Every one of us benefits from a relationship with an effective mentor. Sadly, mentorship is uncommon in many schools. For a few weeks, I would like to focus on mentorship.
Years ago Dan Fogelberg wrote a song about his father called “Leader of the Band.” In the chorus he calls himself a “living legacy” to his dad. I love that phrase. Why? Because it tells of the impact a mentor can have on another life. Mentors impact others. This leads me to a couple of questions right way:
- Do you have a mentor? If you are like me, I have had only a few who I could honestly call mentors. In every case, I was the one who initiated the relationship. If you don’t have a mentor, think about with whom you would love to have such a relationship. Initiate the relationship after you have carefully thought about the one who has integrity and shows characteristics that you desire for yourself.
- Are you a mentor? Look for that humble person in whom you could pour your life. Perhaps it is a new teacher. Mentoring new teachers could powerfully impact the difficult phases of a new teacher’s year. In fact, your mentoring just might save a career – I’m not kidding! It could make the difference between survival or not.
Seriously consider becoming a living legacy for another. Very few decisions will be more important than this one.
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Dean,
I wholeheartedly agree. The value of a mentor extends beyond teaching to the entire workforce. In the case of a teacher, where for most of the time, they are really alone in the classroom, it should be a requirement to provide one to the new teachers. They can benefit most from it as they get started.
In my prior corporate position, I served on the steering committee for our ad-hoc mentor program. In this role, I had the chance to “mini-mentor” a lot of folks in the program by helping them through some of the program cracks they found. (Then I went back to work with the committee and fix those cracks).
In my current job search efforts, I will reach out to whomever indicates they could use some help. I’d prefer to “leave no buddy behind” in this race.
I look forward to the next couple of weeks and how this mentor conversation develops!
Steve,
I agree with you about the importance of mentoring. Sadly, in education, much of the mentoring is connected to showing new teachers where the copier room is. There is very little personal mentoring, which is why there is such a high turnover in teaching, perhaps. The first year is a shocker!
I have never met a person, who had a quality mentor, who did not wish the relationship to continue. That says a lot!
Thanks again for your comment!
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