THE MENTOR'S SETTINGS & SITUATIONS INVENTORY
The Basic Inventory. As a dress rehearsal for working with your mentee, you may want utilize this “basic inventory” to gain a deeper understanding into the various influences in a young person's life—especially the stages in their development, the “settings and situations” and the “three variables.”
Rate on a spectrum (1-10) how “out of balance” is each of the following elements in a person's life from healthy to unhealthy—with ten being “most in balance” and one as “most out-of-balance.” To make the concept of equilibrium more tangible, you may want to utilize a weather metaphor. For example, in each of these did your mentee) experience “headwinds” and “tailwinds” at these various stages in life.
The Stages in Life:
The Five Settings and Situations in a Person's Life (See the descriptions at the end of this inventory.)
The Three Variables Affecting a Person's Life:
Rate on a spectrum (1-10) how “out of balance” is each of the following elements in a person's life from healthy to unhealthy—with ten being “most in balance” and one as “most out-of-balance.” To make the concept of equilibrium more tangible, you may want to utilize a weather metaphor. For example, in each of these did your mentee) experience “headwinds” and “tailwinds” at these various stages in life.
The Stages in Life:
- Ages 0-3: Under care of family
- Ages 4-5: Pre-School
- Ages 5-11: Elementary School
- Ages 11-13: Middle School
- Ages 14-18: High School
- Ages 18-22: College
The Five Settings and Situations in a Person's Life (See the descriptions at the end of this inventory.)
- The Inner Settings and Situations—a student’s inner life
- The Intimate Settings and Situations—where unvarnished experiences are shared
- The Local Settings and Situations—the environments through which a student participates routinely
- The On-line Settings and Situations
- The Peripheral Settings and Situations—the environments that affect a student indirectly
- Other Settings and Situations
The Three Variables Affecting a Person's Life:
- Individuals
- Groups
- Situations (focus especially on those situations that repeat and compound themselves)