- Of the five different leadership styles described, I would say mine most aligns with learning coach, though I would aspire to incorporate some of the connecting link aspects as well. I align learning coach the most because I believe it is incredibly important to encourage and advocate for retention as well as academic success. As an older sister, I have experience with helping my sisters realize their own potential in any class they have, whether they may be good at it or be struggling. I also believe it is important to let people know even if they don't do well in a class or need some time, then it is okay and they are not failures. Not everyone is able to continuously work because of the mental or emotional stress it may have, but no matter what I will continue to encourage academic success.
- Some of the risks that may go along with this leadership style would probably be getting to involved in the students' personal life, and the student wanting a holding hand instead of a resource. With the learning coach style, some students may want me, as a peer mentor, to do a lot of their work for them, as mentioned in the risks section of the article. As for getting too involved with their personal lives, it may not necessarily go with this leadership style, but I feel like it might be a problem for me personally.
- The three most important qualities in being a peer mentor are compassion, understanding, and professionalism. Compassion s an important quality because if the peer mentor does not care then the student will not. The peer mentor must care about the students' success, otherwise the student will see their own success as unimportant. Understanding, stemming from empathy and the ability to relate, is another important characteristic because it shows the student they are not alone what they could be feeling or experiencing. Finally, professionalism because this is technically and job and we are getting paid for it, and there needs to be respect coming from both sides. Things such as punctuality and responsibility would go under this as well.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
White Picket Fence -- Boundaries
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Sierra,
ReplyDeleteWe are actually kinda opposite! I identified more with the connecting link but would definitely like to incorporate more of the learning coach style. I think these two really compliment each other because we are trying to get the students to see what works best for them and then get them to act on that. I agree with the risks associated as well. With these types of roles, many students will probably just want you to figure things out for them and it may be a little hard to just have them do it themselves. I also believe compassion or empathy is important to have as a peer mentor.
I also feel that I fit Learning Coach as my peer mentor role. We want our mentees to be successful and stay in college until they reach their academic goals. It also fits my personality in my personal life. I'm the one always encouraging my siblings to always have goals and to actually reach them!! One risk that I do find myself in with my siblings is them expecting me to do too much for them. My younger brother is afraid to update his resume and complete an online application. Grr! There is a very thin line that us "coaches" have to make sure doesn't get crossed.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with some of your statements listed above! I believe that compassion is one of the most important qualities and that i love how you said that if the peer mentor does not care then the student will not because this is completely true. What you say as a peer mentor and what you care about makes a huge impact on your students performance too! So you want to show innovative and making sure your giving them your full attention and caring about them.
ReplyDeleteI also aligned with the learning coach and I loved your comment about encouraging and advocating for our students. I believe that will be a huge part of our job because our students will have a mixture of crazy and unsure emotions about their freshman year of college!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you with the three importance as a peer mentor. Compassion was listed in my three as well. I believe that is is important and it shows the student that you care. I also like how up picked learning coach and that they are not alone in what they are experiencing. Also, how you said," it will be ok and you are a failure"! To me it sends out a strong message and to just keep going.
ReplyDeleteI found it funny that of the three qualities that you listed, I also listed two of them. The one I did not match was compassion, but instead I listed understanding. I think it is close to compassion, in that you care for them and who they are. I liked compassion as well and ironically enough almost listed it. I liked your post in general.
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