty more to write about in subsequent articles.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, still letting you get Free Adsense Websites – every month!

Tips on Successful Implementation of Mentoring

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

Do you ever feel like you know just enough about Mentoring to be dangerous? Let’s see if we can fill in some of the gaps with the latest info from Mentoring experts.

Mentoring, training and coaching programs for novice teachers are excellent ways to improve the quality of skills and knowledge of a new teacher, his job satisfaction, and his professional competence. These programs available for the new teacher are also effective means of enhancing the student’s abilities and the mentor’s skills as well. In many US schools, these mentoring programs are mandatory to ensure that the new teacher is fully capable of handing the classes.

In some schools, mentoring programs are instituted not only to prepare the new teacher for the job but also as a way of addressing the problem of teacher shortage. A recent news published on Contra Costa Times reveals that almost 25% of new teachers in California leave their job in their first four years of teaching because of lack of support from the administration and fellow teachers. Also, the mentoring program adds bureaucratic burden both for the novice teachers and their mentors. Apart from the additional responsibilities that are given to the teachers, there’s a lot of paperwork that needs to be accomplished. This includes preparing lesson plans, evaluations, and progress and accomplishment reports.

In order to ensure that mentoring programs are successfully implemented, here are some tips and pointers to remember:

? Eliminate unnecessary paperwork and requirements ? this has been recommended by UC Riverside researchers after finding out that a lot of mentors and new teachers engaged in the program are complaining about the repetitive tasks and extra paperwork they need to accomplish. Aside from the fact that neophyte teachers are already overwhelmed by their new responsibilities, they are still burdened with lots of paperwork including preparing lesson plans, which usually consumes so much of their time. It is recommended that programs should focus on mentoring itself. The new and veteran teachers may engage in less taxing activities that would allow them to interact and share knowledge, skills and experiences freely.

How can you put a limit on learning more? The next section may contain that one little bit of wisdom that changes everything.

? New teachers must be matched with the right mentors ? It is important for the new teacher and the mentor to interact without any inhibition. To be able to achieve this, the administrators must strive to match news teachers with mentors who share with them same qualities and interests. This would allow the new teacher to freely ask questions and ask for tips and advices from the mentor.

? Have separate evaluators ? In order for the mentor and the new teacher to focus on their main tasks, they must be relieved from doing additional tasks such as evaluation of the program. A separate evaluator who shall meet the veteran and the new teachers to discuss the progress of the mentoring program may be assigned.

? Conduct regular assessment of the whole mentoring program ? Campus-level administrators should not only evaluate progress of the newly hired teachers but as well as the whole mentoring, training and coaching program of the school, which includes the mentors capability to coach neophyte teachers, the process of mentoring, the students’ progress vis-à-vis to the new teachers’ progress during the program, and other forms of support and assistance given to the new teacher.

It is also important to determine the thoughts or opinions of other teachers about the program and its impact on their desire to stay or leave the school or the teaching profession. These things are vital to the implementation and improvement not only of the mentoring programs of the particular school but of others as well.

Of course, it’s impossible to put everything about Mentoring into just one article. But you can’t deny that you’ve just added to your understanding about Mentoring, and that’s time well spent.

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By Anders Eriksson, who just joined this Free Website Traffic generation site