I really enjoyed last week's discussion and think it might be one of the most important of the whole semester. Each of the 12 principles that the book outlined are critical for our success as peer mentors. I think the most important thing for each of us to remember is that when we signed up to be peer mentors, we signed on to being a positive role model for our students and should always present ourselves in that way, even if this means that a Friday night out needs to be cut short because you spot one of your students at a house party that you're at as well.
Some of the issues that we talked about seemed a little more out there than others, but it was nice to know in advance that some wild things do happen. I think it would be difficult to work in some of the conditions that we talked about like having a student hit on you or having students within your section begin relationships, but I think they can all be worked through if we as peer mentors establish a level of profession at the beginning of the semester. This includes remaining unbiased, not having favorites, and keeping things confidential.
My favorite thing that was said during class was, "Up, not Out" in regards to the confidentiality policy. While we were going through some of the situations, I was a little confused on what our job was, but that summed it up great. When I was a freshman I would have been comfortable telling my peer mentors anything knowing that the only people they would talk to, if needed, would be people above them who would only be there to help more.
Going back to the level of profession that I talked about earlier, I think it's important that we also own up to our own mistakes if a situation should ever arise. It would be really embarrassing and I pray that I am never in a situation where I would need to, but I would talk to my students and first of all, apologize for not portraying myself as a positive role model. Sure, it would be really awkward like we all said in class, but I think it would serve as a learning opportunity for the students as well as for myself. I really don't anticipate this happening, but at least now I've thought about what I would do if it did.
Finally, I'm really glad we made that pledge for quality service, great activity Liz and Kim! I thought we came up with a great list and it will be a good reminder to have this fall if our ethics are ever tested. As peer mentors, we're not here to tell our students what to do and what not to do; we're not their parents. We just need to do our best to be as ethical and smart as we can because as they say actions speak louder than words!
I had forgotten about the up, not out idea. I really like that; thanks for reminding me! I also like that you talked about owning up to mistakes as a way for both parties to grow and learn. Owing up to mistakes is not something people generally see/are willing to do. It is good to show people what that looks like.
ReplyDeleteNicole,
ReplyDelete1. I always love it when I say something in class and it makes it a blog post. I am glad you liked the "up, not out" comment.
2. I like how you mentioned about owning up to our mistakes. I think that is something we could have talked about more in class. We will all make mistakes at some point in our job as a peer mentor. It might be small or it might be large. I know I have forgotten to remind students about due dates when I did this last year. The key is owning up to that mistake, even if that is a huge mistake. I like how you mentioned apologizing to your class. I think you provided really good insight about that.
Joshua
Nicole,
ReplyDeleteI am glad you got a lot out of class. Although there weren't as many activities that had us up and moving, our content for discussion was really important. I like that you mention that we "aren't their parents." Although we would like students to make good choices, it is really our job to serve as a role model more than tell them what they can or can't do.
Great post!