EntreLeadership

The book I am reading is EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey. I choose this book because I have only heard good things about Mr. Ramsey’s work and advice, so I though reading one of his books would be very interesting and educational.  This book also talks in depth about being a an entrepreneur which is interesting to me because I have been an entrepreneur in the past and have dreams about being one again in the future.  So far my book has been very interesting, it started out with Mr. Ramsey telling what kind of leader he was and how that didn’t turn out for him until he took a new approach.  Then the book moved into the basics of what a leader is and how to develop the unique leader inside each of us.

MBTI

Doing the MBTI test is always surprising to me because of how right on it is with its findings; this test says I am ESFP, which stands for extravert, sensing, feeling, and perceiving.  During this session on the MBTI tests I looked at what the MBTI told me about how I teach and work with others so I could improve my mentoring abilities. 

My first letter is E, which stands for extraversion. I am not just a little bit this way I am an extreme extravert which means that I get my energy and excitement from the world around me.  Being an introvert is different than being an extrovert because they get their energy and excitement from within.  Knowing this about myself and others has taught me to be aware of the fact that I can be a little much for people sometimes, so when I am teaching I need to be aware of this.  Ways that I can tailor my teaching for introverts is by having more personal reflection time on things we are talking about in class.

My second letter is S for sensing which once again came out pretty strongly.  Sensing means I use the five senses when learning or doing something more than those that have the intuition characteristic.  This can make it hard at times when teaching or mentoring because students and mentees will ask a lot of what if questions which sensing people don’t usually pay that much attention too.  Knowing this, it will be important for me to pay close attention when asked and presented with situations that have to do with the unknown, so I don’t just blow them off.  Knowing that I have the sensing characteristic has helped me to know how to help my own studying and work habits.

My third letter is F which stands for feeling; I worry about how things and situations will affect others.  This can and has been a problem for me in the past because I let my feeling dictate in places where I should have though more logical.  Since last spring when we retook this test I have paid more attention to this and it has really paid off.  In the classroom using my feelings can help in some situations because I might be able to help the students learn about something before it becomes something they really need.

My fourth letter is P which stands for perception; which means I look at the world as being concrete and I like to keep my choices open, go with the flow.  This can be handy when working with others because you as an individual may have a set of plans, however those plans may not work with everyone else’s so being able to just go with the flow makes it easier.  When it comes to teaching and peer mentoring being able to keep my choices open will make it easier when working with others because you never know when something may take a different amount of time or course of action.  Being able to roll with the punches will make it easier on me and those around me when plans change.

Taking the Myers Briggs test has always been beneficial to me and I recommend everyone take it if they have the chance.  

Final Week!!!

I was super excited to finally get my partner!!  I ended up being a part of one of the groups of three so I am partners with Anthony; however Joey is Anthony’s other partner, so I will be doing a lot with him also.  I feel strongly that we will be able bounce off of each other to be the best mentors we can be for our recitation.  Knowing Anthony has two recitations I know that I will have to be very on top of things, so if he ends up needing to be with his other group I can handle everything myself.  Along with that when we are working on lesson plans and everything like that it will be nice to have an extra person to work with. 

The only other thing we did on Tuesday was some ice breakers…I love icebreakers!!  I have always found doing ice breakers fun because you are able to learn a lot about others while having fun.  I also find it interesting that there are so many different ice breakers that accomplish the same things.  Next, year I plan to use different ice breakers throughout the year to let the first years have fun and learn at the same time. 

I can’t believe this semester is almost over already.  We have come a long way as a group and I think we are ready for next fall all the new Hixson mentees, at least I know I am! J  I hope everybody is having a good dead week and good luck on finals next week!  See everyone later today!

Stories of Undocumented Youth

The diversity event I went to was, “Stories of Undocumented Youth.”  This film and discussion was very eye opening, I never knew there was so many youth that were/are undocumented in the United States.  Every year there are around 65,000 high schools graduates that are not able to continue their path through life in the United States because of not have the right papers to make them US citizens.  This eye opening  event was started with the film “Papers: Stories of Undocumented Youth,” which was about four youth that have lived in the United States for as long as they can remember but their parents were illegal’s. When these high school graduates came of age they had problems getting jobs and going to college, because they were not US citizen because of their parents’ actions.  However, since the DREAM Act was passed those individuals that are undocumented now have the opportunity to gain permanent resident status here in the US and follow their dreams.  Following the video there was a short break followed by a discussion on this issue, which was also very eye opening.  

Before attending this event I never had put any thought into the fact that individuals all over this country of all different races and backgrounds are affected by their parents’ choice to come to America illegally.  There is nothing that makes them any different in the everyday life, until they find out they have no papers saying they are American citizens.  If I was one of those individuals that found out I was “undocumented” I don’t know  what I would do….I would be devastated that I couldn’t follow my dreams and lost when  I had to give up everything I had  ever known.  I feel that the DREAM Act was a great piece of legislation for our government to pass because now individuals are able to pave their own paths to life.  Undocumented youth don’t have to be punished for what their parents did anymore. 

Scavenger Hunt!!

I hope everybody had a great VEISHEA!  It was a great week for the Hixson program with Christiana getting her award and all of us getting so much work done on our video.  This past week in class we had to do a scavenger hunt of important places to know about on campus.  I found the Scavenger hunt relaxing, educational, and fun.  Some of the places we had to find were the Thielen Health Center, the Study Aboard office, the Financial Aid offices, and the Student Services main offices.  We were also gave points for every sculpture, piece of art, and donated object we could find around campus.  We did this scavenger hunt, so we would know where some of the commonly needed places by first year students are located, so we can better help our groups next year. 

I wish I could have come to more of the retreat yesterday; it looked like you guys were having fun.  I am happy to say I think the movie is going to be a success!  Big thanks to Zach and Brandon for all their hard work with the video! Well that is all for this week, see ya’ll tomorrow.  I CAN’T WAIT for tomorrow so I can find out my mentoring partner!!! J

GOALS!!!

I hope everybody found Zach and my lesson at least a little interesting.  Our lesson was about goals and using the SMART and 4 M’s methods to make goals more realistic.  I found the SMART goals method is what I use the most, it might be because I have know about this method longer or just because I like using this method more.  The SMART goals method entails five things a goal should be, specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-limited.  The SMART goal that I made for myself this past week is that I will know the names, one fact, and the county that each person in my recitation is from and I will know the names of at least five other students by the third week of classes.  By using the SMART method by goal would be classified like this.  My goal is specific because I am going to know the names, one fact, and county of each member in my recitation and the names of at least five other students.  My goal is Measurable because after each class I can see what I know about each of my mentees and on Mondays I can see if I can remember any new mentees not from my recitation.  The goal is Attainable because I know I can memorize things if I try.  It is Relevant because I need to know these facts to foster better relationships between me and my group.  Lastly, it is Time-Limited because I gave myself three weeks.  As you can see using the SMART method makes the goals very specific and makes you think about every little thing obtaining to the goal.

            The 4 m’s in the 4M’s method stand for motivation, making commitments, modifying the environment, and monitoring actions.  Even though I like the SMART method more, this method can also come in very handy when working on making goals and achieving them.  For my goal above my motivation is being the best mentor I can be for the individuals in my group and the whole program.  Those that can help me achieve this are my follow mentors because we are all trying to do the same basic thing.  I will modify my environment by making sure that when students are doing their intro there are no distracts in the room, so we can pay attention and get to know each other better.  Lastly, I can monitor my actions by seeing what I remember after each class.  Setting goals have always been important to me because goals give me something to work for and I love having something to work forwards. 

I hope everybody is enjoying this beautiful weather, I know I am!  See everybody Tuesday for sure and maybe Monday to work on the video! J

Digital Storytelling

Hope everybody is having a great weekend and loving this beautiful weather, I know I am!! J This past Tuesday in class we talked about our Digit Storytelling project, which I think is going to be a blast to film!  As a freshman I remember our video being a ninjas and fighting theme, so we had ninjas taking over the campus and attacking random people throughout the day.  Not only did we have ninjas, but we also had a Debra look like (me).  I think we will be able to make a great video this year, because of all the thoughts that have been talked about.   

This year our project is using music to tell about resources on campus and how to be a reasonable leaner.  I feel that using little clips from all kinds of songs is going to be fun to figure out and is going to make a pretty entertaining video at the end of all of this.  I believe that we got some great things figured out in class and through our brainstorming we should be able to come up with a script pretty easily.   Using the timeline of a pretty common weekday school day was a great idea; we were/will be able to come up with so many ideas.  Well the time has come for Zach and me to finely present our lesson.  I am pretty excited to do our lesson Tuesday, so fellow mentors get excited!!