From: Chris Rettstatt (chris@kidfu.com)
Date: 05/20/03
Linda,
I agree with you that it's important to keep a line drawn between
mentoring and tutoring. And your definition of the mentorship
relationship is great. Do you mind if I use that?
It's true that the competition for grants is great at the moment, which is
why our focus right now is less writing grants for ourselelves and more
providing support to other nonprofits so they have a better chance of
getting grants. We specifically like to work with nonprofits that have
great programs but need help with the online component -- and even more
specifically, providing a safe way for their kids to interact online as
part of a new or existing program.
You can see an example of our kid-written magazine at http://www.kidfu.com/pickle/ (be sure to turn on your speaker)
We developed the template, and it could easily be reused (and the style
changed) to use for another online magazine.
You asked how our online mentorship works. The majority of it is done in
chat (though we do some over email). Kids come to our site to chat with
each other and have fun, and our chat mentors play the role of virtual
camp counselor, keeping the atmosphere polite, safe and fun. In addition
to this, the chat mentors constantly reinforce the rules of online safety
and online ethics. They also host and facilitate games, scheduled
educational chats on topics the kids are interested in, such as creative
writing, book clubs, foreign language learning, homework help, planning
for college, family issues, etc. They don't act as tutors, and they don't
teach. They facilitate the experience and guide, but the kids are
encouraged to take the lead and drive the experience.
But from my experience the most important mentoring happens not during
these scheduled events but in casual conversation. The regulars develop
relationships with each other and with the chat mentors, and the
conversations get very real. They are never allowed to disclose
personally identifiable information about themselves online, but heavy
issues do come up (teen pregnancy, eating disorders, depression, abuse,
bigotry). We have a network of child experts we work with to deal with
these issues, but we really need to increase that network, because I want
to be able to provide as much help as we legally can.
Good luck with the youth council/self advocacy group. Let me know if I
can do anything to help.
Chris
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