Mentor Notes That Read Like Field Reports

We banned vague praise in mentor notes. Each comment must tie to a command block, a log line, or a diagram element. If a mentor cannot point to evidence, they rewrite until they can.

Field-report tone means stating what happened, what was risky, and what to try next—without scoring the learner. We even practice writing “acceptable risk” sentences so people learn to document conscious tradeoffs.

Cohort five asked for voice notes; we now cap them at ninety seconds to avoid rambling. Transcripts auto-append to the learner log so nothing disappears into air.

We also rotate mentors monthly so tone stays varied—learners hear different cadences, which keeps the field-report style from ossifying into a single voice.