Finding a Teacher Mentor
Taking the Initiative to Find a Mentor at Your School
Teacher mentors provide invaluable help to new teachers throughout the first year of teaching and beyond. Many schools will assign new teachers a mentor, but these mentors may or may not even be in the same school building as the new teacher. Finding a colleague in your school is important, so think about what you are looking for in a mentor and proactively looking for this person can be extremely beneficial to the success of your first year of teaching.
Finding an Experienced Mentor
When looking for a mentor, avoid turning to other first year teachers. You have a lot in common with these other newbies, and can relate easily, but they will not be able to provide the support you are going to need. An experienced mentor has already been where you are and survived. They have made mistakes and learned from them and may be able to help you avoid the same mistakes. They have learned tips and tricks that work, and have fine tuned their teaching skills. The information they can provide to you about classroom management, lesson planning and teaching will be invaluable.
Finding a Local Mentor
Find a colleague that teaches in your school. This will ensure that your mentor will be able to tell you about the specific school policies that may be different from one school to another. For example, you will be able to find out how fire drills work, study hall procedures, lunchtime and recess procedures, how to handle parent calls, and more. A mentor in your building will also be able to tell you about the inner workings of the staff at the school. You will have a guide to know who to go through to get something accomplished, and who to avoid if you want something done.
Do Not Wait for a Mentor
As a new teacher, you need to have a friend on your side of the court. Find a teacher you can trust and feel comfortable with, someone who you can go to with questions, concerns, a hug and to shed a few tears. The first year of teaching can be full of highs and lows, and having someone walk through that with you who has already been there before, will provide great amounts of comfort and advice.
Learn all you can from your mentor, and never be afraid to ask questions. If possible, have your mentor come and observe your teaching as well, to give you tips on how to improve. Again, if it is possible, find a way to observe your mentor teach, and take note of little things that work with the students. Mentors can help make a new teacher thrive instead of simply survive that first year of teaching.
Learn more information on teacher mentor programs.
How to be a Teacher Mentor
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