“MENTORING PROGRAMS AT SCHOOL: I encourage teachers to become a mentor and students to become a mentee!*”
Vol. 2, No. 20. October 2, 2011
TITLE: “MENTORING PROGRAMS AT SCHOOL: I encourage teachers to become a mentor and students to become a mentee!*”
INTRODUCTION
Today, continuing with the educational theme, I am thinking about mentoring. In a school, this is about a student and his/her educational career. My book of the week is: “Mentoring and Coaching in Schools: Professional Learning through Collaborative Inquiry” [Paperback] bySuzanne Burley (Author), Cathy Pomphrey (Author). (Editor’s Note: This is the fifth and another of a series on parenting, schooling and the return to class.)PREVIEW: Next week, I will continue on with the theme of education, writing about grading pressured by parents, unjustified positive reinforcement, etc. What do you think? Check out my post, if you please, on my blog next week and see my point of view. I would love to hear back from you.
MY LIFE & TIMES*
For about 15 years, while I worked at my college job, I was a mentor. I had heard about the mentoring program, but didn’t apply; instead, I was nominated by co-workers. The person in charge, a psychologist, called me. At our first meeting, she said that I was highly recommended. She said that I had an out-going personality and the students would benefit from having me as a mentor. I was flattered. I said “Yes”. At first, I didn’t know much about it. I was asked to take a brief introductory course. The program director then started sending me students. The mentoring seemed to work. My mentees would inform me how they were doing and the marks that they were getting. I listened. They would ask about courses and programs. I told them what I knew. And I researched what I didn’t. I would give my opinion and once they made up their minds, and if they wanted a change, I would help them switch into the right course-program. I also helped my mentees to fit in and adapt to the new school environment. Sometimes, they told me about their lives – I did not pry. If they wanted to talk, I listened some more. I guess that my being a mother helped. Also, the kids found me young- minded. In my experience, the outgoing students came a few times. Once they made friends, they were gone. Other students, many introverted, came all semester. I remember one in particular, who came weekly even after the mentoring program was over through to the end of her years at our college. I remember another instance, when a girl, an introvert, had some difficulties; and at the end of the semester, she stopped abruptly without a word. I never heard from her again. I consider my mentoring as one of my accomplishments. If I had to do it again, I would do it. Now that I look back, I say that I truly enjoyed it. It was also like a good deed. I was not paid for this. It was my time that I gave. I gave up my breaks and lunch hour. I tried to get the mentees to go in the right direction with the needed information. I feel that I made a difference. I received e-mails and thank you cards. Most were upbeat and happy. One was from a student, who wrote that she came to the decision of leaving school. I was sorry to receive this memo. I always suggested that the students continue school. But I was pleased that she thanked me and I noted how mature she sounded having reasoned through the decision. THE
AUTHOR: Suzanne Burley (Author), Cathy Pomphrey (Author)
Suzanne BurleyBurley is academic leader for teacher education and professional learning at London Metropolitan University. She was appointed as editor of ”Language Awareness Journal”. Cathy PomphreyPomphrey was a languages teacher in several London schools and has always taken a special interest in raising awareness of languages and linguistic diversity through her teaching and publications. She is academic leader for initial teacher education at London Metropolitan University, training teachers from a diverse range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
She now works as an education consultant. She was appointed as editor of ”Language Awareness Journal”.
SERIES/COLLECTION
Books Suzanne Burley
- Gcse English Success in Gcse English Text Book (Paperback)
- Mentoring and Coaching in Schools: Professional Learning through Collaborative Inquiry” [Paperback] by Suzanne Burley (Author), Cathy Pomphrey (Author)
- Mentoring and Coaching in Secondary Schools: Professional Learning Through Collaborative Enquiry
Cathy Pomphrey
- Language Varieties and Change
THE BOOK: “Mentoring and Coaching in Schools: Professional Learning through Collaborative Inquiry” [Paperback] by Suzanne Burley(Author), Cathy Pomphrey (Author)
Mentoring and coaching amongst teachers is a higher level of collaboration, serving professional development, practice, uttimately building better teachers, especially in secondary schools. (I thought that this is a good half-way between primary-grade school on one end and college-university on the other.) In essence, it is a process of critical inquiry. ”Features include: *reflective questions, guidelines, task and templates to help collect evidence and evaluate inquiries *detailed case studies focusing on teachers at different stages in their career *practical guidance on carrying out practitioner inquiry and research * an analysis of learning outcomes resulting from different coaching and mentoring relationships.”The chapter roll is as follows – Ch. 1: Intro to Using this book to develop professional learning through mentoring and coaching; Ch. 2: Dimensions of professional learning; Ch.: Mentoring and Coaching: a platform for professional learning; Ch. 4: Practitioner Inquiry for professional learning in mentoring and coaching; Ch. 5: Inquiring into the nature of mentoring and coaching through collaboration; Ch. 6: Inquiring into mentoring and coaching in a range of professional contexts; Ch. 7: Inquiring into one to one mentoring and coaching collaborations within the school context; Ch. 8: Inquiring into wider mentoring and coaching collaborations within the school context; and Ch. 9: A new perspective: mentoring and coaching as collaborative professional inquiry.
This is a solid text. It is an excellent back grounder to learning about mentoring from the teachers’ perspective. I learnt something. The mentor and the mentee both derive benefit from the mentoring relationship. So can you.
CONCLUSION
Mentoring programs work and make happier students. This, in turn, contributes to greater achievement by these students.
Personal Comments
I want students to be less stressed.
I know that parents want the best for their chilldren. They need the best quality teacher possible. Since I started this blog, I want to learn what makes the best teacher tick. In other words, I try to learn about what it takes to be a good teacher. Mentoring and coaching are a role and function of an able educator. Books targeting teachers, especially secondary level ones, contributing to better training or adding to skill sets is of interest to me. I discovered this week’s book. Helping school kids and older is something wholesome and good. This book will aid you and me in this regard. A teacher who is also a mentor is great in my book!
I recommend mentoring. It is something special- not only for the mentee, but also, surprise…surprise… the mentor!
The Point
I want more great teachers to become mentors. I want parents to encourage their kids to register into mentor-mentee programs.
ANTOINETTE’S TIP SHEET*
Dos & Don’ts –
If thinking about becoming a mentor,
1. Inform yourself about the mentoring program – answer such questions:
(a) “Who are the students being put into the program?”
It is for students, new to the school, who have difficulty settling in or meeting friends. This is not for the students who have mental problems – they need big help from the professionals: psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, guidance counsellors, etc.)
(b) “What does the student need?”
They sometimes need information, encouragement, advice, direction, etc. Most of all, they need the mentor to really listen.
(c) “What does the mentor have to offer?”
He or she is a good listener, able to be supportive and a source of good information.
(d) “What is the mentor expected to do?”
A good mentor should:
-Listen to his/her mentee, particularly if he/she is shy. The aim is to get him/her successfully integrated into the new world of the educational institution.
-Advise him/her academically – the goal is to get them on the correct educational path; there are several programs, many courses, taught by many teachers, etc. Ask yourself: ”Which is best for the mentee?”
-Help him/her to navigate the institutional procedures;
-Give him/her the needed information asap; and if unsure, speak to others to best inform the student.
e) “How is the mentor matched up to the mentee?”
The program managment try to get the best possible fit.
2. Think about whether you have what it takes to be a mentor; every year, there is a fresh crop of students, eager and young, idealistic and innocent.
3. Become a mentor – it is worthwhile – you will do important work and it is most rewarding.
4. Recognize that it is a responsibility because you need to: (a) Make adequate time for your mentee; (b) Direct your mentee right;5. Be aware that a student is more comfortable with someone of the same gender;6. Keep to the boundaries – remember that you are an authority figure; in this regard, (a) Communicate only on school time; (b) Meet the mentee only on school grounds;
1 mentor + 1 mentee = 1 better student. How’s that for a math formula!*
Take it out for a spin and tell me if you agree.
And that’s my thought of the week on books, what’s yours?*
ALP
“Books are life; and they make life better!*”
P.S. Big News: There are big changes coming to my blog – Please stay tuned.
P.P.S. #1 I have a TWITTER page. Consider becoming a follower? Visit www.twitter.com – saveandread
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*TM/© 2011 Practitioners’ Press Inc. – All Rights Reserved.
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*TM/© 2011 Practitioners’ Press Inc. – All Rights Reserved.
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ANNEX I: NEED SOMETHING FURTHER?, TRY AN ANECDOTE OR A QUOTE:
S & R* CHOICE ANECDOTAGE #1: Classic Groucho
Seattle, NY?
During the 2000 presidential campaign, Al Gore’s daughter Kristin praised his role as a mentor. “He was… the guy who helped me study for my third-grade state-capital quiz,” she explained. “Seattle – I got it down.”
Sadly, the record does not indicate who broke the embarrassing news to the Gores: the capital of Washington state is in fact… Olympia.
[Michael Moore’s characterization of the Bush-Gore election? “The Evil of Two Lessers”.]
Gore, Kristin (1977- ) American comedy writer, daughter of Al Gore
[Sources: The Economist]
More Kristin Gore anecdotes
Related Anecdote Keywords:
Geography Ignorance Dummies Role Models Verbal Bloopers Dubious Compliments Parenting
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(Source: www.anecdotage.com) – http://www.anecdotage.com/index.php?aid=2974
S & R* CHOICE ANECDOTAGE #2: Joseph Bell: Elementary Schooling (long)
Dr. Joseph Bell (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s medical school mentor and the inspiration behind Sherlock Holmes) customarily subjected each new class to a curious test: holding a jar of liquid, he would explain that it contained a potent drug with a very bitter taste. “We might easily analyze this chemically,” he would say, “but I want you to test it by smell and taste and, as I don’t ask anything of my students which I wouldn’t be willing to do myself, I will taste it before passing it around.” The students would watch uncomfortably as Bell dipped a finger into the liquid, put his hand to his lips, and sucked it. With a grimace, he would then pass the jar around the class for each student to follow his example. The experiment over, Dr. Bell would make an announcement:
“Gentlemen female students had not yet been admitted] I am deeply grieved to find that nor one of you has developed this power of perception, which I so often speak about. For, if you had watched me closely, you would have found that, while I placed my forefinger in the bitter medicine, it was the middle finger which found its way into my mouth!”
(In some variants of this story, the liquid in the jar is revealed to be urine.)
[Bell first impressed 18-year-old Arthur Conan Doyle by correctly deducing that a patient was a left-handed cobbler: “Notice,” he explained, “the worn places in the corduroy breeches, where a cobbler rests his lapstone.”]
[Trivia: Bell’s voice was disfigured by diphtheria, contracted when he bravely sucked the poison from a diptheria patient. (His valor earned him a citation from Queen Victoria).]
Bell, Joseph (1837-1911) Scottish surgeon, consulting surgeon to the Royal Infimary of Edinburgh
[Sources: I. Wallace, Fabulous Originals]
More Joseph Bell anecdotes
Related Anecdote Keywords:
Education Teaching Observation Urine Medicine Teaching Sleight Of Hand Teaching Tricks Embarrassment
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(Source: www.anecdotage.com) – http://www.anecdotage.com/index.php?aid=135
S & R* CHOICE ANECDOTAGE #3:
(Source: www.anecdotage.com) –
S & R* QUOTE #1: Kahlil Gibran
The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.
(Source: Wisdom Quotes) – http://www.wisdomquotes.com/topics/wisdom/
S & R* QUOTE #2: Tryon Edwards
He that never changes his opinions, never corrects his mistakes, and will never be wiser on the morrow than he is today.
(Source: Wisdom Quotes) – http://www.wisdomquotes.com/topics/wisdom/index2.html
S & R* QUOTE #3: Plato
Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.
(Source: Wisdom Quotes) – http://www.wisdomquotes.com/topics/wisdom/index2.html
*TM/© 2011 Practitioners’ Press Inc. – All Rights Reserved.
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ANNEX II
SCHEDULE I
“IT WORDS FOR ME!*”
For today, my word/phrase(s) are: “mentor“, “mentee”; etc.
Mentor
The first recorded modern usage of the term can be traced to a 1699 book entitled Les Aventures de Telemaque, by the French writer François Fénelon[3] In the book the lead character is that of Mentor. This book was very popular during the 18th century and the modern application of the term can be traced to this publication.[3]
This is the source of the modern use of the word mentor: a trusted friend, counselor or teacher, usually a more experienced person. Some professions have “mentoring programs” in which newcomers are paired with more experienced people, who advise them and serve as examples as they advance. Schools sometimes offer mentoring programs to new students, or students having difficulties.
Today mentors provide expertise to less experienced individuals to help them advance their careers, enhance their education, and build their networks. In many different arenas people have benefited from being part of a mentoring relationship, including:
Actors—Laurence Olivier mentored Anthony Hopkins. Martin Landau mentored Jack Nicholson. Mel Gibson mentored Heath Ledger.
Athletes—Eddy Merckx (five-time Tour de France winner) mentored Lance Armstrong (seven-time Tour de France winner). Bobby Charlton mentored David Beckham.
Business people—Freddie Laker mentored Richard Branson.
Mentee
The student of a mentor is called a protégé. More accurately, the protégé could be called the telemachus (pl. telemachuses or telemachi). Sometimes, the protégé is also called a mentee. The -or ending of the original name Mentor does not have the meaning of “the one who does something”, as in other English words such as contractor or actor. The derivation of mentee from mentor is therefore an example of backformation (cf. employer and employee).
(Source: Wikipedia the free encyclopedia) –http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentor
SCHEDULE II
STUDY/STATISTICS:
In a Pew Public/Private Ventures Study of 959 boys and girls with 60% members of a minority group, 60% boys, and 80% from low income households, 487 were matched with mentors and the remaining 472 were the control group with no mentors.
After 18 months with mentors, an evaluation of these children revealed the boys and girls were:
- 46 % less likely to use illegal drugs
- 33% less likely to hit someone
Mentoring
Mentoring allows experienced staff (mentors) to share lessons learned, tips, and suggestions on how to file export transactions accurately and timely. Mentoring also provides ongoing support to new employees, accelerating their learning curve to achieve the level of understanding required to ensure compliance and reporting accuracy. The mentoring section of a company’s training manual should include internal as well as external contacts who can offer assistance. Mentors should review the FTR with all new employees and review such concepts as U.S. Principal Party in Interest (USPPI), reporting requirements of an export transaction, routed export transaction, data elements and export filing exemptions. The ultimate goal of the mentoring program is to have experienced employees share their knowledge and skills with newly employed staff that will be carrying on the company’s work in the future. For example, a new employee can shadow an experienced employee throughout the entire process of receiving/verifying documents, entering information into the AES, responding to error responses and notating loading documents with accurate proof-of-filing citations. By developing a mentoring program, the organization prepares its new employees to better understand the export filing process. Emphasizing employee development will yield positive results for both mentors and new employees.
(Source: US Census Bureau) – Automated Export System (AES) Best Practices Compliance Review Program
www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/documentlibrary/bp/AESComplianceBestPracticemanual.doc – 2008-11-12 – Text Version
[ More results from www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/documentlibrary ]
SCHEDULE III
S & R* NEWS ALERT* #1: The value of mentorship: How to get started
(NC)—Starting something new—whether it’s a job, a hobby or taking the first step towards fulfilling a lifelong goal—can be daunting. Having a mentor to help guide you along the way can help to smooth the road ahead.
If you’re interested in finding a mentor, you’re not alone. A recent survey by American Express found 43 per cent of Canadians wish they had someone to go to for advice. Of those who do have a mentor, the vast majority (91%) believe he or she has been integral to their success.
American Express Canada recently launched the Room for Thought program, which provided three members of the general public the opportunity to be mentored by Marc and Craig Kielburger, founders of Free the Children; Les Stroud, aka “Suvivorman”; and Emily Haines, lead singer of Metric. While not everyone can have a celebrity as a mentor, there are some easy ways to find the right mentor for your needs.
Consider these four tips to help you get started:
• Don’t worry about formalities: If you know someone you think you can help, take the initiative and ask them to be your mentor. This person could be a co-worker, a friend, or even someone trusted that you engage with over social media.
• Use all available networks: Your mentor will never have all the answers, so consider who else you know who might be able to contribute mentorship and help you realize your potential. For example, if you want to work abroad, consider connecting with a friend or contact who’s successfully done the same thing.
• Challenge yourself: The end goal of mentorship is to help you personally grow. Work with a mentor who encourages you to learn new skills and offers opportunities to help you do something that you might not otherwise experience.
• Pay it forward: Once you establish a mentor relationship, look for opportunities to be a mentor yourself. Offering mentorship to others is often as valuable as receiving mentorship.
To learn more about how the American Express Room for Thought program is helping three Canadians make their big dreams a reality, go to www.facebook.com/americanexpresscanada
www.newscanada.com
S & R* NEWS ALERT* #2:
www.newscanada.com
“News Canada” <article@newscanada.com>www.newscanada.com”
*TM/© 2011 Practitioners’ Press Inc. – All Rights Reserved