Mentoring New Teaching Professionals

This week I attended the first District meeting of mentors and their progeny, a room full of brand new educators. It was exciting and humbling. I’ve been a mentor several times before yet every time I am asked to do it, I feel surprised and honored. I’m looking forward to the growth that mentoring always brings into my own practice. I hope to share some of my experiences and reflections about the process here with you. For now I am just enjoying the fact that my very shy rookie was at the District meeting with me and she made time again for a short planning conference today. The first four weeks in middle school can be brutal, and she’s still standing. I’m pleased for her.

In addition to the casual conversations and brainstorming I hope will continue to happen between us, we have a lot of formal assignments which are required by our state to be completed. These include the usual observations, lesson plans and debriefings, plus a book study on “The Art and Science of Teaching” by Marzullo Marzano. I’m eager to begin the coaching and the reading. If any of you are experienced mentors, I gladly welcome any tips and advice so that I can aim to be the best possible coach to this young impressionable teacher. More to come.

_{Photo credit: http://www.vbschools.com/tocli/day04.asp}

BIKE CLUB UPDATE: I got to lead my first ride the other day when our club sponsors could not do so. I was a bit intimidated at first but the kids convinced me — they were desperate to ride! With the help of two great college students, we had a mellow, uneventful jaunt over to the Skate Park and get this: there were no flat tires. I’m so magic!

Yesterday two colleagues and I rolled over to the local coffee joint (no pun intended) and had our own little Friday Afternoon Club until the sun set. What a great way to decompress.