Why do I swear by this 21-hour training program? Well, in addition to some quite awesome evaluations, in which the mentors share how much they have enjoyed their time together, here are some points to consider:
- Mentors have an opportunity to reflect on the topic week by week. The following week I always allow time for questions before we continue.
- The group bonds together fantastically and, in the programs I run, this group will stay together throughout the mentoring journey. So, they get to know one another, begin to exchange emails and they also come to see how much experience of life is within this one group as they journey through the training.
- I find it a great screening tool and sometimes work behind the scenes with participants to encourage them in areas where perhaps they are battling. Some of the stuff is too personal to put on a Blog page, though often the issues are about personal relationships or relationships with other members of the group. Again, it's great to gather the following week and to observe how the particular people involved might be working on an issue that others don't even know about. They all know I am not a Psychologist nor a Counsellor :-)
- There are more opportunities for experiential learning. As participants begin to share more and more, we have some wonderful brainstorming sessions, which is a great opportunity for participants to see how they can all benefit from such exchanges of knowledge and experience when they begin the mentoring journey.
- The Goal-getting module includes participants having to set two personal goals which they share with one other participant for five weeks (time is allocated each week for this). The idea? They have to mentor each other to see if they can achieve their goals. Goal-getting is a wonderful way to connect with and inspire adolescents if done properly and in a fun, non-threatening way. I say nothing while they undergo this goal-getting experience (obviously other than running the module during week 2) and then gather the threads together when we hear how they have all done, for which time is set aside in week 7.
- There is plenty of informal chat over the tea/coffee breaks, prior to the training beginning etc. and, again, it's a positive way to screen and, at the same time, get to know the mentors for a program.
- If they can turn up each week to the training, they are likely to be committed to the mentoring journey. Where people are irregular with attendance, they will screen themselves out of the program, as happened to one person during this latest training. I allow mentors to miss one training session (unless they have good reason eg, a business or other trip that had been organised months earlier). More than that and they are not allowed to continue in the program. Tough, yet effective! They can always make up the difference when the next training occurs, though it does mean they have to link in with a new group. I have had a number of experiences where mentors were allowed to continue the mentoring journey, despite missing a large bulk of the training. More often than not, these were the mentors that gave the most hassles once the mentoring journey began.
- Mentors gain a good grasp of the issues young people are having to deal with and have the opportunity, through the experiential process, to reflect back to their own adolescent experiences, something that is difficult to do as effectively in a short training program.
- I refer to the Manual throughout the training, so the mentors are aware of the content and its relevance for the various issues they will face during the mentoring journey.
I have little doubt that there will be many more benefits and, if I think of any, I will add them to this Blog page. Enough for now .....
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