[nabs-l] Mentoring a younger student; when enough is enough

[Kaiti Shelton]

Hi Lillie,

It is totally fine to give initial help with touring the student
around the school and the other things you've described, but make it
clear that with your schedule next year that you might not be able to
be as present in dooing things like teaching her routes later on,
tutoring, etc.  It sounds like you're planning in the right direction.

Maybe later on even with your schedule and rigorous schedule you could
still be available over email.  That way you could still be helpful
even if you aren't able to physically be there to show her things.

You're right that junior year is very busy, and I was always told it
is the hardest year of high school simply because it is when the
majority of AP classes happen, it is when you start getting your
college stuff together, etc.  Do what you can do, and don't be afraid
to put yourself first.

On 2/11/14, Lillie Pennington <lilliepennington at fuse.net> wrote:
> Hello Joe and all,
>
> You have a very, very good point here. I probably jumped the gun a little
> in
> sending this message and worrying about this. I like to be prepared for any
> situation that could arise from anything. The possibility of working with
> this student had also been discussed between me and an old TVI about a year
> ago.
> After reading the messages in this thread, I have sort of developed a sort
> of rough draft for a plan that I may execute to find out what what is
> desired of me at this point to do, and at future points.
> When I get my  approved course list some time next week, I plan to give it
> to my TVI  as he has previously requested. I may ask some point in this
> time
> period if this student has any idea of her schedule yet. Hopefully more
> information will be given, and I will also ask if she has any questions (I
> had conveyed a message to her yesterday to send a list of questions so I
> could see where she was at and I could provide more detailed, thought out
> answers.) I may say something like, I know that I can help her now, but
> because of my schedule I am not sure how much I can help with anything next
> year, and then see where it is going from there.
>
> Thank you everyone for your support and I will let you all know if anything
> comes of this.
> Lillie
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Joe
> Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 6:48 PM
> To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Mentoring a younger student; when enough is enough
>
> Aren't the fears here a little premature? According to your note, all
> you've
> been asked to do is give a tour. The rest is just a concern over what you
> might be asked to do. I would wait for some evidence that the expectations
> of you are higher before making a leap from a tour to constant tutoring.
> That way you don't potentially embarrass yourself over something the
> teacher
> may not have ever planned on you handling. To offer a different prospective
> from others, you could view it as flattering that you've been asked to show
> the student around, that you're viewed as someone competent enough to be
> counted upon to take care of this task. Just a thought.
>
> Joe
>
> --
> Twitter: @ScribblingJoe
>
> Visit my blog:
> http://joeorozco.com/blog
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lillie
> Pennington
> Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 12:18 AM
> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nabs-l] Mentoring a younger student; when enough is enough
>
>
>
> Hello all
> I know my subject and message may sound heartless, and I apologize.
> There is a blind student a few years younger than me in my school district
> that will be attending my high school next year. I have helped this student
> by serving as a guide in going to middle school programs. My vi asked if I
> would do a tour of the high school and answer questions. This is fine with
> me.
> My fear is that I will be asked to help with some sort of tutoring. I do
> not
> feel I can do this. This student has multiple disabilities, I am not a
> teacher, and I will have a rigorous class schedule plus dealing with
> responsibilities with junior year. I have mentioned this to my parents and
> parra, who i feel are supporting me. However, I am afraid my vi will not
> understand my reasons or misconstrue them for me being rude, which I do not
> want to do. I do not want to say this to early and be presumptuous, but I
> do
> not want to be misleading. Thank you for any advice.
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-- 
Kaiti