Mentors

     Today was our district mentor training PD, where a new group of teacher leaders made the choice to give the gift of their time and talents to the betterment of the education profession.  They became official mentors!  About 20 D100 teachers came to the training today so that they could help a teacher begin their profession with support.

     As I sat down to blog about this topic, I remembered my post from last year about the importance of mentoring.  You can read it here.

      There are so many roles that a mentor can play in the life of a new teacher.  Every new teacher brings his/her own fears, struggles, and strengths, and mentors are trained to help them where they are to guide them to where they are going.  +Marilyn McManus had us talking with each other about our various roles and how we can best support our newest staff right from the start.

     After some time talking, we came up with many different roles that a mentor could have.  One was that of an advocate.  I find this role to be very significant, as we are truly looking out for them during their first days as a teacher, but also indirectly their future in the education field.  If we advocate for our mentees now by listening, and finding them the support and resources they need to grow, just think about the number of students we can actually influence.  To be an advocate, you don't need to have all the answers.  We are a team, supporting our teachers together, and becoming the village that it takes to educate a child.   

     We also had them identify the things that a high quality teacher says, thinks, does and feels.  What would we hope to see in our new teachers by the end of the year?  I felt like the group really did a nice job of summing up not only what I hope for all our new staff, but also what I hope I represent myself every day of the coming school year.  

     Thanks for giving up a day in your summer to talk with Marilyn and myself about mentoring our new teachers!  +Terese Prendiville +Sally Mc Cormick +Jennifer O'Brien +John Bertoletti +Kirstin McGinnis +Rachel Parker +Katie Henry +Brittany Baldassano +Christine Wilhelm +Elizabeth Iverson +Nancy Elia +Jodi Pasowicz +Scott Miller +Meg Hanisch +Heather Castorena +Shauna Toolan +Rachel Guel

(I hope I didn't miss anyone!)

Day 30!  One more day to go!

Mentors are a Light!

Day 24 of #BTBC14

Who are/were your mentors?  Who helped you grow as a teacher?

     

     I really believe strongly in mentoring. I feel like, somewhere along the way, we all need support and guidance for the things that we do.  Having a mentor relationship with someone allows them to know that when they need help, you will be there (and vice versa).  I firmly believe that our best teachers will only be better if they took the time to mentor another teacher.  

     I loved this graphic because it doesn't really matter who is holding the light, as long as someone is.  We all stumble in the dark at times, and a light is all we need to make it through.  In the image, the second person could easily take the lantern.  It could be passed back and forth between them.  There just needs to be a light.  Sometimes the light is content knowledge, sometimes it is friendship, sometimes it is a coaching conversation.  The possibilities are endless.  Mentoring makes it possible for the light to shine.  

     I would love to mention all the people who have mentored me, both official and unofficial, but this post would go on forever.  The truth is, I have grown as a teacher because of many, many people.  I have 3 people who officially mentored me in some capacity. I have officially mentored 8 people as new staff, after being mentored by Kathy Ross when I was a first year teacher.  I mentored 6 national board candidates, after being mentored by Sue Butler as a candidate myself.  I have also worked with groups of 1st and 2nd year teachers, with the guidance of Marilyn McManus and the New Teacher Mentor Program.  I learned so much from all those relationship, regardless if I was the mentor or the mentee.  If the benefits of mentorship stop with us, then we are not paying it forward. Use what others have given you, and spread it like a gift to others.  

     The truth is, mentors are everywhere.  We just have to have our eyes open and see them for what they are.  A light!