Time to REMEMBER. a Monday Mentoring Minute

79% of students agree with this statement:  “I am more likely to listen to adults in my life if I know that they care about me.”

This week: REMEMBERING THE PAST YEAR

Even though this past year has been one that we’d rather forget in lots of ways, it is still good to remember-to think back on the year and your time together.

This month, the focus of the Mentoring Minute has been on how we can care for the students we mentor as the school year winds down.

We started the month with this stat from a recent study done by the Springtide Research Institute:

79% of students agree with this statement: “I am more likely to listen to adults in my life if I know that they care about me.”

Hopefully by now, your student already knows that you care about them. But, this month, we’re sharing four practical ways that you can care for your student as the school year winds down. And, to make it easy to remember, we’ve turned those four ways into an acronym:

Celebrate
Affirm
REMEMBER
Empathize

This week, the word we’re focusing on is “remember.”

Even though this past year has been one that we’d rather forget in lots of ways, it is still good to remember-to think back on the year and your time together.

Here are just a handful of questions to get you started:

What were some of the highs and lows that your student experienced this year? How did he/she learn and grow from them?
What significant milestones/achievements did your student have this year? How can you remember and celebrate them together?
What were some highlights of the times you spent together this year? How did your mentoring relationship grow with your student?
What are some things about your mentoring experience this year that you want to remember for next year?

Some of these questions might be just for you to think about and reflect on as a mentor. But, some of them would be good to do together with your student. When you remember specific details/events in your student’s life and talk about them together, you are communicating to them that you really do care about them (and that you’ve been listening to them). You are also helping them to see how this past year has impacted them and helped them grow.

So, as the school year winds down, take some time to remember with your student.

And then check back next week for one more practical way that you can care for your student as this school year winds down!