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This Mentor facilitated method of values education is one that we have had considerable success with at Old Kia Kima. Variations of the Mentor method of imparting values training have included One-To-One Mentoring with one Mentor to one Mentee, Group Mentoring with more than one Mentor per Mentee, and Team Mentoring with more than one Mentee per Mentor.
We currently offer a One-To-One Mentoring example values training program representative of this Mentoring approach. Now youth not only have a place to come to develop themselves as leaders, they have a program to help them. Old Kia Kima has developed an adaptable program for young people that use the four core values of Kia Kima to help them process their gifts and talents as leaders.
Those values are Integrity, Achievement, Responsibility and Courage. The program asks the youth to select someone he or she looks up to as a mentor to lead them through the program as they meet together examining the core values for themselves, and experiencing them through acts of service. The Mentor has a guide to follow with the participants to facilitate the implementation of the Core Values training. It can be downloaded from this web site (see example values training programs using this method of "Choosing Mentors to Nurture and Tutor Values").
Every youth that chooses to participate in this program, during a stay at Historic Old Kia Kima, receives an "Eagle Feather" replica to hang on his or her cabin during their time at camp. The feathers are given to each participant in the program (you could adopt this approach even for similar programs not conducted at Old Kia Kima). The feathers hang outside the cabins on eyehooks to serve as a message to the rest of the camp of the importance of these core values. They serve as a reminder to the youth to be a leader and model the four leadership values of Integrity, Achievement, Responsibility and Courage.
Just as the wing feathers enable the majestic Bald Eagle to capture the lift of the invisible wind and soar to new heights, helping our youthful camp visitors to learn to use these core values achieves the same purpose.
By developing these character traits that lift the lives of young people to new heights, we aspire to help them learn to use these values to navigate through the inevitable ups and downs of life's many challenges in their journey to young adulthood and beyond. The youth can take the feather home when s/he leaves camp.
This is the essence of the Mission Statement of Old Kia Kima. These four Core Values define the enduring character of our organization and drive our aspirations to "provide an environment where elders may pass on knowledge and experience, enriching and shaping the lives of young people today."
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