To me the Kenan Fellow/Mentor partnership means a stronger and more meaningful community connection/relationship. It means more of a personal connection to be made by students. That which had little to no significance, now has value. During my internship, I had a single mentor who introduced me to other professionals who worked within the establishment. It may seem odd, but my mentor really helped me to organize my thoughts and bring all points to a focal point. One thing i was glad she had me attend was one of the meetings. In this meeting, department heads had a mini professional development on communication. This was kind of an “ah-ha” moment for me because I was surprised to activities being done that we did during our PD’s at the school. One activity also mimicked an activity that was done during a leadership program for middle school students. This camp took place a couple of years ago. It is interesting to see how just how important the delivery and reception of communication is. Communication is the key to many accomplishments.
The relationship and communication between my mentor and I was open and honest. She did not hold back for the sake of “feelings” and I appreciated that very much. She also did not just tell me how to correct something or tell me what to do, she asked leading questions to help guide me to a definitive decision. This is one technique I am utilizing in my classroom now. I asked my students questions before, but now I understand how to do it in a more effective manner. There were times I sat down with my mentor and collaborated with her about somethings but she mostly set up a schedule for me and I worked with other in the facility according to my preferences.
The lasting impact for me is the increased knowledge of how to guide my students thinking and also how to help them map out there thinking to try and make a connection. The other lasting impact would be the teamwork of the immediate group she worked with. Teamwork and really working together to accomplish goals is beneficial to success. At the end of this fellowship, I plan to stay in contact with my mentor and all other professionals I am in contact with. I do not want to lose the community connection that has been created. I hope to increase the strength of this bond.