Mentoring Teachers Programs – Improved Professional Competence and Educational Reform

Many schools in the US have formalized the process of mentoring novice teachers as their way of inducting the new teacher into the teaching profession. They run Mentoring Teachers Programs, which enable a newbie to adjust to the new teaching career through the assistance of a veteran teacher. In these programs, the veteran teacher, the mentor, coaches the new teacher on several areas in teaching such as how to prepare lesson plans and execute them, how to handle students of different ages and characteristics, how to teach more effectively in different kinds of settings, how to resolve classroom conflicts and the like.

Benefits to the New Teacher

The program leads not only to improved teaching skills but also to increased job satisfaction on the part of the new teacher. According to Evenson in his book on mentoring teachers, the new teacher benefits in three ways. First, the program allows the new teacher to easily adapt with the school environment. Aside from helping the new teacher get acquainted with the school’s staff and facilities, the mentor also teaches him how to observe and cope with the school’s rules and regulations.

Second, the program allows the teacher to establish teaching competence. This is achieved as the mentor provides the new teacher with opportunities to observe, assess, and practice his and other teachers’ teaching. The process encourages feedback from and constant communication with the mentor.

Lastly, the program introduces the teacher to teaching as a continuously developing and a life-long profession. If the new teacher feels that he gets as much support as he can from colleagues and the school administration, he will likely stay in this profession and would gladly make himself available as well for future teachers who would need his assistance.

Other Benefits of the Program

The benefits of mentoring programs are far reaching. It is not only the new teachers that benefit from the program but all the participants in the program including the mentor, the student and the school as a whole as well. Thus, mentoring programs are seen not just as a form of assistance to the new teacher but as a vehicle for the improvement of the school’s whole educational system.

For the mentor, the program serves as another opportunity to share his wealth of experiences, knowledge and skills. Much of these skills and knowledge are not found in books or reference materials. They are accumulated through time through extensive training and professional practice. Without the mentoring programs, these experiences, knowledge and skills gained and acquired through time may gradually fade away.

In a way, the mentor also improves himself as a teacher in the process of mentoring. He does this as he reexamines his professional experiences inside and outside the classroom and as he provides tips and guidelines to the new teacher.

Moreover, the mentoring program provides him with an added source of income as mentors are usually compensated for the extra services they render.

Students are directly and indirectly benefited with this kind of program as their new teachers gain more teaching skills and knowledge, which are imparted to them. Ultimately, the students learn more things and enjoy their classes more when the teacher is prepared and well versed with the topics he or she is discussing.

A research conducted by Southwest Educational Development Laboratory to study the mentoring programs in Texas reveals that many districts see mentoring teachers programs also as a vital retention strategy. The study recognizes that the attrition of new teachers is among the cause of shortages of teachers in some schools.
…Read more >>

Youth The Concepts Behind Christian Mentoring

The process of guiding and mentoring people is a highly delicate one: mentors need to be able to allow their protégés to progress and get out of their shells, but they have to strike the balance between directing the movements of their followers while still allowing these fledglings time to find the strength of their own wings and fly with their own will. One such form of mentoring is Christian mentoring, in which a Christian looks after a protégé who may or may not be a Christian, but who will benefit from the strength and wisdom of the older or more experienced person.

One such mentoring relationship, at least in the Christian sense, is that between a senior pastor and his junior. The former will guide the younger in speaking the voice of God, and in bringing a sense of unity and Christian goodness to a flock. Another such Christian mentoring relationship is that between parents and children, where Christian parents have to guide their children in following the Christian way of living. Christian mentoring, therefore, is the passing down and sharing of knowledge and wisdom by someone who is an expert in a field, and with the precepts and principles of Christianity guiding the mentor and protégé.

In general, Christian mentoring programs will help people guide those who are younger than they in living a Christian way of life. Some mentoring programs will even exhort would-be or aspiring mentors to do two things at the onset: find a good mentor who will pass down knowledge and get an aspiring mentor started on good living and good Christian teachings; and, at nearly the same time, find a protégé who might benefit from your teaching and wisdom further down the line. Once these two persons are identified, a would-be or aspiring mentor is exhorted to be as creative as possible in meeting such people. These meetings might be as simple as stopping over at someone’s house, meeting over for coffee, or having dinner together.

Another way for the mentor and protégé to meet is through a shared hobby. Such a hobby might include running, biking, writing poetry, reading books, or even cooking. Despite the image of intense and sometimes alienating spirituality attached to Christian mentoring, many Christian mentoring programs are actually more about building a stronger relationship between mentor and protégé. The shared hobby may actually be a simple beginning: many mentors will share tasks with their protégés, such as smaller jobs at one’s office, training the protégé in various tasks, or simply listening to the protégé talk.

What makes Christian mentoring unique, however, is its emphasis on things that would otherwise make people appear vulnerable in the secular arena. For instance, mentors and protégés are required to listen to each other intently, and to avoid speaking about oneself as much as possible in order to learn better. Second, mentors and protégés are required to be as real and as truthful to each other as possible. Honesty is certainly the best policy in Christian mentoring, and if a protégé is feeling down, awkward, unwanted, or simply out of sorts, he or she is encouraged to talk to his or her mentor and humbly ask for guidance.

There are many different kinds of Christian mentoring programs out there. If you need more information, talk to your local Christian pastor, or do research over the Internet. Many such mentoring programs also have their own websites and mailing lists that can make it easier for you to read about their activities and enroll in their program. …Read more >>

Effective Mentoring Relationships

The Mentor-Mentee Relationship

The role of a mentor is to aid the mentee in reaching his goals. While the mentor can certainly learn a lot from teaching and leading others, the relationship between the mentor and the mentee should be mentee-centered. So the mentor should listen, guide, and even challenge the mentee to do his best in his job.

The mentorship program requires frequent contact between the mentor and the mentee for the communication line to remain open. Mentoring is an interactive relationship wherein both parties can contribute to each other’s grow as a person. You should take note that mentoring is far different from counseling and neither is it being buddies because mentoring is a tool that is used for personal and professional development.

Formal and Informal Mentoring

Anyone can be a mentor or a mentee without joining any mentoring program. For example, just riding a bus and then conversing with a stranger can be a form of mentoring if you learn something important from him; this type of mentoring is known as informal mentoring. Informal mentoring usually just occurs even if you don’t plan it, this can be just as important as a formal mentoring program.

On the other hand, formal mentoring is having an acknowledged relationship between the mentor and the mentee. Formal mentoring would require the commitment of time and effort between the two parties so that they can share and learn from each other. This type of mentoring program can be for a specific project or for a specified time period.

Finding a Mentor

Having the wrong mentor can be even worse than having no mentor at all. For this reason, everyone should take the time and effort to look for a mentor that will suit their needs, personality, and learning style. You need to look within yourself and the environment around you; then, ask yourself what you really want to learn. Oftentimes, you need to consider the following questions before deciding on a mentor:

• Would the mentor provide me with good and accurate information?
• Would he support me in reaching my goals and objectives?
• Would he respect my dreams, my decisions, and my goal in life?
• Would he challenge me when it is necessary?
• Can the mentor actually be trusted?
• Am I willing to listen to this mentor’s ideas and suggestions?

Asking these questions before you commit to a mentoring program is essential for you to reap the best possible benefit. It is also important to have a clear communication line between you and the mentor. Even at the start of the mentoring program, you already need to specify your expectations and your goal so that the mentor will know which direction to take.

Ending the Mentoring Program

However, all good things must come to an end. You cannot continue with the mentoring program forever; sure, you can still communicate with your mentor from time to time but being in a commitment to be each other’s mentor and mentee can become more like a burden rather than a privilege after the mentoring program ends.

Both parties should acknowledge what they have learned and thank each other for the time and effort that the person has spent for another’s well-being. Even after the mentoring program ends though, the mentor can still support the mentee and be there for the mentee when he is needed. …Read more >>