Part 2 Mentoring Matters

In what ways can you relate to the information shared?  
As the writer in the third article also did, I kept in mind my own experiences when I read all three articles.  All of the articles connected back easily to my experiences, but especially the third one.  Having a mentor serve as a confidant, an observer, and a confidence builder are three roles that are so important to build.  To be able to form a relationship where a mentee can be free of embarrassment and evaluation is so valuable in order for them to really feel comfortable and develop who they are as a professional. 

In what ways do you think you can support a new teacher.  
I am now in year 17 of my teaching career.  I think that I can support a new teacher by thinking back on all of the knowledge and strategies that I have gathered throughout the years, and sharing that information with my mentee.  I could bring my experiences to meetings with my mentee and help them develop their practice, both with content teaching and with classroom management strategies.  I really enjoy collaborating with colleagues, so I am confident that I would be able to do this in a way where my mentee and I are working together collaboratively on these things, and I am not simply telling them “how I would do things”. 

Where do your strengths lie? 
My strengths lie in building community, as was mentioned in the first article, and in being a confidant and observer, as was mentioned in the third article.  I am confident that I can really create a space to listen to my mentee, observe them, and offer them advice in a way that makes them feel comfortable to keep learning and growing.

 In what ways can you relate to the information shared? 

I can relate to the information shared in all three articles. In the first article, I have found so many of the reasons stated for mentorship have been evident or not depending on the quality of the mentorship program available. Strong mentoring programs and collaboration truly bring a sense of leadership, morale and culture to a building. The second article focused on the phases of teaching are extremely relatable, not only to first year teachers. I think most teachers can relate to these feelings and stages throughout the school year.  ·      
 In what ways do you think you can support a new teacher?

 The biggest support you can offer a new teacher is being a trusted and available mentor. Woven throughout all three articles, a strong sense of trust is essential in mentorship. When teachers feel supported versus judged or criticized, it opens up a relationship that new teachers can depend on.  ·    

   Where do your strengths lie? 

As someone who has worked in many different school environments and served in different roles throughout (coach, teacher), I understand just how important having a mentor can be. I have relied upon my mentors and colleagues in every new position, and know just how essential having others to support you is to your success. 

I can relate to the information shared in many ways. Firstly, although a new teacher probably feels the cycle described in article 2 at a much deeper level, I still feel as though I go through a similar cycle every year. The pace of the school year is hectic and the amount of items on the to-do list always seems to be growing. I think as veteran teachers, we are able to predict these things and plan for them better, but they still exist. I can also relate to having had great mentors that I still think about and try to emulate in my everyday teaching. The impact mentors can have is tremendous.

 I think when the disillusionment phase starts to set in, it is important to listen, support, and prioritize self-care. There are going to be many overwhelming things for a mentee, and having to attend a mentor meeting shouldn’t be an additional stress, but a place to feel relief and hope from the day-to-day stressors. I hope to be an active listener and someone that my mentee feels like can help support them in array of different things - from day to day tasks unique to ENL teachers to classroom management.

After reflecting on the articles shared and my previous time working with new teachers, I could relate to the phases of a 1st year teacher. Each phase described does speak volumes to the trend I have seen in attitudes, enthusiasm, commitment and long-term retention of novice teachers. There is so much anticipation to get started and often have an idealistic view of what the job entails. After being in the trenches for a couple weeks, survival mode kicks in and the realization of the workload being expected and it leads to the disillusionment stage of high stress, sickness, feeling over-worked and tired. In this stage with previous mentees, I have spent a lot of time listening, connecting on a personal level, relationship building and helping in any areas possible. This support for a new teacher helps to create a positive experience out of one that can be so overwhelming. As the year pushes on, my favorite stage as a mentor is the reflection stage because it gives us an opportunity to celebrate successes, make plans for next year and provide confidence building for all that has been accomplished.My strengths lie in my energy, enthusiasm towards teaching, collaborative spirit, and instructional delivery. I always try to be a beacon of passion to showcase what can be achieved when you love your career and understand that the work is worth it in the end.

In what ways can you relate to the information shared?

The article about the 5 stages a new teacher goes through especially hit home. When I read this article, it was like I went back in time to my first year of teaching, reliving each stage. I remember before the year started I was so excited. I had so many creative ideas. One of which, I planned on making a bingo game of sight words the kids needed to learn. I thought this would make a good activity for morning work. This anticipation stage was a rich time of creativity for me. Once the school year was underway, and I launched into my first full week of teaching things began to shift for me. I became overwhelmed with learning the curriculum and preparing lessons that were exciting and engaging for all the content areas. I didn't have time to make the materials for the creative ideas I had had at the start of the year. I had all I could do to keep up with the curriculum for 2nd grade. During this time I went into survival mode: eating, sleeping and breathing teaching. I was so consumed with teaching that I worked myself to the bone. I had unrealistic expectations for myself and not being able to live up to these expectations set me down into a spiral of disillusionment. During an assembly, I reached out to Maureen Kieffer, a veteran teacher. As the kids were engaged with the presenter, this gave me an opportunity to whisper to Maureen that I needed help. I told her that I was barely keeping my head above water. I explained my greatest stress was not knowing what assignments to grade and how to grade them. My eyes started to pool with tears as I asked Maureen if she could be my mentor. Maureen told me don't cry here and that she would help me. This partnership helped me enter the rejuvenation phase. I remember Maureen met with me on Saturdays to plan out our lessons and organize materials for the week. This guidance along with my sister, Kathleen, literally making meals to feed me gave me the strength to persevere to the end of the year. I remember being so relieved I had a school year under my belt. I knew that I would never have to repeat that first year. I was so excited to bring the lessons that I had learned into my 2nd year of teaching. That summer I spent in the reflection phase. I now knew what to prepare to have a successful school year. 

In what ways do you think you can support a new teacher?

My first year of teaching was traumatic in some ways. However, going through this difficult time has made me compassionate for first year teachers and I want to do my part to lessen the load. The articles outlined some important traits that I mentor should have to build a strong mentor/mentee relationship. One such trait is the mentor should be a confidant not an evaluator. There is so much to learn in the first year of teaching and unfortunately much of the learning can only happen by living the experience. I remember a teacher friend once said, "You don't know what you don't know." This quote resonated with me and took on meaning when I reflected on my first year of teaching. It was hard to prepare ahead of time because I had no way of predicting what I didn't know. Therefore the wise adage: proper planning prevents poor performance was allusive to me. A mentor has lived the first year of teaching and has the experience to predict what the mentee doesn't know and will need to know. This revelation can help the mentee know what to plan for and to prioritize his/her energies towards practices that will make a difference. For all of this to happen though the mentor must impart his/her knowledge as a coach building the mentees skills and confidence. If the mentor takes the approach of evaluator this could shut down the learning and growth for the mentee. In order to grow one needs to feel safe in exposing his/her vulnerabilities. The mentor can then coach the mentee so these vulnerabilities become strengths.

Where do your strengths lie?

The areas that have become my strengths were initially my areas of weakness. It took a lot of thoughtful thinking, and hard work to turn what did not come naturally into a strength. For me classroom environment and management were areas that took tremendous time and effort to perfect. It's kind of funny that now I have the reputation of being an expert in these areas and teachers come to me for advice to improve their environment or management techniques. To build these weaknesses into strengths I spent time observing, reading, and asking questions of teachers who excelled in these areas. It's interesting that growth, improvement, building skills all comes back to having strong mentors. My achievements can be credited to those who have come before me and have generously taken the time to show me the way. I've learned that the success of teacher instruction and student learning starts with a well designed environment and management plan. I hope to impart, what I had to learn the hard way, a bit easier for a mentee. 

 

 

In what ways can you relate to the information shared? I can relate to the first article, which mentions that having a mentor can help new teachers not feel as overwhelmed, especially as they are learning new vocabulary, school culture, and procedures. Sweet Home is a unique district, and there are many things to learn such as a new curriculum, special extracurricular opportunities, and online platforms, such as Northstar and Seesaw, that may be unfamiliar to new teachers.

In what ways do you think you can support a new teacher? As an ENL teacher, there are many procedures unique to the ENL department that a new teacher must learn. When I was a new teacher, my mentor taught me. I feel very inspired to teach my mentee these procedures by walking him/her through them several times as well as creating checklists to refer back to. For example, there are 10+ steps that must be completed by the ENL teacher when a new ENL student enters the district mid-year. Similarly, giving state assessments and sending them in to be scored might be brand new procedures for a new teacher. I look forward to making these tasks clear and attainable for my mentee. Where do your strengths lie? The second article explains each of the emotional phases in the life of a first-year teacher. Two of my strengths are empathy and hopefulness. I will strive to be empathetic and hopeful if my mentee is experiencing the “disillusionment” phase by helping ensure that he/she does not feel alone. For example, if my mentee is struggling with classroom management and expresses that he/she would like some help in this area, I can offer an anecdote about a time I was also struggling with classroom management and brainstorm strategies that I found beneficial. I enjoy hearing stories from my mentors at work, and I hope that my stories can also inspire others.

In what ways can you relate to the information shared?
I related to all 3 articles.  First, the number of teachers I know that have left the profession is growing, not decreasing.  That obviously speaks to the need for mentoring.  Mentoring will not solve all the problems with teacher retention, but it will definitely be a positive step towards providing the support that is really necessary to a new teacher growing more confident in a school.  I also really related to the graph in the second article that shows the ups and downs of year 1 for a teacher.  It was interesting to have someone put the titles to each stage of year 1 teaching and then to see it graphed in a way that you truly appreciate after the fact, what year 1 really looks like.  That is really good for the veteran teacher because you need to truly remember the ups and downs in order to help support and even to try and provide safety nets before the falls happen.  The last article is a great resource for the mentor to remember that the mentee does not need a judge or evaluator.  The mentee needs someone they can trust and rely on.  That really emphasizes the importance of the relationship that you are building with your mentee and it really emphasizes that importance of LISTENING, not just hearing, as well as THINKING before you give feedback so that you are being supportive, not judging.  Lastly, the importance of being a confidant.  Someone that listens and keeps the concerns and fears and failures.  Buliding up, not cutting down.  

In what ways do you think you can support a new teacher?
I am prepared to give time to my mentee.  I am prepared to listen.  Face to face time with be crucial and I am prepared to give that, but also realizing that texting will also probably be essential as things can arise quickly and being able to ask questions and bounce ideas or concerns off of your mentor will also be important and I recognize this.  I know I can be encouraging and offer suggestions.  I also look forward to finding ways for the mentee to see good teaching in action as well as observing my mentee and giving good feedback, because practicing the art of teaching with good feedback and reflection makes one a better teacher.  I also look forward to all that I will learn from my mentee as I know that he/she will bring lots of new ideas, techniques, lesson ideas, and uses of technology which will also make me a better teacher.  

Where do your strengths lie?
I think one of my greatest strengths is my commitment.  Once I have committed to something, I am all in.  I have committed to being a mentor this year, so I plan to give this the time, energy, and effort that it will require.  I also am someone who is not afraid to seek help.  I already am planning to speak with other teachers who have been mentors before to ask advice about how to be an effective mentor.  These articles can reasons that mentoring is necessary, but I also want to know on a day-to-day basis what do effective mentors do.  i don't assume simply because I have been mentored that there is only one way to do something, so it will be good for me to hear ideas that worked from other mentors.  Lastly, I do think that I am an encouraging person.  I look for the positive.  I strive to see where there has been growth or where a lesson can be learned instead of focusing on the negative.  I do think this will be helpful as I work to be an effective mentor.

In what ways as a mentor will you need additional support?
As I mentioned in the previous reflection, I do think the area of greatest need will be finding the time in both my schedule and my mentee's schedule to provide the necessary support.

What concerns do you have about meeting the needs of your intern?
The greatest concern I see right now is that we will not be in the same building.  Perhaps that will not be a problem at all since there are  so many great social studies teachers at the high school who I know can and will help with any day to day questions that might arise.