“Watch carefully, the magic that occurs, when you give a person just enough comfort to be themselves.” – Harper Lee

This profession is hard; we are charged with the intellectual and emotional well-being of our students while also balancing parent involvement, administrator’s expectations, professional relationships, and district initiatives. We do most of our learning on the job, but it can be a lot less overwhelming with someone by your side. It takes a community to support and encourage new colleagues.

Teachers are natural helpers. Classroom teachers often share resources and unit plans, and support teachers may share sage words of advice after a long day. These moments of kindness play an important role in creating communities of support for new- to-role and early career teachers. Mentoring is an extension of this support network and offers long-term, personalized, learning-focused opportunities.

Most often, teachers who become mentors were mentored themselves. Mentors are colleagues wanting to give back. They are collaborative partners who do not create evaluations or report back to anyone. In fact, it would be against our Code of Ethics to do so. Mentors are great listeners, colleagues to debrief with after a rough day or celebrate with after a great day.

Everyone has their own passions, values, and strengths that they bring to teaching. In mentoring, time is initially spent getting to know one another, finding ways to trust and be vulnerable together so that learning and growth can happen. The relationship facilitates listening, questioning, and talking through problems that arise. Mentors attend specialized professional learning opportunities to establish the skills needed to facilitate learning forward conversations. These conversations can be reflective and involve planning or problem-solving depending on the needs of the new teacher in the moment. Mentoring skills ensure a new-to-role teacher is feeling supported, challenged, and connected to their professional vision.

Engaging in mentoring can be a lifelong pursuit. Mentors are helpful when you engage in something new, whether that be taking on a new grade, leaning into teacher leadership, or learning the art of facilitation. Connecting with a mentor who has lived experiences and strong communication skills can help a new-to-role teacher build confidence and contribute to improved student learning. Mentoring is synonymous with lifelong learning.

A NEW TEACHER’S JOURNEY
My journey as a teacher started when I was a child. I would line up my stuffed animals and teach them for hours at a time. My mom was my biggest supporter, helping me set up my makeshift classroom and praising my lessons. As I worked toward my goal of being a teacher, the stuffies came to life as students, and my mom’s presence was replaced by an extraordinary school associate who allowed me to learn in his classroom. His support and tutelage helped me navigate curriculum, classroom behaviour, and many other aspects of being a student teacher. 

The journey suddenly reached warp speed as I received my first classroom assignment. All at once the “stuffies” weren’t co-operating, the curriculum was a blur, and I wasn’t sure the principal would appreciate me phoning my mom during class time.  

After some deep breaths and tears of joy and trepidation, I contacted the district mentorship program. I was paired with an amazing mentor who guided me through my wonderings, listened to my ideas, collaborated with me on lessons, extended my thinking, and helped me formulate who I wanted to be as a teacher. Her thoughtful questioning enabled me to be more intentional about my instruction. She was supportive, even when asking me hard questions. She allowed me to fail forward and encouraged reflection rather than giving correction. She didn’t just share resources—she supported my growth in understanding the why behind the how.

This year I have made a significant change in grade levels and have asked to work with someone else who can help me navigate the different curriculum, but my first mentor will always be in my life. I call my mentors during the work week; I call my mom on the weekend.
 
A MENTOR’S JOURNEY
When I was first approached to be a mentor to an early career teacher, I was hesitant. I’d been teaching for a number of years and felt reasonably comfortable with what I was doing in my classroom, but was I comfortable enough to mentor someone who was new to the profession? I took a leap of faith and decided to give it a try. Mentoring turned out to be an amazing experience. Through working together, my mentee and I developed a close relationship. We engaged in deep and provocative conversations, we planned units and co-taught lessons together, we watched each other teach, we laughed, we cried, and we had fun. We learned so much from each other. Mentoring afforded me so many benefits, and I think one of the biggest was that it forced me to closely examine my own practice. While working with a mentee, I had to reflect on why I did what I did, and that has made me a better teacher. I learned a lot from my mentoring interactions. Being exposed to their new ideas has enriched my practice too.

CONNECT WITH A MENTOR IF YOU WANT TO:

• increase your confidence.
• improve student learning.
• become an empowered decision-maker.
• develop better ways of communicating with students, families, and colleagues.
• learn from the experiences of others.
• develop strategies for problem-solving.

BECOME A MENTOR IF YOU HAVE A:

• compassionate lens and a joyful heart.
• desire to help others and give back.
• willingness to be open to other perspectives and engage in new learning.
• desire to learn deeper communication skills (listening, questioning, pausing, paraphrasing).
• capacity to invest your time in helping others.

RESOURCES TO SUPPORT MENTOR LEARNING

• Mentoring Matters, by Laura Lipton, Bruce Wellman, and Carrlette Humbard
• The Art of Coaching, by Elena Aguilar
• Cognitive Coaching, by Arthur Costa and Robert Garmston
• Better Conversations, by Ted Knight
• The Coaching Habit, by Michael Bungay Stanier
• Mentoring Minutes, a video series that takes you through the skill set of effective mentoring. Each video is two to four minutes long. Follow the Mentoring Minutes YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UCmao_iDJ5FMKKbXA8OSq8hQ
  
  MORE INFORMATION
  Are you interested in or are you currently running a mentoring program in your district?  Then you are invited to contact the Teacher Mentors of BC (TMBC). We are a group of educators who meet regularly to share our journeys of mentorship and collaborate on plans for supporting early career teachers. Email teachermentorsbc@gmail.com for more information.