The Ideal Mentoring Relationship for a New Teacher

“Besides kindergarten students and their parents, no one is more anxious on the first day of school than a new teacher,” say Donald Beaudette and Elizabeth Nolan in this article in Educational Horizons. Finding the right mentor is critically important, they believe – a colleague who has three or more years of successful classroom experience, is willing to commit to weekly meetings for up to three years, knows the resources available in the school and district, has coaching skills, and is positive, patient, and accepting. Ideally, the mentor teaches the same subject or grade level, shares instructional interests, and teaches in a nearby classroom. Here are some key functions a mentor can serve:

• Welcoming the new teacher into the profession and taking a personal interest in his or her well-being, pointing the way to classroom and career possibilities;
• Offering sympathy and support while challenging the newbie to reach for higher levels of performance;
• Sharing ideas, perspectives, standards, values, and norms;
• Helping with lesson and unit planning, materials, and district requirements;
• Pointing the way for good classroom management;
• Recognizing when the new teacher needs space.

“Asking for Help: The Key to Career Success” by Donald Beaudette and Elizabeth Nolan in Educational Horizons, October/November 2013 (Vol. 92, p. 12-15), www.edhorizons.org 

From the Marshall Memo #507