KEY LESSON

Unit Learning Goal

Students will develop habits of reflection through examination of others, external dilemmas, and personal reflection prompts. 

Lesson Goal

Students will understand the value of mentors and other figures who can help or inspire people to do good work. Students will also consider the role of anti-mentors.

Assessment

Students will be able to describe role models, mentors, “anti-mentors,” and others who inspire them, as well as their anti-mentors, in individual and group reflection. Written reflections about mentors and the exit ticket response may be collected and assessed.

portfolio documentation

  • Mentor Reflections (written or artistic representations)

  • Exit Ticket

Resources

Total TIME

45 minutes

Instructions

 1. Opener: Learning about the 3 Ms [10 minutes].

  • Watch the “3 Ms” video.

  • Explain that you will be covering the 3 Ms over the next two class periods (if you are following the 45-minute blocks). First, present them with the ideas of Mentors and Anti-mentors (we sometimes call these people “TOR-mentors”!). The Ms of Mission and Mirror will be taught in the next session.

2. Identifying Models [15 Minutes].

  • Lead a class discussion about role models, explaining that even if we don’t have particularly deep connections to a “mentor” per se, we can still learn from people who inspire us. 

  • Model thinking through a particular mentor or role model yourself and what you have learned from that individual (e.g., “My mother taught me to never go to bed angry”; “My soccer coach taught me to be selfless and think about other players”). [5 minutes]

  • Ask students to think about at least one person they know personally who inspires them (coaches, teachers, family members, friends). If a student can’t think of one person in particular, they can think of a composite of positive traits from different individuals (e.g., “my older sibling takes everyone’s opinion into account”; “my teacher is a strong leader, our principal brings compassion to each student”; etc.). Ask them to write down the important messages they’ve learned from each person, or from the set of traits they have. Alternatively, they can create an artistic representation of these messages. [10 minutes]

  • Come back together and share as a group. [5 minutes]

  • Add students’ written reflections or artistic representations to their Good Work portfolios (artistic representations can be images/copies of their original work along with a description of how their art relates to these messages).

  • “ One adaptation was to discuss role models and coaches in addition to mentors. The language I use[d] here is:

    Role model - Someone who is a model of who you want to be. This person has values that you admire and hold and conducts them self in a way that you aspire toward.

    Coach - Someone who you are comfortable having open and honest conversations with that is able to facilitate your own resourcefulness, creativity, and good thinking.

    Mentor - Someone who has a specific set of experiences that you also hope to have.”

  • “I added a thinking routine (3, 2, 1, bridge) so that students could focus on the video, and it was easier for them to identify the 3 key words, 2 important ideas and a question, and at the end of the lesson, how does the lesson connected to the ideas of Good Work we had been exploring.”

  • “We ask students to bring pictures of their role models so that at the time of classroom reflection they can be involved in depth with the activity and so excellency in the objective can be obtained.”

2. Identifying Anti-Mentors [15 minutes].

  • Divide students into pairs. 

  • Ask them to think of someone (fictional or otherwise) who they don’t admire (or “anti-mentors”). Then in pairs, ask them to discuss why they don’t admire this individual. Caution students to be thoughtful and not to mention anyone in the school (teachers or students). Also, emphasize that this is a serious exercise and not a time to be unkind. Use the following questions as prompts:

    • Who is this individual, and what is their work?

    • Why don’t you admire him or her? Describe his or her qualities.

    • What would you guess are their top values? Are they the same or different from yours? How might their top values influence their approach to work? 

    • Can you offer an example of how you might do things differently?

  • Bring the class together, and ask students to share out the results of their discussions.

  • “In the anti-mentor section, I invited the students to talk about ACTIONS they didn't appreciate in specific people rather than identifying people they didn't look up to. “

4. Closing and Exit Ticket [5 minutes].

  • Ask students to consider:

    • Think about something you care deeply about (this could be something that is happening in your school, your community, in current events, etc). With respect to the issue you have in mind, who is a mentor who would help you achieve what you see as the best possible solution? Why?

Possible Enrichments

  • Expand on your exit ticket from this class. What values would you expect a mentor to bring to the solution? Conversely, what values would you expect an anti-mentor to bring to their own choice or action?