Mentoring Program
Albany State University Early Learning Center Mentoring Program Proposal
2016-2017
Proposed Name: Encouraging the Curiosity: Using the Arts
Professor Mentor: Prof. Andre Stefan (Johnson)
Student Mentors: LaDiamond B. Lett, Speech and Theatre Major, Albany State University, (Mentor, Fall 2016)
Kierra S. Lawrence, English Major, Albany State University (Mentor, Spring 2017)
Encouraging the Curiosity (ETC) is a mentoring program that is an offshoot of the Curious George Reading Program, in which students and faculty encourage literacy and curious thinking by reading and discussing Curious George books and products. The ETC will use the Curious George Reading Program as its base; thus it seeks to encourage young students to continue to become more curious about their interests and their environments. More importantly, we are interested in exposing students to mentors who specialize in certain areas of arts as a way to enhance the ASU-ELC student’s intellectual curiosity. Our 2016-2017 program will feature two Albany State University undergraduate students: LaDiamond B. Lett will work with students in Fall 2016, and Kierra S. Lawrence will work with students in Spring 2017. Both students have worked with Professor Andre Stefan in the past on several projects and he officially serve as their mentor. Our program has three levels of engagement: 1)Each student meets with the mentor weekly to discuss her own works and exercises that she has been working on and developing. 2) Students and the mentor meet collectively to discuss the best measures of implementation of the activities and interaction with ASU-ELC students. 3) Students implement their lesson plans and activities with the students. These levels are repeated throughout the semester as needed. It is to be noted that this program is a team effort between the ASU undergraduate mentee and ASU faculty mentor—thus creating a model for the ETC mentors interaction with the ELC mentees.
LaDiamond B. Lett will specifically work with students in the area of crayon art, creating stories, and acting out art and monologues. Over the summer, while in Professor Andre’s office, Ms. Lett began working on a series of 100 % crayon drawing that serve as both personal and social reflections of Ms. Lett’s life. These drawings tap into a very important element of
self-expression that both enhances and highlights Ms. Lett creative and curious mind. Likewise, Ms. Lett has starred in and played supporting roles in ASU Theatre department productions, and she also written monologues for smaller productions. By bridging these two creative aspects together, Ms. Lett will be able to show students how to be more curious and openly express themselves.
Kierra S. Lawrence will specially work with students in the area of spoken word, drawing, and Hip-Hop performance. As an Emcee and spoken word performer Ms. Lawrence has developed an engaging body of work that is personal, social, and historical. She has taken Black Spoken Performance with Prof. Andre—in which she learned the basic elements of performance. By utilizing her creative interest and voice(s) Ms. Lawrence will be able to encourage students to openly express themselves through literacy and a combination of different art forms.
By fusing these two frameworks together we will provide ASU-ELC students with the opportunity to become well-rounded critical thinkers. Through reading and usage of the arts students will:
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Be exposed to ways of thinking that expand their interest in reading and arts.
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Create a crayon art expression that they will be able to conceptually explain
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Create narratives and stories that go along with their drawings.
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Gain the ability to openly and freely express themselves by the use of poetry and Hip Hop
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Be assisted in helping to digest and understand the weekly lessons they receive in the ASU-ELC classroom
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Have the opportunity to develop a personal relationship with mentors that helps to build their confidence
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Learning Community Proposal
2016-2017
Proposed Name: Visions Beyond the Athlete
Director: Prof. Andre Stefan (Johnson)
Anticipated Students: 15-20 Freshmen Student-Athletes
(we would like to have a class of 15 students to enhance the learning process—we are open to two sections if need be)
Visions Beyond the Athlete is a learning community geared toward allowing student-athletes to build, discuss, and consider life beyond their perspective sport(s). More importantly, we are interested in a personal pedagogical approach that uses sports and athletics as a building stone to teach student-athletes how to transform the jargon and culture that has been a central part of their lives into meaningful apparatuses that allow them to effectively navigate through the matriculation process and their coursework.
We were first introduced to this concept in the works of Dr. Na’im Akbar and Dr. Billy Close. In one of his seminal works,Visions for Black Men, Dr. Na’im Akbar carves out the spacing and the developmental processes for young black males to find their way into manhood. He creates both an argument and procedure by which males can metamphorisize into fully function men. Likewise, in his conceptual framework Dr. Billy Close discusses the importance of getting athletes to look beyond the actual timeframe that they will play sports and actually consider what they envision their lives to be like after their careers as athletes are over. More significantly, Dr. Close’s work opens the door for the student-athlete to consider him or herself an intellectually gifted contributor to any academic space by utilizing his work ethics, principles, and ethos emulated on the court or field in the classroom and academic space. This clear acknowledgement thus empowers the student-athlete to conceive and (en)vision him or herself as members of their chosen sport and the larger society.
By fusing these two frameworks together we will provide the student-athletes with the opportunity to become well-rounded critical thinkers.