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Use the ideas and
resources shared monthly to help
youth in your zip code have
opportunities to participate in
well-organized, mentor-rich,
non-school programs.
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October-November
2016 - Issue 152
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Building and
Sustaining Strong,
Mentor-Rich Youth
Serving Organizations.
Where Do You Find Your
Ideas?
The ideas shared in
this monthly
newsletter can be
used by youth
organization
leaders, resource
providers, political
leaders,
universities,
volunteers and youth
to help mentor-rich
programs thrive in
all of the
neighborhoods where
they are most
needed.
While I try
to send this only
once a month, I
write
blog articles
weekly. In
the sections below I
post links to a few
of the articles
published in the
past month. Spend a
little time each
week reading the
articles and
following the links.
Use in group
discussions with
people who are
concerned about the
same issues. Create
a blog like this
sharing your own
ideas.
Encourage
friends, family,
co-workers to
sign up to
receive this
newsletter. Click
here.
(If you
subscribe, don't
forget to
respond to the
confirmation
email)
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Participation in
a
Volunteer-Based
Tutor and/or
Mentoring
Program is an
Adult Form of
Service
Learning.
Every
time a
volunteer
and youth
connect,
each is
learning
something
about the
other.
Now that most
volunteer-based tutor
and mentor programs have
started the 2016-17
school year, every
program is focusing its
efforts on providing the
support, training and
learning opportunities
that help build strong
relationships and
sustain on-going
involvement.
Do you think of
this as a form of adult
service learning?
The above graphic was
first created by an
intern from Hong Kong in
2007 then updated by an
intern from South Korea
in 2011. It shows the
weekly journey to and
from a tutor/mentor
program session. In the
middle of the loop, is
where well-organized
programs can provide
ideas and support that
a) helps the volunteer
and student have a more
positive interaction;
and
b) encourages the
volunteer and student to
tell friends, family,
co-workers about the
program so more people
get involved.
Programs who do this
well and continue doing
it for many years build
a strong network of
support, and probably
have a more significant
impact on the lives of
youth and volunteers.
See the video--- here
In 2010 a student from
the University of
Michigan School of
Information created a
second animation during
a one-week Winter Break.
This shows how
volunteers who are
well-supported and stay
involved multiple years,
do much more to help the
student they work with,
and the program where
they volunteer. See it
here. ( note:
when you open the
presentation, click on
the numbers to hear
recording)
Note: Both of these
were created prior to
2011 when I was leading
the Cabrini Connections
program as well as the
Tutor/Mentor Connection.
In the following
sections of this month's
newsletter I'm going to
focus on adult LEARNING...or
ways to engage program
staff, volunteers and
donors in on-going
learning that leads to
stronger programs in
more places.
At the same time, I want
to repeat this list of
resource sections from
the Tutor/Mentor web
library, which is
available to volunteers,
students, parents
teachers and program
staff.
If you know of great
resources that you'd
like to share and have
me add to the web
library, just email the
link to me using the
email shown below.
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What does this have
to do with challenges we
face?
I've always been
somewhat of an
introvert. I
studied history in
college, then spent
three years in the US
Army, in the
Intelligence branch. In
both disciplines I
learned to collect
information to support
decisions and actions.
When I became a
volunteer tutor in 1973
I had no previous
experience, so I began
to seek out ideas to
support my weekly
meetings with Leo, a 4th
grade boy from the
Cabrini Green area.
When I became the
leader of the program at
Montgomery Ward in
Chicago, I began to seek
out other programs to
learn from their
experiences. When the
Internet became
available to me in the
mid 1990s, I began to
seek out ideas from
throughout the world. I
applied those ideas, to
my own efforts and to
helping other programs
in Chicago and in other
cities.
" Springsteen,
Vivaldi, Coast Guard,
Avengers" is
the title of
this article, posted
on my blog, in early
October. It shows just
one small journey of
learning, which I
communicated using this
concept map.
This demonstrates three
habits. One, I spend
time daily browsing
through my collection of
web sites, to see what
others are writing
about. Two, I spend time
creating visualizations
that map my journey, so
others can follow and
learn from the same
places I'm learning.
Three, I share what I'm
learning via my blog
articles, concept maps
and social media.
Many of the people I'm
connecting with are
educators and the
conversations focus on
ways to stimulate
student curiosity,
learning habits, and
help them be more
successful in school and
life. I think people
involved with youth in
the non-school hours
have the same goals,
thus could be learning
ideas from the same
people.
Here's an example. This
graphic is from a video,
on a
Middleweb blog
written by Kevin
Hodgson, a middle school
teacher I met during the
#clmooc. The design
process he's describing
could be applied in
schools and in
non-school
organizations. it can
also be applied by
adults to solving
social, environmental
and health problems in
the US and abroad.
One of those problems is
making mentor-rich
non-school programs
available to k-12 youth
in all high poverty
neighborhoods. A second
is motivating
volunteers, leaders and
donors to read blogs
like Kevin's and to
apply the ideas to their
own work.
Unfortunately, I don't
find many places where
non-school volunteers,
staff, leaders, donors,
etc. are sharing their
ideas, talking with each
other, in the same ways
that some of these
educators are doing.
Kevin's article is just
one of hundreds of
places where people are
sharing ideas.
Finding, or making, the
time to learn from
others is the habit we
want to instill in young
people. The concept map
above is one I created
around 2007,
illustrating a goal of
helping young people,
and volunteers, build
habits of visiting our
web sites, and others,
to get and give
information.
If such habits can be
created we sustain
connections to each
other in years far
beyond the few years a
student or volunteer are
active in a program, or
attend a school. We make
learning and sharing an
on-going habit.
I think this can be good
for all of us.
Recommended
reading:
* Cubs Win! Let's Talk
About building great
youth support teams -
click here
In the
Tutor/Mentor web library
I point to dozens of
blogs and forums where
people are talking about
learning, and connecting
with each other in
organized learning
communities. Browse
these and make some your
own resources.
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Volunteers Bring
Many Forms of
Learning and
Enrichment to
Non-School Programs.
Can We Expand on
This?
While many
businesses and
corporations adopt
"single programs" or
schools, the city
needs strategies
that bring business
volunteers and
resources to all
programs and every
high needs
neighborhood.
I've been
creating maps since
1994 to show where
existing non-school
tutoring/mentoring
programs are located
in Chicago and where
more are needed.
This is my most
updated map, created
in January 2016. It
shows locations of
non-school youth
serving programs in
the Chicago region.
( click
here).
While I've been
collecting this
information, I've
never had business
or university
partners helping,
which means there
are a wide range of
questions about
programs and
supporters that have
never been answered.
For
instance, if you
visit web sites
of Chicago programs
on
my list, you'll
find that they are
each different in
telling what they do
and where they are
located. While I've
been sharing
visualizations for
nearly 20 years, few
organizations use
similar
visualizations to
show program design,
long-term goals,
etc.
Furthermore, it is
even more difficult
to find a database,
directory or map,
that shows business
involvement in
non-school programs
or schools. Without
better basic
information it's
difficult to build a
master plan and
on-going strategy
that helps
comprehensive,
well-designed
programs be
available to k-12
youth in every high
poverty
neighborhood.
Are there
on-line spaces where
people talk about
these ideas?
This is a map
showing participants
in a Connected
Learning cMOOC,
which was active in
June and July 2016.
You can find the
map, along with a
2015 map, and see
how people are
interacting,
at this link.
You can even join
in.
I've been connecting
with educators in
this type of format
since 2012 and in
other formats since
1998. I'm currently
following another
cMOOC, called The
Innovator's Mindset
(MOOC) #IMMOOC.
Visit
their Facebook page
and see how
participants are
sharing ideas via
blogs, Twitter
posts, and FB
messages.
While I host two
lists on Facebook,
pointing to
Chicago area
programs and
intermediaries,
and a few are active
in posting stories
about what they do,
I don't see
interaction among
programs that is
similar to those
among educators.
Furthermore, I don't
find places where
donors, business
partners, policy
makers and media are
talking about these
issues with each
other, or with
program
leaders...with the
same on-going level
of activity and
sharing as I see in
these MOOCs.
Share the
responsibility for
making these forums
available.
I used this graphic
in last month's
newsletters to show
how leaders from
different sectors
need to help
non-school programs
grow. It's the same
set of leaders who
need to help on-line
learning communities
grow.
Nothing
happens until
someone reads these
articles, then
invites others to do
the same.
This is an on-going
process, where many
can take leadership
roles.
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You might be
interested in....
These are just a
few of the links
available in the
Tutor/Mentor web
library
* Chicago STEM
Pathways survey - Help
create a deeper
understanding of STEM
based youth programming
in Chicago - If you host
such a program, please
complete
this survey
* Discover E
(Engineering) web site -
click here
* First Goal Foundation
offers Ice Hockey and
Skating program. Seeking
participants. See
www.firstgoalfoundation.org
* Report on Illinois
Poverty - Racism's Toll
- new report from Social
Impact Research Center -
click here
* Student College Loan
Forgiveness Program -
learn more
* ILGIVE2016 - Tuesday,
Nov. 29, 2016 -
click here
* Strengthening
Chicago Youth -
training and events
calendar -
click here
* Thrive Chicago
events calendar -
click here
* Chicago and National
conferences that repeat
annually -
click here
Dan Bassill (that's
me) is available to
discuss any of these
ideas with you, or
others, via Skype,
Google Hangouts or in
person if you're in
Chicago.
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Tutor/Mentor Connection,
Tutor/Mentor Institute,
LLC
Merchandise Mart PO Box
3303, Chicago, Il 60654
tutormentor2@earthlink.net
| http://www.tutormentorexchange.net
It only takes a
small group of dedicated
people to change the
world. Thank you to the
few people who keep
sending contributions to
help me keep this
resource available to
you and others.
Click here if you
want to help.
I'll be
celebrating 70th
Birthday on Dec. 19.
A gift from you can help
me continue doing this
work.
Read more.
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