Beliefs Survey & Questionnaire

We continued our discussions about beliefs last week by completing a survey and a questionnaire. These tools were designed to help our YESS scholars better understand beliefs they harbor in addition to understanding how others may perceive him or her.

To complete the survey, each scholar had to ask his or her table for feedback. For instance, one of the questions asked, "What do you think are my greatest strengths?" Another question asked, "What are some areas for improvement?" I was particularly proud of the way our scholars handled this question. There was honesty, but also empathy as mentors and mentees thought carefully about how to phrase their feedback. Many were surprised by some of the beliefs they heard others hold true for them, such as, "you are really great at helping me with my math work," or, "you are really confident and calm."

5th hour acts out the survey as though they are filming each interviewee!

Though the survey took some time to complete, it was very helpful at highlight the different belief systems in our classroom. After the survey, we moved on to a questionnaire. Each scholar had to note how much they felt the statement represented their behavior and/or feelings on a scale of 1-4 (1 indicating little if any connection, 4 indicating a major connection). One example of a statement reads: To fail is terrible. Another reads: I feel personally threatened when criticized.

Nate works with his mentees to complete the survey.

7th hour works hard to complete the questionnaire.

At the end of the questionnaire, our scholars had to add up certain questions to see which of the four main categories (or more!) they fell under: feeling "powerless" or like "I can't do much about my life"; feeling as though "my worth and security are dependent on being loved"; feeling like "my worth and security depend on the approval of others"; feeling as if "my worth is dependent on my performance or achievements"; feeling as if "I trust or get too close, I'll lose control"; or feeling like "I have to be perfect" or "it is not OK to make mistakes."

So many scholars found this questionnaire enlightening. As one mentee put it, "This is totally me! I mean, I knew it, but not really. Like, it was in the back of my head but now I am aware, Miss!"

5th hour enjoys some fresh air while completing their surveys!

We also had a very special visit by Breanne, who designed our YESS lessons and curriculum. It was such a pleasure to host her in our classroom!

We will continue to explore belief systems more in the weeks to come!

Some great feedback from a mentee on a Weekly Reflection Log. "The most interesting was that I never actually thought about some of these things [in relation to our talk about belief systems]."

Belief Systems

7th hour explores belief systems with a game of musical chairs!

This past week in YESS we began discussing belief systems. We have noted that the brain is a very sensitive organ that is heavily influenced by the way we think. Our scholars have a strong understanding of the power of positive thought thanks to all of our work around "stinking-thinking" and our ritual of "Today I Choose." We are now trying to work out why, perhaps, we have certain beliefs about ourselves--some of which may really stink!

Andrew contemplates his word during 4th hour.

We began by playing a version of musical chairs. Each scholar had a chair (we were not trying to "get" any one out!) and a T-chart to fill out as we worked through this exercise. On each chair there was one note card that was facing down; whenever the music stopped, each scholar had to pick up the card on the chair in front of him or her. They then had to record the word on their chart and describe one immediate connection they had to that word--whether it was positive, negative, or neutral.

Afterward, we wrote a reflection about the word each scholar liked "best," or had the most positive connotation to, and the word they liked the "least," or the word with which they experienced the most negative connotation.

It was interesting to see scholars in the same class periods having polar opposite reactions to the same words. For instance, the word "math" made one student happy because she is gifted and talented, while another just wrote "can't do" next to the word (see the pictures for more examples!).

An example of our worksheet-- these two ladies reacted very differently to the word "school." 

An example of our worksheet-- these two ladies reacted very differently to the word "school."

Understanding our belief systems is a key part of emotional intelligence, and will we be discussing belief systems for the next two weeks. Stay tuned for more!

"I am" Poem

A fantastic poem from Leslie, a 1st year mentor!

This past week in YESS we took some time to explore our creative sides by writing "I am" poems. This lesson is a fantastic way for our scholars to see that poetry is an accessible (even easy!) way to express our emotions.

We used Circle Maps to brainstorm descriptors for our poems.

Isaiah wrote a funny and very honest poem. The struggle is real!

We had some mentors who have done this lesson before and are now become experts at writing these sorts of poems. And while we had some mentees and mentors who struggled with this at first, eventually everyone got the hang of it. Once the poems were written, we then turned them into beautiful works of art. It was amazing to see the different emotions elicited by our scholars, and it was even more powerful to see the poems illustrated.


It was a special week for our mentees as they all received special letters of gratitude from their mentor(s). The mentors and I worked on these letters during Mentor Monday because, as we discussed, it is often those you help who teach you the most. The mentees were all so excited and surprised by this kind gesture, and I could tell that the mentors were very proud of their letters!

Alex works hard on his WRL during Tutoring Tuesday.

6th hour mentees read their gratitude letters from their mentors.

Leo has one of the most detailed, organized planners I have ever seen! Amazing work from a mentee.

Brisa helps her mentee, Bethsy, decorate her poem.

7th hour mentees work during Tutoring Tuesday time.

A great poem from a mentee in 3rd hour. 

Ze'Aira's poem is a beautifully honest depiction of her experience at Shaw Heights.

Stay tuned for more!