How to use this blog: Each article includes graphics. Click on them to get enlarged versions. Each article has many links (which are often broken on older articles). Open the links to dig deeper in the ideas and strategies I share. On the left side are tags which you can click to find articles that focus on the same topic. Note: the PO Box address shown w many graphics no longer is active. Learn more about me at http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/dan-bassill.
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Between 1973 and 1990 I held various roles in the retail advertising department of the Montgomery Ward Corporate Headquarters in Chicago. I learned how functional teams worked daily to support more than 400 retail stores in 40 states, while my advertising team worked to draw customers to those stores. All of these roles were needed. When I formed the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993 these…
I started building list of Chicago volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs in 1975 as I became the leader of the program at Montgomery Ward's Corporate Headquarters. I used it to invite programs to gather and share ideas, so I could find better ways to lead my own program. Over time the relationships are a big part of why I have stayed involved for so many years. In 1993 we created the Tutor/Mentor…
Over the past few days my #clmooc friend Algot Runeman, who you can find on Mastodon , as been sharing pin buttons. In this article he shows how he makes them and how he wore a different pin button every day while he was a teacher. His students loved it! This seems like something that could be an activity in any site-based tutor/mentor program, which is why I'm sharing it. If you read his article…
Every month I see a new report showing the impact of concentrated poverty on school performance, health, economic well-being and other issues. Last year A Better Chicago released a new report titled " State of Chicago Youth, 2025 ". I wrote about it in this article . They issues an update in 2026 - click here Below is a message I've shared often, in different articles, for the past 30+ years. I’ve…
A few days ago I found this post on LinkedIn by Simon MacCormac. It shared a paper he wrote about Systems Thinking. That's a topic I've written about often in the past. I started a conversation that ultimately asked, "Who is aggregating links to case studies showing the application of systems thinking in solving complex problems?" Today Simon shared two links. The first is SCiO (Systems and…
This week I posted a new article on Substack.com that shows how I've been using GIG maps since 1993. I hope you'll read it. click here I pointed to articles on the MappingforJustice blog, such as this one , that show examples of how I've used maps, and how others are doing similar work. And, I encouraged universities, and others, to borrow from my history and build their own platform to support…
I shared the two visual essays shown below in a new article on Substack.com . I hope you'll take time to view it and dig into the essays. The first shows how I've been collecting and sharing information for the past 30+ years, via the Tutor/Mentor Connection (1993-present) and the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC (2011-present). This slide shows how I link to other organizations that represent specific…
A few days ago I saw this post on Facebook. It's from Kaeaiya Holmes, who, in the 1990s, was a student in the tutor/mentor programs that I led in Chicago. She's now Regional Director of Nursing at Centurion Health. She was responding to the LOGIC MODEL graphic that I had shared. She started by saying, " This post resonates with me because I wasn't just connected to the Tutor/Mentor movement, I was…
Today I read a new article from the UCLA Center for Mental Health in Schools, titled " Disregarding Inequities Fuels Victim Blaming ". It focuses on how "far too little attention is focused on the role that societal and school inequalities play in shaping both student difficulties and school performance outcomes." I encourage you to open this PDF and read the article. 6-26-2026 update - the UCLA…
As I scrolled through LinkedIn today I saw this map, posted in this article by Mark Oldenbeuving. I wrote a comment on LinkedIn , but by the time I finished I was 300 characters over the limit. So I'm posting it below. ------ Thanks for sharing your work. As I look at your map I say "there are a lot of people and organizations represented" and from your article I think you have a database of them.…
