Sunday, August 11, 2013

Mentoring a New Teacher



On Tuesday I will attend a breakfast for the new teachers and staff joining our school this year. I will be assigned to mentor a new teacher. This will be my second year and I certainly hope I do a a better job of it than I did last year!! Don;t get me wrong, my mentee last year survived, despite having me as a mentor. You see it was my first year as a mentor, and despite having attended a 3 day PD required by our state, I was flying a little blind. I wanted to support this new teacher (who, by the way, had about 10 more years of teaching experience than I did --more on that later) and assure them that despite being overwhelm, it did get better. But there were days when I was so overwhelmed that I was useless to her.
First obstacle- We were on different grade levels but on the same hall. I have taught 4th grade for 4 years and this new (to our district) teacher was in 4th, while I was teaching 5th. Yes, I knew the curriculum, but so did her team mates so they were better suited to hep her in that area. I tried to handle the nuances of dealing with our student population (and their parents), navigating paperwork, what to do when technology fails, etc. I think I handled that pretty well. It was a challenge to try and do observations because we were on different schedules but we made it work.
Second obstacle- this teacher had been teaching longer than me...she could have mentored me! However, our district requires that all teachers new to our district must have a mentor.

We both survived the school year but I knew when my principal asked me to mentor a new teacher again this year, I needed to make some changes. I came across this infographic on Twitter.
Here is what I am going to do differently this year-
1. Sit down the first day we are back at school (just teachers--no students) and give her a chance to tell me what she needs help with (preparing a classroom for the first day of school is more than putting up bulletin boards and making name tags). I will talk to her about spending the supply money we get wisely and give her tips on how to make it last.
2. Help her prepare for Meet the Teacher (room, letters, forms, etc). Sit down the next morning to talk about how it went.
3. Schedule out a weekly meeting (15-30 minutes) to talk about how things are going and see what support she needs. In addition, of course she can come to me whenever she needs.
4. Make plans to visit her classroom this first day (if not the first week). Sit down afterwards and listen to her tell me how the day went, and give her suggestions for some areas that may need addressing.
5. Find ways to support her and encourage her (notes, small gifts, pat on the back).
6. Encourage her to get involved with committees, PTA, etc. as the year goes on. In the beginning, let her focus on herself and her class.
7.Sit in on her first parent-teacher conference/parent meeting. Maybe even do a mock-conference before hand.

I am genuinely hoping to make a difference with this teacher this year. I remember my mentor when I first began teaching and she was supportive, and encouraging and kept me sane that first year. And while I feel like I was helpful tt he teacher I mentored last year,  think  would prefer getting a brand new teacher this year. I think I can help her so much more.

 If you are not following @Edudemic you need to! Lots of great info here and I stated making a list of ways I could support this new teacher! I am very excited about meeting her on Tuesday and I promise to post periodically about how things are going and share new ideas of what is working with us. Heck, I may even convince her to guest blog with me so you all can get if from the new teacher perspective. In the mean time, head over to Edudemic's website and check out this infographic and the accompanying article!!

10 comments:

  1. I am mentoring a brand new teacher this year too AND have two second year teachers to guide as well. Number one, I am feeling old LOL and number two with the burnout rate escalating so so fast, I am nervous!!! Thanks for this post - bookmarking!
    Joann

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    1. Wow! You are going to have you hands full with just mentoring alone not to mention your own classroom. Good luck and thanks for dropping by!!

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  2. I was in the same boat as you last year! It was hard! Then I left in April on maternity leave! This year I will have a brand new teacher....I think it will go much smoother

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    1. Sara- Congrats on the new baby! Hope you are enjoying this time.they grow up so fast!! Good luck with the mentoring this year! I would love to bound ideas off each other throughout the year to support each other!

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  3. I have a brand new teacher to mentor this year. I had one last year but it was terrible and ended up quiting/ being let go in November which was a blessing. I hope this year is much better. Looking forward to reading your future posts on mentoring,

    Wendy
    4th-5thgradehappiness.blogspot.com

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    1. Wendy- Thanks for dropping by! I would love to hear how the mentoring is going for you throughout the year. I know several people who have had bad mentoring experiences, and it is harder than people think! Have a great year and I look forward to connecting with you throughout the year!!

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  4. I also was a mentor last year and felt I didn't do very much. The new teacher I had worked in my room as a para for two years, so he knew a lot about the school and students. This year, I will be mentoring him again (it's a 4 year program) and 2 new teachers. I have taken notes on your suggestions. Thank you for sharing.

    Mary
    Teaching Special Kids

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    1. Mary- Thanks for dropping by. I am hoping to blog about this throughout the year. Would love to hear from you on how your mentoring experience is going! Have you entered my giveaway yet?

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  5. It's so awesome that you are putting this much thought into mentoring this teacher! I was very disappointed that my first year teaching our state took away stipends for mentors, so I didn't get that much help. I did have a few teachers who stood by my side and helped me a lot but it would've been great to know that I had one specific teacher to rely on when I really needed it. Good luck!

    I'm really trying to get connected into the blogging world and I absolutely love following you! Maybe you could do the same for me? You are awesome!

    Jamie :-)

    www.mommywifeteachercook.blogspot.com

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    1. Jamie- Thanks for dropping by! It is so disheartening to read about states cutting essential programs that truly benefit students and teachers. I am sorry you kind of got thrown to the wolves your first year. I am happy (though not surprised) to hear there were teachers who stepped up and took on the mentoring role unofficially. Isn't that ONE of the many things that truly makes our profession GREAT!! I hope that support continues. I am headed to your blog now to link up! Have a great year and I look forward to connecting through blogging through out the year!

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