[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

I disagree that there is no need for sarcasm. I can either be nice and try to be subtle in getting people to think through what they are doing instead of posting "me-too" cads and some of them might pick up on it or I could be sarcastic. They could join me in a laugh at the anonymous person I am making fun of and realize how stupid it is not to do some simple thinking about your design.

What part of getting people to join you in a laugh at someone that you are making fun of has anything to do with mentoring or with the purpose of Chief Delphi?

A person, anonymous or not, may or may not realize how stupid it is not to do some simple thinking about a design, whether sarcasm is used or not. That's what is so special about the mentoring process - is being a part of the development of thinking and decision-making of a team and encouraging team members to pay attention to those areas of the process. Same thing when participating in discussions in Chief Delphi. There's no guarantee that there will be development but it is always very cool when there is. Madison's post reflects the value of what can be gained here in Chief Delphi and how it will impact an education and a career.

Mentors gather and collect mentoring tools during their time as FIRST mentors. The toolbox where they keep their mentoring tools varies in size, shape, and depth. The condition the tools are in varies depending on the mentor. The tools can be somewhat rusty or can be very clean and prepared for immediate use, as needed. The tools can be in need of some polishing or refurbishing, depending on where the mentor is on the journey of mentoring. In toolboxes, there can be a lot of organization and order or there can be a messy collection/mix of different tools all thrown together. In a mentoring toolbox, sometimes the search for the right set of tools for the job takes a while to sort out when making the wisest selection. The wisdom of continuing to keep the mentoring toolbox updated and organized allows for all of the different possibilities and opportunities of achieving the goal. If a mentor only makes use of one skill that he or she perceives to be a mentoring tool, such as sarcasm, then the possibilities and opportunities become limited and the tool loses its proper use.

.02,
Jane