At last, the long awaited sequel to my other post- If You’re a New Teacher, You Need a Mentor! February may be the shortest month and I don’t know about you, but things have been bonkers! We’re halfway through the school year with no end in sight.
When the going gets tough, though, that’s the most important time to tap into your support network, and I think this is especially true for veteran teachers. There’s a tendency in education to focus the support and the resources on folks who are new to the field, and they absolutely need support and should have it, but it’s important not to forget veteran staff in the process. After all, the goal of all new staff is to become veteran staff!
With all that said, here are Five Reasons Veteran Teachers Need Mentors!
A mentor understands what you’re going through and what you’re trying to do.
We all need to vent, and we need to vent to people that understand what we’re experiencing. Have you ever tried to talk about your feelings with someone who had to keep interrupting you to clarify what you’re talking about? Not a good thing. So if you need to debrief the FBA that was discussed at the IEP and you’re concerned that the BIP doesn’t support FAPE, you need a mentor in the field who can speak on that level with you.
In order to be an effective mentor to others, you need to be supported yourself.
Just like the airplane scenario, we need to make sure our own masks are on before we can assist others. If you’re supporting colleagues in a mentoring capacity it’s important that you’ve got adequate support to be able to do that.
Mentors help us grow in our practice.
The fact is, I don’t know any good teachers who weren’t themselves people who liked learning (and notice that I didn’t say people who liked school. That’s another blog post though.) We are at our best when we’re firing on all cylinders and that means learning new things, whether that be instructional techniques, education law, division policy, or just interesting content that we can pass on to our students.
Nobody knows everything.
As much fun as learning is, we don’t know everything! Having a solid mentor or several mentors helps to make sure we’re working at peak performance and that we have opportunities to grow as professionals.
Having a mentor reminds you that you aren’t doing this alone.
Real talk- this is the time of the school year that can feel very long and very isolating. Spring break is a long way away and there is still a lot to get done. Having a good mentor can go a long way in making sure that your emotional batteries stay charged, that you stay focused on your goals, and that you’re the best teacher you can be for the students that you serve. After all, we spend all day teaching students how to get help, advocate for themselves, and accomplish their goals, and we should have those same opportunities.
What benefits of mentoring have you experienced? How do you serve as a mentor to others?
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