SSブログ

(551) Mentoring in Toastmasters [英作文]

  The purpose of my speech today is to clearly define how Toastmasters envisions mentoring. First of all, a mentor is an unfamiliar word to me, maybe to most of Japanese, What is a mentor? Oxford dictionary says a mentor is a person who gives advice to a younger or less experienced person. This explanation reminds me of several pairs of words in Japanese. Here are three of them.

1. Senpai(先輩) and kohai(後輩)
2. Shishou(師匠) and deshi(弟子) Master and pupil
3. Toryo(棟梁) and deshi(弟子) Master and apprentice

Senpai and kohai relation
後輩にアドバイス s.jpg
  A management consultant specializing in cross-cultural communication, wrote about senpai/kohai and mentor/mentee. She said that in a sense, the senpai/kohai relationship is analogous to the mentor/mentee type relationship that is common in many American organizations. The difference is that the mentor/mentee relationship generally between two people who do not regularly work together, while in Japan your senpai is often someone you work with.

Shamisen master (mistress) and pupil
  This is my shamisen mistress's handwritten flyer of her class.
shamisen flyer 2021_11_12_2塗りつぶし s.jpg三味線引く女性 s.jpg
Teaching style is one-to-one lessons given by a mistress to a pupil. There also are class lessons of singing songs. Students pay fees.

Carpenter Master and apprentice
大工さん s.jpg
  Masters called toryo(棟梁) hand down the technique to their pupils. It is said that an apprentice needs at least five years to master carpenter's skills. but nowadays toryo/deshi, in English master/apprentice relation is not an only way to learning traditional carpenter's technique. Some can learn the technique in carpenter schools.

Toastmasters' mentor
mentor s.jpg
  In Toastmasters mentor/protege(
protégé) relation is used in place of mentor /mentee relation. In Toastmasters' mentoring program a mentor is helping his protege plan for a challenging speech. Protege means that a person under the care and protection of an influential person. So, the mentor must be an influential person. Protege means protected in French.
  Protege, meaning protected, is benefitting. It's easy to understand this. And I thought that being a mentor is just a tiring role.

  But I've changed my mind after I read Albert Einstein words.
Albert Einstein trimed s.jpg
He once said that "if you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it yourself." Toastmasters says that the mentor-protege relation is important and mutually beneficial. Now I agree with this. If you are a mentor, you clean up your explanation to make it easy for another person to understand. Mentors will become better communicators and listeners by virtue of being in a mentoring relationship.
  To become a mentor, a member must be in good standing for at least six months, complete an entire path of Toastmasters program, and successfully complete mentorship. This is an important point. So, I have to find my mentor as a protege first of all. Understanding the role of the protege is fundamental to being the best mentor you can be.

Mentor vs Coaching
メンター s.jpgコーチ s.jpg
  Mentors and coaches are often thought of as having similar roles. But there are clear differences between them. Toastmasters' mentoring is different from coaching. For example, coaches determine tasks and steps for accomplishment. On the contrary in mentoring proteges determine tasks and steps by themselves. Another example, coaches give specific feedback and direction, but mentors give general, non-judgemental feedback and support. This is how Toastmasters envisions mentoring.
*


タグ:Toastmasters
nice!(0)  コメント(0) 
共通テーマ:資格・学び

nice! 0

コメント 0

コメントを書く

お名前:
URL:
コメント:
画像認証:
下の画像に表示されている文字を入力してください。