Gail Manza - The Mentors Field Guide: Answers You Need to Help Kids Succeed

Two deeply experienced mentoring leaders have created a rich and practical resource for our countrys most powerful public servants, mentors. They have put the best of research, existing tools, and the everyday experiences of mentors into this new asset for the mentoring field.

David Shapiro, CEO of MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership

Having researched for fifteen years the effects of youth mentoring programs and program practices that help make programs effective, I was surprised, when I first became a Big to a Little two years ago, how many questions I had about how to be a mentor. The Mentors Field Guide addresses my questions and many others in ways not found in other available resources. To be sure, The Mentors Field Guide will help mentors feel more connected to the larger movement of youth mentoring and part of the community of volunteers who drive it. The Mentors Field Guide is a resource that can help mentors be more informed consumers of programmatic supports available to them through their programs and their staff and will certainly help many mentors enhance the lives of youth.

Michael J. Karcher, Ed.D., Ph.D., co-editor of The Handbook of Youth Mentoring and professor, College of Education and Human Development, University of Texas at San Antonio

The Mentors Field Guide is a well-organized comprehensive compilation of resources and useful suggestions for both beginning and experienced mentors. This is a powerful reference tool offering research-based and practical suggestions for mentors and for leaders coordinating mentor programs in all settings. The authors spared no sensitive issues while addressing 67 pertinent questions about mentoring programs making this guide a must-have resource for all mentoring programs. Every mentor will benefit from this valuable information, but more importantly, every child will benefit from a better relationship supported by the ideas in this guide.

Jay Smink, D.Ed., former executive director of the National Dropout Prevention Center at Clemson University

Packed with research and case examples, The Mentors Field Guide demonstrates a remarkable blend of empirical science and the art of the youth mentoring process. The authors draw on their collective years of experience in the field and their deep sensitivity to both research and practice wisdom to offer common sense approaches to the challenges facing mentors. The result is a balanced approach that encourages mentors to develop strategies based on sound science, while also recognizing and drawing on their own intuitive skills. Volunteer mentors, practitioners, and researchers will value this book for its rich up-to-date coverage, clear writing, and common sense guidance. This book is gift to the many mentors whose generous commitment to our nations youth will be enriched with stronger, more effective relationships.

Jean Rhodes, Ph.D., MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership Professor of Psychology and Research Director, Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring

The future of mentoring lies with those who build strong relationships, with or without formal program supports. Manza and Patrick have provided natural mentors with insight and tools they need to succeed. I urge them to get this book and keep it handy.

David E. Van Patten, president and CEO of Dare Mighty Things

Any mentor on the fence or who has already taken the leap has all the answers in this handy guide. It is a straightforward, sensible compilation of advice, counsel, tips, scenarios, and strategies to ensure that mentors are successful in their mentoring relationships. Every question that a mentor has ever asked me has been addressed. This user-friendly guide is not only essential for mentors who want to be effective, but it is also a fun read!

Susan G. Weinberger, EdD., a.k.a. Dr. Mentor, President, Mentor Consulting Group

A field guide for mentors! A brilliant concept for those of us in the field who know how important high-quality tools are for the dedicated souls who mentor deserving young people. This guide is a unique and valuable resource for mentors and for others who mentor less formally, including teachers, youth group leaders, and national service volunteers.

Barbara Lehrner Canter, president and CEO Emeritus, Los Angeles Team Mentoring and co-founder, 1000 Women for Mentoring

The Mentors Field Guide

Answers You Need to Help Kids Succeed

Gail Manza and Susan K. Patrick

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Search Institute Press, Minneapolis, MN Copyright 2012 by Search Institute

All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced in any manner, mechanical or electronic, without prior permission from the publisher except in brief quotations or summaries in articles or reviews, or as individual activity sheets for educational noncommercial use only. For additional permission, visit Search Institutes website at www.search-institute.org/permissions and submit a Permissions Request Form.

At the time of publication, all facts and figures cited herein are the most current available; all telephone numbers, addresses, and website URLs are accurate and active; all publications, organizations, websites, and other resources exist as described in this book; and all efforts have been made to verify them. The authors and Search Institute make no warranty or guarantee concerning the information and materials given out by organizations or content found at websites that are cited herein, and we are not responsible for any changes that occur after this books publication. If you find an error or believe that a resource listed herein is not as described, please contact Client Services at Search Institute.

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ISBN-13: 978-1-57482-543-5

Credits

Book Design: Percolator

Edited by: Mary Byers

Production Supervisor: Mary Ellen Buscher

Library of Congress

Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Manza, Gail.

The mentors field guide : answers you need to help kids succeed / Gail Manza and Susan K. Patrick.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN978-1-57482-286-1 (pbk.)

ISBN1-57482-286-1 (pbk.)

1. YouthCounseling ofUnited States.

2. MentoringUnited States. 3. Youth developmentUnited States. 4. Social work with youthUnited States. I. Patrick, Susan K. II. Title.

HV1431.M359 2012

362.74860973dc23

012001395

The authors and publisher would like to gratefully acknowledge the permission to reprint material from The Handbook of Youth Mentoring by David L. DuBois and Michael J. Karcher (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005), a condensed version of the Mentoring Application Form from Mentoring U.S.A. (2011), definitions of abuse and neglect from the American Academy of Pediatrics (2011), excerpts from Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoringhy MENTOR (2009), and excerpts from First Do No Harm: Ethical Principles for Youth Mentoring Relationships by Jean Rhodes, Belle Liang, and Rene Spencer, in