TMSC Consulting SVCS, LLC Developmental Consulting Division
Senior Writer and Editor has Pulitzer Center Citizen Journalism Award 2nd Place and is a Member of Psi Chi National Honor Society in PsychologyArchive for April, 2008
Tutoring and Mentoring: Different For Youth
The current graduation rate has sparked a new interest in ways of retaining and graduating students from all grade levels. One option is mentoring.
Tutoring does not work the same in schools as mentoring. I was a supervisor for mentors of individuals in the juvenile system and counseled them. The juvenile system deals with individuals that have more severe problems than the school system and the mentoring is more intense. The educational requirements are also higher.
The school counselor is not the same as a mentor. The school counselor gives guidance for classes, summer opportunities, vocational education, colleges and universities, and responds to teacher referrals.
Mentoring is a persons life. Tutoring is only the academic part of a person. A mentor is involved with the persons family and friends, helps the individual make personal decisions, and can be used as a reference later. Many mentors are professionals at the top of there field, the reference for a young person would be considered outstanding. Many youth would not have the opportunity to meet some of these individuals if it not for a mentoring program.
In conclusion, tutoring does not work the same in schools as mentoring. A mentor does not replace the school counselor, and many of the mentors are professionals at the top of their field. Mentoring improves behavior, grades, and attendance. If the school system can take on this type of large project, the drop out rates most likely will decrease, and grades will most likely increase.
For a Debate on Tutoring working the same in schools as Mentoring and this complete article go to: http://www.helium.com/items/1018116-tutoring-school-mentoring-supervisor
Autism: Developmental Psychological Discussion
Autism falls under Developmental Psychology because it is diagnosed as a child. Autism effects perceptions and intuition. Autism is the inability to read social ques, a form of perception.
Perception is forming mental representations of the objects that give rise to sensory experiences.
Intuition is the quick perception of truth without conscious attention or reasoning, that is, known intuitively, truth obtained by internal apprehension without the aid of perception or the reasoning powers.
To diagnose Autism, Doctors use:
- Questionnaires
- Screening instruments
- Gather information about the child’s development and behavior
- Parent observations
- Doctor observations
The core behaviors that identify Autism are:
- impaired ability to make friends with peers
- impaired ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others
- absence or impairment or imaginative and social play
- stereotyped, repetitive, or unusual use of language
- restricted patterns of interest that are abnormal in intensity or focus
- preoccupation with certain objects or subjects
- inflexible adherence to specific routines or rituals
For the Autism Fact Sheet, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke go to: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm
References:
http://tmscconsultingservices.wordpress.com/2008/04/20/autism-the-paranormal-psychological-view/
Maintaining Relationships
Most people live in their own little world, when people are around all the time, they are a part of that world, when they are distant, it may be difficult to maintain the relationship. Dr. Gottman and Joan Declaire’s The Relationship Cure explains how to start, maintain, and end relationships.
To start and maintain relationships individuals Turn Toward One Another:
- High Energy Responses
- Full attention with good eye contact
- Enthusiastic
Reponses:
- I hear you.
- I’m interested in you.
- I understand you (or would like to).
- I am on you side.
- I’d like to help you (whether I can or not).
- I’d like to be with you (whether I can or not).
- I accept you (even if I don’t accet all you behaviors).
Responses that may be critical and appear as though someone is verbally attacking:
- Broad-based attacks on character.
- Speaking in global terms.
- Blaming or betrayal.
Relationships are ending in a negative way or harmful, the responses:
- Your need for attention makes me angry.
- I feel hostile toward you.
- I don’t respect you.
- I don’t value you or this relationship.
- I want to hurt you.
- I want to drive you away.
Thoughts, feelings, observations, opinions, and invitations are used to develop a relationship. Including:
- Affectionate touching
- Facial expressions
- Playful touching
- Affiliating gestures
- vocalizing
In light conversation or “small talk” respones are:
- Small talk-newspaper, TV news, updates on positive things about other people.
- Humor
- Affection
- Problem solving
- Connection around heart felt subjects like future goals, worries, values, and meanings.
Start improving your relationships, make a 7 Step Behavior Plan:
- Improve your “Small Talk”-Read the Newspaper & Watch TV News.
- Stay in touch with the accomplishments of others.
- Improve your Humor-Read the Newspaper Jokes & Joke Books. Stories about yourself that may be humorous.
- If it is not broke, don’t fix it, what worked for you in the past? How can you improve that?
- Affection-don’t forget to shake hands, hug, kisses on the cheek, holding hands, inexpensive gifts for one another.
- Who is important to you to work toward in relationships. Relationship building and maintance takes time and energy, the world has millions of people, who do you want to stay in touch with?
- Future goals-goals are wishes written down, values, worries, & plans-Remember to start today improving and maintaining your relationships.
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