Hello once again. For this weeks class I thought Rachel and Amy did a great job with the exercise and getting everyone invovled as well. I really enjoyed the activity because it made me think about my strengths and weaknesses as well as making me think about how I can better myself by capitalizing on those strengths and trying to improve those weaknesses. It also allowed me to become more self-aware as I listened to other's strengths and weaknesses. One of my weaknesses that made me think a lot about was the value of gratitude. I do take some things for granted, but that is not why I chose this as a weakness. I chose gratitude as one of my weaknesses because I feel I sometimes have trouble expressing gratitude towards the people who have changed my life for the better and while thinking more about I came up with ways to more effectively show my gratitude towards others. This class activity helped show me my strengths and weaknesses as well as allowing me to listen to others how they use their own strengths and weaknesses to get through their everyday life.
The book describes a positive role model as someone who exemplifies values and behavior that others want to imitate or follow. As we strive to become mentors and role models to students in the fall we have the power to inspire others to follow and use the attributes or attitudes that make them exceptional and unique people. As we are mentors we do not automatically become role models for students but over time we can become good role models as we earn student's respect by demonstrating the attributes that they value as well.
As I was a freshman, I began to look up to my peer mentors, Kris and Nikki, as time went by I hoped that some day I could be as successful as they have become through college. I plan to treat my students the same as they did me and I hope to gain the respect of my students as I did for Kris and Nikki. I also plan to use my strengths to my advantages and work on my weaknesses to become a better and more respectable person not just for next fall, but for the rest of my life.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Week 6 Blog
Hello everyone. The weather is great, the sun is staying out longer, and spring is on it's way. Its a good feeling, but somehow I think old man winter is done with the cold yet. I thought tonights class was a really insightful one and I really enjoyed getting to know people a lot more. Hearing everyone's stories made me think about my life and how I take a lot of things for granted and I'm glad this class really made me think about that and opened it up for me. It also made me think more about what certain people and events in my life has influenced me to become the person that I am today. Tonights class activities helped me become more self aware and I would like to thank Anthony and Beth for helping me think more about myself and also congratulate them on the great job they did leading the lesson tonight.
As peer mentors, I believe we have a huge role in helping freshmen students become self aware. Before tonight's class I didn't realize the importance of being self aware and the impacts of one's own self-awareness. In order to successfully deal with the challenges and opportunities that come with being a college student, a person must consider who they want to be and how they will end up becoming that person. If we as mentors understand how increasing our self-awareness affects our success as students, we can help other students understand the same thing. We can achieve this by helping students understand themselves well enough for them to recognize what they need to change and to take the right steps in order to improve their situations along with their chances of succeeding in college. Some questions or thoughts that can help students become self aware are one that can include their strengths and weaknesses, what motivates them and makes them happy, what they can do to improve as a person, what are their most important beliefs or values in life, and just simply what has brought them to being the person that they are today.
I think one of the bigger things that I can do to help myself become more self aware is just thinking more about life in itself and how I came to be the person that I am today. Along with that, listening to the values that people have that are different than mine as well as attending more events that make you recognize the little things in your life that you don't notice.
As peer mentors, I believe we have a huge role in helping freshmen students become self aware. Before tonight's class I didn't realize the importance of being self aware and the impacts of one's own self-awareness. In order to successfully deal with the challenges and opportunities that come with being a college student, a person must consider who they want to be and how they will end up becoming that person. If we as mentors understand how increasing our self-awareness affects our success as students, we can help other students understand the same thing. We can achieve this by helping students understand themselves well enough for them to recognize what they need to change and to take the right steps in order to improve their situations along with their chances of succeeding in college. Some questions or thoughts that can help students become self aware are one that can include their strengths and weaknesses, what motivates them and makes them happy, what they can do to improve as a person, what are their most important beliefs or values in life, and just simply what has brought them to being the person that they are today.
I think one of the bigger things that I can do to help myself become more self aware is just thinking more about life in itself and how I came to be the person that I am today. Along with that, listening to the values that people have that are different than mine as well as attending more events that make you recognize the little things in your life that you don't notice.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Week 5 Blog
Hello everyone. Hope everyone's doing alright and making it through school ok. First off I would like to give a congratulations to those who led the class tonight (Nick, Kelly, Joe and Deb). I thought they did a good job and portrayed many of the major concepts in both chapter 3 and chapter 4 that needed to be covered. I thought Kelly and Nick did a good job in portraying the five different roles if a peer mentor and also advancing more on them after the small groups talked about what they thought of each role. Joey and Deb also did a good job in getting everyone involved with their skits they created. One of the main concepts that stuck with me after tonights class towards the end, was the part about boundaries. I believe that establishing these boundaries early in the relationship between peer mentors and mentees will further prevent major problems from happening that may develop in the future.
I believe the the stages of a mentoring relationship were a huge part of this chapter. These stages of a mentoring relationship are more or less brought about by questions and these questions remind us not only if we are creating relationships, but establishing our role as peer mentors as well. These questions include: who are you, why are we here, where are we going, how are you doing, what is working and not working, and are we there yet. As time goes by and as we progress through each stage of the mentoring relationship the trust level between a peer mentor and the mentee increase. The question "Why are you?" helps you to remember to get to know your students and give them a chance to know you. The question "Why are we here?" reminds you to be upfront about your responsibilities as a mentor and the ground rules for the relationship. The question "Where are we going?" will make sure to remind you to work with your mentees and set goals and objectives. And last, but not least the question "Are we there yet?" will give you an opportunity to think about what you have accomplished together as mentors and mentees and if you have reached your goals and objectives. I believe that each of these stages are important in the mentoring relationship. If we all follow these stages we can almost ensure good relationships between us and our mentees.
I believe the the stages of a mentoring relationship were a huge part of this chapter. These stages of a mentoring relationship are more or less brought about by questions and these questions remind us not only if we are creating relationships, but establishing our role as peer mentors as well. These questions include: who are you, why are we here, where are we going, how are you doing, what is working and not working, and are we there yet. As time goes by and as we progress through each stage of the mentoring relationship the trust level between a peer mentor and the mentee increase. The question "Why are you?" helps you to remember to get to know your students and give them a chance to know you. The question "Why are we here?" reminds you to be upfront about your responsibilities as a mentor and the ground rules for the relationship. The question "Where are we going?" will make sure to remind you to work with your mentees and set goals and objectives. And last, but not least the question "Are we there yet?" will give you an opportunity to think about what you have accomplished together as mentors and mentees and if you have reached your goals and objectives. I believe that each of these stages are important in the mentoring relationship. If we all follow these stages we can almost ensure good relationships between us and our mentees.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Week 4 Blog
Hello again everyone. We are into week 4 and suprisingly enough it's snowing in February and sad enough, this week's class got cancelled. Chapter three is about defining roles and what are the mentors roles in the mentoring relationship. They give five big roles of a peer mentor which include a trusted friend, peer leader, student advocate, learning coach, and connecting link. I beleive students are more likely to respect you if they can trust you first and become friends. Without building trust and friendship it is hard to communicate effectively. As a connecting link you can open up to students the plethora of opportunites available on campus here at Iowa State. I beleive having the ability to connect with others, create freindships, and know the people around you can become a huge asset in the future. As a student advocate you want the best for your students and hope that they succeed and I believe that could be one the most important parts of this program is watching new freshman students become more independent and transtition to college. As a peer leader you are no longer just focused on your own success, but the success of your students and as you show your success they will want to do the same.210
I really enjoyed the keynote speaker this Saturday. I especially liked the list of questions he had asked us and as we all sat down is was neat to see everyone's own reactions to the questions. It made me think about all the little things that I was doing wrong in my everyday life that I could easily change if I had thought enough about it. He encouraged us to start our own list of wrong doings and I believe I'm going to do that. I thought it was cool how he was nominated for entertainer of the year compared to Chris Rock and the others that have been previous entertainers of the year.
One of the sessions that I went to was the one on interviewing. The speaker was very good and I learned a lot and was very glad that I attended. Interviewing these days is one of the key factors in obtaining the job that you want. Without good communication skills it is hard to sit down with a stranger and answer questions that you maybe are not prepared to answer. That it is where preparation is key and in the future I planned on being much more prepared for any interviews that I have lined up.
I really enjoyed the keynote speaker this Saturday. I especially liked the list of questions he had asked us and as we all sat down is was neat to see everyone's own reactions to the questions. It made me think about all the little things that I was doing wrong in my everyday life that I could easily change if I had thought enough about it. He encouraged us to start our own list of wrong doings and I believe I'm going to do that. I thought it was cool how he was nominated for entertainer of the year compared to Chris Rock and the others that have been previous entertainers of the year.
One of the sessions that I went to was the one on interviewing. The speaker was very good and I learned a lot and was very glad that I attended. Interviewing these days is one of the key factors in obtaining the job that you want. Without good communication skills it is hard to sit down with a stranger and answer questions that you maybe are not prepared to answer. That it is where preparation is key and in the future I planned on being much more prepared for any interviews that I have lined up.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Week 3 Blog
Hello everyone. Hope everyone is enjoying the third week of school. I thought this weeks class was really enjoyable. I learned a lot about myself and my personality type which I thought was really neat. When we did the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator as freshmen, I got ENFP. This year I was suprised to get the same thing. I assumed as a year passed and I transitioned to college I might have changed the ways I think and go about situations, but just goes to show changing someones personality is at most, impossible.93 I thought it was hard to believe how much this report goes in to depth of our preferences and choices just from our answers especially since some of our answers consisted of just choosing one word from the two words provided. I thought the type indicator was even precise in the way they broke each category down into even more sub-categories showing whether they were in-preference or out-of-preference. In almost each one I had an out-of-preference or midzone facet that which I believed was almost right each time.187
Before class I was excited to see my results along with everyone else's and the types of personalities that I may possibly be mentoring with next fall. I thought it was cool to see how different the clarity of preferences were for some people especially Debra. It seem like every one of her preferences in the type indicator were very clear or at least clear, unlike mine which all but one were in the slight clear area. I enjoyed the class activities and like hearing everyone's reaction towards the questions. It appeared as though all of the individuals in the same groups had the same outlooks on each question. I also got the notion that all the groups went about each question differently, especially the judging and percieving section with the early starters and the pressure prompted groups. This week was really fun and enjoyed learning about myself and everyone else in the class. See you next week.
Before class I was excited to see my results along with everyone else's and the types of personalities that I may possibly be mentoring with next fall. I thought it was cool to see how different the clarity of preferences were for some people especially Debra. It seem like every one of her preferences in the type indicator were very clear or at least clear, unlike mine which all but one were in the slight clear area. I enjoyed the class activities and like hearing everyone's reaction towards the questions. It appeared as though all of the individuals in the same groups had the same outlooks on each question. I also got the notion that all the groups went about each question differently, especially the judging and percieving section with the early starters and the pressure prompted groups. This week was really fun and enjoyed learning about myself and everyone else in the class. See you next week.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Week 2 Blog
Chapter 2 was about helping make students make the transition to college which I feel was one of the chapters that I had most in common with. It contained many of the factors that I had to deal with as a freshman here last year. I could relate to many of the concepts and it brought back how I felt about all the new situations and new things that were happening as I myself transitioned to college. The biggest part of this chapter to me was the section on how college is different from high school. There are so many huge differences between the two. Some may affect certain people, yet those that affect one certain group of people will have no affect on another person. For me it was the different teaching styles and how to better manage my time. In high school I really never did anything, but as all of you know once in college you have to try in order to get the grade you want. Some new freshman students already know this, yet they may have trouble adjusting towards a better way to manage their time.
This week me and Greg started the class and it went much better than I had thought it would. I feel like we had many good discussions about each different section in the book. Leading a class for 25 minutes was a little different for me. I found out many of us had different outlooks on subjects. I also found out through the discussions that every one of us made our own different transition to college and that we will each have to deal with our mentees in different ways in order to be successful peer mentors. As the freshman students next fall develop into college students we to will also develop in our own way.
This week me and Greg started the class and it went much better than I had thought it would. I feel like we had many good discussions about each different section in the book. Leading a class for 25 minutes was a little different for me. I found out many of us had different outlooks on subjects. I also found out through the discussions that every one of us made our own different transition to college and that we will each have to deal with our mentees in different ways in order to be successful peer mentors. As the freshman students next fall develop into college students we to will also develop in our own way.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Week 1 Blog
The first chapter in the book, Becoming a Peer Mentor, created a background as towards the definition and types of roles of what a mentor is and does. I like the start of the chapter where they give a real situation with a real person and it made me think how I would deal with the situation if it was me or someone that needed help that I knew. It also gives synonyms for mentor which can include guide, advisor, counselor, and teacher. Any of these words are what I would be able to use to describe what I thought of my peer mentors when I was a freshman last year.
The chapter also challenges you to quiz yourself on how confident you are with mentoring knowledge and skills. This made me think about how capable I will be of becoming a mentor and the knowledge that I will yet need to gain in order to become an effective teacher and listener. This made me realize the different number of roles that that I will have to fulfill in order to become a good mentor in this program.
Towards the end of the chapter it talks about motivation; whether you are self-focused, other-focused, or both. After reading thet rest of the paragraph I began to think about my motivation and where it came from. Being too much self-focused will cause you to ignore your students, but being to much other-focused will cause you to devote to much time for others and not for yourself. Both of these circumstances will cause a problem in your quest to becoming a good peer mentor. I found that you must create a balance between both to be more successful in the long run.
I'm trying to remember what we did in class, but the one thing that stuck in my head was going over the syllabus which clarified a lot for me and helped me create an idea for myself how much time Iwill need to devote for this program. Learning everyone's else's names will probably be the most time consuming, but I think I can handle it.
I know that in the past with classes and other college activities I will need to manage my time appropriately for school as well as taking care of my responsiblities as a mentor in the fall. I believe I will have to manage time better so I will be able to balance school and being a mentor at the same time.
The chapter also challenges you to quiz yourself on how confident you are with mentoring knowledge and skills. This made me think about how capable I will be of becoming a mentor and the knowledge that I will yet need to gain in order to become an effective teacher and listener. This made me realize the different number of roles that that I will have to fulfill in order to become a good mentor in this program.
Towards the end of the chapter it talks about motivation; whether you are self-focused, other-focused, or both. After reading thet rest of the paragraph I began to think about my motivation and where it came from. Being too much self-focused will cause you to ignore your students, but being to much other-focused will cause you to devote to much time for others and not for yourself. Both of these circumstances will cause a problem in your quest to becoming a good peer mentor. I found that you must create a balance between both to be more successful in the long run.
I'm trying to remember what we did in class, but the one thing that stuck in my head was going over the syllabus which clarified a lot for me and helped me create an idea for myself how much time Iwill need to devote for this program. Learning everyone's else's names will probably be the most time consuming, but I think I can handle it.
I know that in the past with classes and other college activities I will need to manage my time appropriately for school as well as taking care of my responsiblities as a mentor in the fall. I believe I will have to manage time better so I will be able to balance school and being a mentor at the same time.
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