Quality in Action

1. Quality in Action December 1, 2010 Building Deep and Sustained Relationships with Young People Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota

2. Webinar Logistics • Asking Questions & Sharing Comments During the Webinar • “Raise your hand” & MPM Organizers will unmute you • Or, type questions (and comments) in the question/answer section and submit; we will respond directly to you or possibly share your question with all attendees • When unmuted, please monitor your background noise April Riordan, Director of Training and Community Partnerships 2 2 2

3. Nancy Tellett-Royce Senior Consultant, Search Institute

4. External Assets Boundaries and Expectations Support Constructive Use of Time Empowerment

5. Internal Assets Commitment to Learning Social Competencies Positive Values Positive Identity

6. What is a Spark? A special quality, skill, or interest that lights us up and that we are passionate about. Something that comes from inside of us, and when we express it, it gives us joy and energy. It’s our very essence, the thing about us that is “good and beautiful, and useful to the world.”

7. Nature, ecology, the environment Leading Animal Welfare Athletics Helping, serving, volunteering Reading Spirituality or Religion Creative Arts Committed to living in a specific way (with joy, passion, caring, etc.) Learning a subject matter like Science or History

8. Search Institute’s Research Gallup Poll of 2,000 12 to 17-year-olds and 2,000 of their parents Online Poll conducted by Louis Harris polling firm with 1,000 11 to 17-year-olds Interviews with 405 teens, ages 15-17 Continued assessment in individual communities

9. Three Types of Sparks Teens generally named three types of sparks: Something they are good at – a talent or skill Something they care deeply about – such as the environment or serving their community A quality they know is special – caring for others or being a friend

10. Results from Sparks Research When youth know their spark and have several adults who support their spark, they are more likely to: Have a sense of purpose Be socially competent and physically healthy Volunteer to help others Have higher grades in school and better attendance

11. Results from Sparks Research Young people who know their spark and have several adults who support their spark are less likely to: Experience depression Engage in acts of violence toward others

12. Sparks Most Cited Athletics Creative arts Nature, ecology, the environment Learning a subject matter like science or history Helping, serving, volunteering Leading Spirituality or religion Reading Committed to living in a specific way (with joy, passion, caring, etc.) Animal welfare

13. How many teenagers have sparks? 31% 69%

14. The Challenge for Caring Adults

15. The Critical Role of Mentors Only 37 % can identify adults who know and support their spark. Mentors can play an important role in increasing this. All young people should have an adult who: • sees their spark • affirms that spark • helps them explore their spark

16. Maximize Your Impact – MPM Mentor Training Build longer, stronger relationships Focus on what is strong not what is wrong Pay attention to what mentees would like for themselves – not just what we think they need Teach and model skills to help young people carry their baggage better

17. Sparks in Action My mentee’s goal is to become a famous singer… however, she can’t carry a tune at all!

18. Talking with a Child About Sparks Watch for signs of sparks - “You really seem to enjoy…” Share your own sparks - “When I was your age, I was passionate about…” Ask open-ended questions, and then listen – “What do you think your spark is?”

19. Spark Champions Can … Affirm the spark Encourage its expression Model the spark Provide opportunities to express it Run interference and help eliminate obstacles Teach or mentor Show up (at recitals, games, performances, play, reading, contests)

20. Sparks in Action I’m having a hard time connecting with my mentee. We don’t seem to have anything to talk about and he doesn’t share any ideas with me about things he would like to do when we are together.

21. The Seven Essential Questions What is your spark? When and where do you show your spark? Who knows your spark? Who helps support your spark? What gets in your way? How can I help? How can you use your spark to make our world better?

22. Tips for Sparks Champions Sparks can change over time Young people need multiple champions; some to cheer, some to teach Expect “ups and downs” in the conversations A skill is not automatically a spark Our spark may not be our work

23. Featured Resources • Sparks: How Parents Can Ignite the Hidden Strengths of Teenagers by Peter L Benson • www.IgniteSparks.org Download more resources • www.at15.com Youth-oriented resources based on Search Institute’s work • www.search-institute.org Search Institute’s web site and on-line catalog • www.parentfurther.com Tons of useful resources for parents 23

24. Resources MPM Trainingwww.mpmn.org/traininginstitute Web sites & PDFswww.delicious.com/traininginstitute This presentation & otherswww.slideshare.net/traininginstitute 24

25. Thank You! Next Quality in Action webinar is January 5, 2011; 12:00 – 1:00 pm CDT National Mentoring Month/Mentor Recruitment Tips & Resources 25