Mentoringness

Well, we may have made a start.

I spoke with the sixth grade guidance counselor, who had a couple of ideas (more generic or teacher-like than I would have liked, but they got me to thinking), plus I heard another mentor saying 'I've been trying to be a pal to him, but it isn't getting him moving; I'm going to start talking about schoolwork', and finally, I leafed through a booklet about 'How To Get Better Grades', which was half useful.

So I was straight with him.

I told him my goal is to get him to the point where teachers don't bug him about 'oh, you can do better'. I said I wasn't looking to turn him into a fan of social studies or anything else; I just wanted to get him to the point where he could survive the course, pass it, and get on with his life. I said that I wanted this for a couple of reasons, including that if he's failing courses, he can't play varsity football, but also because its something he has to do, like it or not, so I'm going to see if I can help him make it. I promised that I would not ask him to like it.

I told him that if he thinks my concepts are stupid, or that I'm wasting his time, I want him to tell me, and that he really can because I'm the only person there who can't fail him, send nasty notes home, or anything like that. I told him that if HE decided it wasn't working, I would ask him for ideas, but if he just wanted OUT, then it was over -- entirely his call. I said that I'd just go back home and bake, which is what I like to do.

And I told him that tomorrow, when we meet, I will give him five ideas for gutting it through any course. I would ask his opinion on each one. If he thinks they stink, he can tear them up, make spitballs out of them, whatever. If he thinks he can do them -- any or all -- I'll ask him to pay me, in time. I'll ask him to promise that he will spend some amount of time doing what he agreed to do. And if he does, we'll talk about it, see whats working, whats not.

Its not much, but its more than I had this morning.