Indigenous Peer Mentoring 11
Indigenous Peer Mentoring 11 is an experiential, strength-based and culturally responsive course that encourages and nurtures self-esteem, student identity and personal growth - academic and otherwise. Through culturally-specific and holistic activities, such as learning-by-doing exercises, Indigenous Peer Mentoring 11 cultivates a sense of empowerment through the fostering of students’ sense of belonging, relationship-building, mastery, generosity, and self-management.
Indigenous Peer Mentoring 11 is designed to assist students in the development and reinforcement of the following: •Positive self-image, identity, role modeling, cultural and interpersonal skills, including empathy for others, leadership, teamwork, etc. •Positive personal and social interactions with others •Personal connections to themselves, their families, their communities, their courses & school •Sense of control of student learning through creative and critical thinking
Indigenous peoples are reclaiming traditions that emphasize spiritual, physical, mental and emotional well-being in relationship with other Indigenous peoples. Mentoring helps us understand how others learn, which in turn helps us learn about ourselves. Mentoring honours Indigenous traditions of teaching and learning, and builds patience and perseverance. Mentoring builds social responsibility and empathy. Helping others is a way of helping the wider school community.
In schools with few senior Indigenous students, the course may need to run off the time table (i.e. X block), possibly holding the instructor-led sessions at a single site (i.e. Continuing Ed, a Learning Centre, at one central high school, etc.) and facilitate the transportation of both mentees and mentors to see elders and artists in a field-trip model.