Curriculum

• Important Criteria to Consider

  Important Criteria to Consider

  • Similar background (racial, ethnic, cultural, or linguistic)
  • Language requirements
  • Geographic location
  • Availability/schedule
  • Shared or compatible interests
  • Mentee’s needs and strengths
  • Mentor’s skills and strengths
  • Life experience
  • Shared values
  • Temperament
  • Personality traits
  • Mentor, mentee, and parent/guardian preferences
  • Program goals
  • Mentoring experience

  * The mentor should be at least three years older than the mentee

  Each program will weight its criteria differently. Age* and common interests seem to be the strongest factors supporting effective matches, yet there are many other criteria to consider when making a match.
• Race, Ethnicity, and Culture

  Race, Ethnicity, and Culture

  Matching youth and adults based on shared interests is a strong predictor of successful mentoring relationships—having shared interests allows participants to more easily establish common ground.

  This shared understanding might also be established by perceptions of ethnic or cultural similarity, but research doesn’t demonstrate that this always happens, or that it’s as strong of a predictor of quality relationships as shared interests.

  However, matching based on shared ethnic or racial identity may be particularly important if the mentee:

  • Requests it
  • Has limited access to adults who’ve turned similar life experience into positive growth
  • Has a negative self-image tied to his or her life experience
  • Has goals that are best supported by an adult “who’s been there”

  To determine the role culture and race should play in matching decisions and supporting your desired youth outcomes, consider your program goals and the needs and preferences of the youth and their parent.
• Insider Tips

  Insider Tips

  • Host a group matching event at which prospective mentors and mentees (and potentially parents/guardians) can meet and interact—look for natural chemistry

  • Share your match suggestion with parents/guardians to ensure they agree with your recommendation

  • Discuss potential opportunities and challenges the mentor may encounter if he or she is matched with a particular mentee

  • If ethnic and cultural identity are a feature of or a reality for your program, seek information, resources, and experts to help you adapt your program’s matching process so you can be better informed and more responsive
• How to Design a First Meeting

  How to Design a First Meeting

  1. Arrange the initial meeting for the pair. This meeting should include the parent(s)/guardian(s) and take place at the mentee’s home if the mentor will be picking up the mentee for outings
  2. Provide the mentor and mentee with background information about each other
  3. Plan to attend the meeting to make introductions and review program details
  4. Review your program’s rules, requirements, and risk management policies
  5. Have each party sign a commitment agreement to formalize the match

  
• Match Kickoff Activities

  Match Kickoff Activities

  • “Getting to know you questions” to spur conversation
  • “Life maps” to show where the participants have been and where they are headed
  • Play a sport or do something active so the participants can learn more about each other’s personality without “sitting down to talk”

  
• More
  • The Role of Race & Ethnicity in Mentoring Relationships. Bernadette Sánchez
  • Critical Mentoring: A Practical Guide
• Next Steps
  • Learn more by reviewing “Standard 4: Matching and Initiating” in Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring (4th edition).
  • Use your note-taking guide to list topics or questions about matching to discuss with your technical assistance provider. Remember to save your note-taking guide changes after each chapter.