Mindset for Mentoring

by | Nov 30, 2015 | Ask Sarah | 326 comments

Dear Sarah,

Do you think older teachers have a responsibility in coaching or mentoring new teachers?

Sincerely,

Mindset for Mentoring

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Dear Mindset for Mentoring,

I’m intrigued by your question because it makes me think a lot about where I started 18 years ago. I was determined and energetic, equipped with a fantastic teacher preparation program, and still full of fear and uncertainty. I had wonderful days in my first year where students wrote boldly and spoke passionately. I also had days that were desolate and left me questioning my ability to be effective in a classroom. Perhaps not surprisingly, it was never an afternoon of professional development or a fantastic new strategy that got me through the tough days. It was always a person. It was Susan, the veteran teacher who embraced her own tough days transparently with me. It was Donna, my professor who kept encouraging me from afar. It was the people in my professional organizations who listened to my neophyte tribulations with gentle reassurance and compassionate advice.

So, perhaps, the question is less about the responsibility of older teachers mentoring new ones and more about how we build communities that nurture and support each other. The truth is that, on any given day, I can feel like that first year teacher again: ineffective, tired, and unsure.

As a person who has assembled a mighty collection of mentors, I always see one thing in common among their presence: there’s a bit of me in each of them. In fact, it’s a bit of a better me in each of them. It’s Michelle’s forthrightness, and Kate’s clarity. It’s Lora’s vision and James’ passion. It’s Paul’s incisiveness and Byron’s wisdom. We all need mentors because they help us see a better version of ourselves than we can see without them. They offer for us both the ephemeral guidance to get us through today, while instilling in us a conception of what we can grow into.

So, is there a responsibility to mentor? Yes. But it’s not just older teachers to younger ones; rather, it’s flattening the hierarchies of mentorship to recognize that this profession will carry on in better ways because we were willing to not only look to others, but to open our practice and ourselves to the betterment of us all.

Teach openly,

Together with Teacher2Teacher

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326 Comments

  1. Patricia Mather
    Patricia Mather on November 30, 2015 at 10:26 pm

    I am a retired ESE teacher. I retired to take care of my husband who had dementia. He died in 2012. I hope to substitute this year, but I would like to get into a mentoring situation as well. I think we retired teachers have a lot to offer in the way of leading seminars, speaking at short training sessions, and in many applications, because we have been reading and thinking while we have been “idle”!8

    Reply
    • Sarah Brown Wessling
      Sarah Brown Wessling on December 3, 2015 at 9:31 am

      Hi Patricia,
      I think you’re right that it’s so important for us to call on the wisdom of educators who have retired and can offer insight and perspective. Thank you for reminding us!

      Sarah

      Reply
  2. Bill
    Bill on December 1, 2015 at 9:26 pm

    Just reading.

    I’m a retired Math/Music teacher. It nice to hear that you got excellent perperation. Does it really exist?

    Reply
    • Sarah Brown Wessling
      Sarah Brown Wessling on December 3, 2015 at 9:34 am

      You’re certainly not the only one who asks this question, Bill. In short, it does exist, but that doesn’t make it universal. I think there’s a longer blog post here…

      Reply
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