Situation

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(Read aloud.)

"I have an apprentice now who, when he first started with me, he was rambunctious, hyper. The first time we went to a company function, he was kind of loud and rambunctious and crazy."

What Do You Think?

(Discuss for 10 minutes.)

• If the youth you were working with behaved this way, what would you do or say?
• The mentor clearly saw this behavior as inappropriate. Do you agree?
• Why might a young person behave in this way?
• Think of at least two reflective questions that would be appropriate in this situation.

The Mentor's Response

(Read aloud.)

1. "And I asked him, ‘How comfortable do you feel around all these people?’"
2. "He said, ‘I feel real comfortable. You know they’re all real nice and cool to me.’"
3. "Then I said, ‘Do you know what I’m getting at? You’re here at the company function. You just started maybe three months ago. Why don’t we keep it on a low key for a little bit?’"
4. "And he looked at me and he goes, ‘Well, what do you mean? Everybody’s having a fun, gay old time.’"
5. "I said, ‘Well, you know first impressions to a lot of people are never ending. You’re never going to live down your first impression.’"
6. "So then we went to this baseball game. We’re both having fun and his attitude basically flipped over to a kid again. He was enjoying life and I was having fun, and we were hootin’ and hollerin’ and all that fun stuff."
7. "I said, ‘See, now I’m here with you and I’m outside, I’m having fun, but I’m not acting like a complete jerk. But now when you’re there with the company, maybe one of the people brought a client with them. You don’t want a client to get a bad impression of you or anybody else.’"
8. "So then he went to a school function that I wasn’t at and afterwards his teacher said, ‘Wow! What did you talk to that kid about? His attitude has changed so much!’"
9. "And I said, ‘I mentioned to him that there’s a time and place for things.’"
10. "Now I can go out with him somewhere and we’ll have fun, but then during business hours he’s all nice, asking questions, shaking hands, and really showing a business attitude. He holds himself more in a professional manner at work. And now you even notice him outside of work: not as wild because he wants to look more mature. Everybody just keeps saying how great a kid he is, how knowledgeable he is, how nice he is to ask questions and not be shy."

What Do You Think?

(Discuss for 10 minutes.)

• How was the mentor’s response different from what you discussed?
• Were there similarities?
• Is there anything you would do differently after reading the mentor’s response?
• The mentor’s approach seemed to work. Why?
• Would a different response work better for you?

Role Play

(Allow 5 minutes to prepare.)

• Devise a two-minute role play that you will perform for the rest of the group.
  • One person play the youth, the other the mentor.
  • Try to portray a realistic situation that raises the key issues you have discussed.
  • Incorporate both your own and the actual mentor’s responses to this situation.
  • Feel free to change the situation to closer resemble your own.
• Both role players should be prepared to explain the reasons for their words and actions.