Day 6 of the Blogging Challenge – What does a Good Mentor Do?
Well, technically, today is day 9, so I am a few days behind! I chose to blog about mentoring, day 6 challenge, and then hopefully get back on schedule tomorrow and do day 10. As the picture suggests, the best teachers are those who show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see. I believe this is true for mentoring as well.
I am mentoring a new teacher in my department, and there are various things that I feel a mentor should do:
1) Get to know the mentee as a person
2) Build up their confidence
3) Share my knowledge, skills and experience
4) Listen to what the mentee asks for; do not presume to know what they need
5) Share resources, procedures and organizational methods
6) Provide the mentee with other people to use as support as well
7) Check in with them often to see how things are going
8) Learn from them, as they will learn from you
9) Recall how it felt to be a new teacher, and be sensitive to situations in which they may need extra assistance
10) Be generous in sharing resources, insights and skill sets
11) Help them to navigate the politics of the building and the larger community
12) Share inspirational quotes with them to inspire
13) Encourage them to reflect on their lessons and unit plans
14) Keep in close touch and check in briefly often
15) Share stories of your own struggles so that they see that there is always room for growth and that they can see that you are also a work in progress