Mentoring

This year I have achieved one of my short term teaching goals: to train a new teacher in the profession. This has been on my list since I was trained; I had two amazing mentors who pushed me to take risks and encouraged me to improve my practice. I still meet up with both these amazing women regularly and I would like to class them as close friends now. Mentoring can come with challenges and often flash points occur during the year at different times for different reasons.

Here is a list that I try and stick to with when mentoring; and eventually that will turn into coaching… Hopefully.

1. Reflection, reflection

I like to start our discussions with the trainee reflecting on their lesson, the strengths and areas to develop. Usually I ask for a longer strength list than an area to develop; we have all been guilty at focusing too much on our flaws rather than our bright spots. To begin with these might not match the ones you have picked up on- which is fine. Some trainees have very little experience in a school, and if they do it might be from a different angle, so have never really had to think about assessment for learning or anything else like that. The magic happens when their strengths and areas to develop match the ones you have picked out which shows a true reflector.

2. Umbrella, ella, ella

This is a bit of a strange one, but I hope to explain myself properly. Good leaders (to me) are at the back, they check that everyone around them is moving forwards and in line. Good leaders pick up those who have fallen and help them get up. They also look around for threats. Mentoring is leadership experience. Sometimes leaders have to be Umbrellas- sheltering those under you from certain things in school. That might be staff room politics, school politics (I am gonna be honest here… I am not entirely what these are which I think is  a good thing?) but also other pressures. If a trainee doesn’t seem to cope, that is time to become an Umbrella, deflect certain things from them until they can cope once again. It might just be pulling from a class to give extra time to plan, or even allowing them to go home earlier than normal.

3. Shape not Create

The job of a mentor isn’t to make a carbon copy of yourself in teaching. It is important to remember this. The trainee has to find their own footing eventually and it is in their best interests to become a good teacher based off themselves. Sometimes this can be tricky, as certain things do need creating/ addressing if wrong. But even then shaping them towards the correct path is best, and only in the worst case should it be a leading or pushing.

4. They are new to this

At times it can be frustrating when a trainee goes off track. Yet despite their background in education they are newbies to the job and might not realise. It is important to set boundaries with trainees as it is with students. They might not think it is necessary to stay for a parents evening; they might not realise they are expected to stay the full day at school; they might not realise the proper way of “being” in a staff room environment. Having clear guidelines and expectations is needed: and even in their times of serious struggle remember that they are just a trainee and mistakes are perfectly ok (as long as no one got injured…)