First Session at Family Matters!

     I was very nervous to meet my child up until the day that I actually got to meet her. I was so excited to meet my mentee, Kaylah. She's so bright and seems really eager to learn. The first thing she said to me when I met her was that she needed help with her math homework! She is just really sweet and a little shy but I know she will open up with time. I do hope to be better prepared for her next week by brushing up on my 6th grade math skills. It seems silly but I never remembered the differences between mode, median, and range, which just so happened to be what her homework was on! Luckily she remembered the definitions herself and I was able to walk her through each step needed to get through the mathematics aspect of the problems. I really am excited to get to know Kaylah better. 

My Mentoring Style

     When I first read the list of different mentoring styles, I immediately was caught between two different styles- Advisory style and Cooperative style. The advisory style consists of giving suggestions for good problem solving, advising as an objective outsider, giving alternatives so that the mentee can make a choice, and giving advice expertise based. Cooperative style consists of striving for a joint vision, involving the mentee in problem solving, giving space to the opinion of the mentee, appreciating equality in contributions, and being focused on cooperation. Surprisingly enough, after taking the quiz to determine my mentoring style, my highest score was tied at 24 for both advisory and cooperative styles. In my opinion, mentoring in this way helps to involve the mentee and their opinions when it comes to decision making. Ultimately the mentee will make the decision that is best for them and I hope that my mentoring will help them see that the different options that are possible for them.