Our group met thursday morning as usual and discussed some of the questions that we were asked by Lexi's group the night before. We are beginning to realise that our project is going to focus considerably more on Dr. Bennett than mentoring itself. This is actually good because I think i was getting a little to involved in explaining the history and process of mentoring when in actuallity there is no reason to do this. We also discussed the Proposal/Treatment assignment and split the Proposal amongst ourselves. We then met again this morning (Monday), pieced together our Proposal and discussed the Treatment and List of Possible Sequences. The Proposal came together nicely and we feel a little more comfortable about the Treatment now having discussed it further. We are currently trying to pinpoint our points of drama and come up with a solid structure for the film.
As far as my position in the group goes I think I am able to look at our project more from the outside as I am not an active church-goer nor do I necessarily consider myself Christian. While Matt and Travis have helped tremendously in building a story, making multiple contacts and keeping us on track I have found myself serving as a counter to any unintentional spiritual bias. We have proven to be a well rounded team and I am glad we are all able to bring such diverse ideas into the project. I think this is the right project for me as I hope to both promote all forms of mentoring as well as become more familiar with something that my predominantly Christian family can relate to. I think the level of importance our project reaches will be determined on how successful we are at showing the power and importance of mentoring relationships both globally as well as on a local scale (MMM).

Reach for the Stars: Mentors Make Futures Bright- Lisa S. Stamps

Defines mentoring and discusses history of mentoring from Bible to the character of Mentor in the Odyssey. Discusses steps of the mentoring process and its potential to help youth development.

Mentoring Youth: Trend and Tradition- Christine Bennetts

Defines the differences of formal (organised by a third party) and traditional (happen naturally) mentoring relationships. Also the article contains a few interviews on how mentoring relationships started and how they were helpful to the mentee. "Young people obviously appreciate being appreciated. It is most important for them to hae relationships in which they feel they are taken seriously and that people have confidence in them."

Core Virtues for the Practice of Mentoring- Peter F. Wilson

Proposes three central virtues (integrity, courage and care) in significance to the mentor character. Discusses the benefits of mentoring for proteges and especially minority group members. Touches on character in psychology, management and spritual direction literature. "Spiritual direction is clearly distinct from mentoring, in that the primary objective of the relationship i sto develop the directee's spiritual resources with an intent to prepare him or her for Christian ministry."

The Power of Positive Relationships: Mentoring Programs in the School and Community- Eleanor Guetzloe

Discusses history of mentoring in America from providing middle-class role models for poor children to the formation of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America. Also gives a few examples of mentoring programs that have developed aiming to meet the needs of disadvantaged youth. Defines a few types of mentoring (traditional, long term, short term, team mentoring) and discusses how programs vary due to goals, target populations, locations, sponsors and depth and length of relationships. "No ideal model exists; programs must grow out of their local contexts, be based on local needs and resources, and be developed collaborativelly be representative participants."

Improving the Mentoring Process- Kathy E. Kram

Questions the effectiveness of mentoring programs to implement change in jobs and schools.

5 documentaries that may relate to our project:

Jesus Camp- Heidi Ewing/ Rachel Grady
This documentary is about a group of children who attend summer camp to strengthen their prophetic skills and "take back America for Jesus." This film does focus on Christianity and seems a bit obtrusive which is something we do not want to do with out project.

Bukowski: Born Into This- JohN Dullaghan
This is a documentary about Charles Bukowski, a writer and poet who influenced many. The film is made up of readings and interviews with Bukowski as well as those who he influenced. This may relate to our project in that it is a case study of a certain individual and how he influenced many.

Life of Buddha- Martin Meissonnier
This documentary explores Buddhism an dthe story of Shiddhartha and his spiritual transformation into the Buddha. Though Buddhism is the "religion of no religion" and we do not intend to focus primarily on the Christian religion, I think that the insights of Buddhist scholars and spiritual leaders may relate to experienced views of Dr. B and other men of the ministry.

Nobelity- Turk Pipkin
This film combines the insights of nine Nobelists and their first person views on world problems and the children who will face them. This relates directly to the idea of paving a way for our youth by teaching them from an early age on. By exposing our children to such information and mentoring them they will have a better chance of successfully solving/facing their problems when the time comes whether spiritual, economic, environmental...

Though this probably doesn't count as it has yet to be released, or named for that matter:
Gary Walters, a man from Minnesota, and his four children ages 10 to 15 are walking accross the state of Minnesota to raise awareness and money for the importance of youth mentoring. The Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota’s Executive Youth Board is co-producing a half-an-hour documentary on mentoring with Twin Cities Public Television scheduled to debut in October. Though we obviously can't watch this, it is the only thing i could find about the idea of mentoring.