[LRUG] Mentoring Meetups

[Paul Ardeleanu]

Hey Stephen,

On 15/05/07, Stephen Bartholomew <steve at curve21.com> wrote:
> It's also clear that there is quite a wide range of skills with some
> people feeling that they have something to offer others but are not
> confident enough to be called a 'mentor'.  I don't personally see
> this as a problem as it's likely that we all have something to learn
> from each other - it's just that some of us are more out-spoken than
> others.

The word 'mentor' might sound pompous but its definition according to
Merriam-Webster is: a trusted counselor or guide. A mentor is someone
willing to help others and not superior in any way.

> So, other than the decisions about posting questions on the mailing
> list and IRC channel, the best idea I heard is that we have a
> separate meet-up for those who'd like to expand on their current
> skills or feel they need to gain a solid grounding in ruby/rails.

That sounds like a good idea. Maybe we can do something similar with
the guys from OpenCoffee: http://entrepreneur.meetup.com/1056/

> We can work through the whole application from design to deployment
> and ongoing maintenance and development.  During that process, the
> group as a whole should be able to fill in and improve on the
> knowledge of individuals.  The mentor's role here would be one of
> guiding the group and development rather than dishing out knowledge.

It might be hard for everyone to work on the same application, as
people have different availabilities and skills but it might be useful
for 2 or 3 to work together on one app and regularly present it for
review to LRUG meetings.

Cheers,
Paul