Couch Scholar
Professional Learning Experience

The Mentor Effect

Cobra Kai: Supporting Students.

You'll learn to notice what students take from watching you, pair real challenge with real support, help students build confidence that's their own, recognize when mentoring goes wrong, and repair it by owning your mistakes. You'll leave with your own mentoring approach, or a clearer insight into the mentors who shaped you.

Cobra Kai

How does the way you mentor someone shape who they become, including in ways you never intended?

You'll be able to:

  • Recognize what students learn from watching you, including your habits, values and unfinished business, not just from what you teach.
  • Hold students to a real challenge while giving the support that makes it possible to meet.
  • Help students build confidence and motivation that belong to them, not to the mentor.
  • Recognize patterns of harmful mentoring, in others and in yourself, and know what to do about them.
  • Own your mentoring mistakes openly, and repair them through changed behavior, not just an apology.

You'll leave with: Your own mentoring approach, or a clearer insight into the mentors who shaped you.

No need to have seen it first.

Begin the experience

You don't need to have seen the show. Choose "I haven't watched" to work from the premise and two short stories.

Cobra Kai

Choose whether to discuss the show or work from the premise and two short stories.

I haven't watched

The premise and two short stories.

You don't need to have seen the show. We'll work from the premise, two short stories from it, and hypotheticals clearly labeled as such.

Begin with I haven't watched

I've watched

All six approved moments are open.

We'll discuss approved moments from the show without quoting it.

Begin with I've watched

You can change stories while you are still in Observe. After that, your chosen story stays with you for the rest of the experience.

The question at the center

How does the way you mentor someone shape who they become, including in ways you never intended?

Why it matters

In 1984, Daniel LaRusso beat Johnny Lawrence at the All Valley Karate Tournament. Thirty-four years later, Johnny is struggling, and Daniel is a successful car dealer. When Johnny defends a bullied teenage neighbor, Miguel, he reopens the Cobra Kai dojo, with its aggressive philosophy, and starts teaching him. Daniel soon starts teaching too, using the balanced approach he learned from his own mentor, Mr. Miyagi. Over four seasons, the two men's styles, mistakes and rivalry shape a whole group of teenagers. We treat the show as a case study in mentoring, and you don't need to have seen it.

The Learning Everywhere Framework™

Observe → Connect → Analyze → Apply → Reflect

  1. 1

    Observe: Two Senseis

  2. 2

    Connect: The Mentors in Your Life

  3. 3

    Analyze: What Gets Passed On

  4. 4

    Apply: My Mentoring Approach or My Insight

  5. 5

    Reflect: The Mentor You Want to Be

Potato, the Couch Scholar AI learning coach

Potato™, your learning coach

Potato is warm, funny and honest about both good and harmful mentoring.

What you'll walk away with

  • Recognize what students learn from watching you, including your habits, values and unfinished business, not just from what you teach.
  • Hold students to a real challenge while giving the support that makes it possible to meet.
  • Help students build confidence and motivation that belong to them, not to the mentor.
  • Recognize patterns of harmful mentoring, in others and in yourself, and know what to do about them.
  • Own your mentoring mistakes openly, and repair them through changed behavior, not just an apology.
Begin the experience