After reading through LOTS of blogs to find one to comment on, I noticed that lots of ITSers are blogging about their advocacy groups and topics. I know from being in King George the topics we are choosing to advocate, but I am finding it very interesting to see what other groups have taken on to advocate. I wonder if we will be able to see the work the other cohorts have done. Some of the topics seem really good and I would love to see the full projects!
Since I am interested in others' topics, I'll share a little bit of my group's project. We are working on a better mentoring program. Many schools have mentor programs in place, but most are not the most effective or beneficial. Our concept is to have a group of teachers who are removed from their classrooms for a few years to serve solely as mentors. However, they MUST go back to the classroom so they do not become removed from the real world of teaching. The teachers who are serving as mentors are available to any teacher who feels like he/she needs some assistance. In other words, mentoring is not solely available to first year teachers. Any teacher at any point in his/her career can need a little help or guidance. Our research states that 30% of new teachers leave the profession in the first five years. So we shouldn't just mentor a first year teacher and then drop them in the second year. Additionally, teaching is the only profession that has the same expectations of you in your first day as in your 20th year. Other professions provide time to learn and grow in your profession as you work up to higher responsibilities.
If anyone has any great mentoring experiences or suggestions to improve a mentor program, let me know!
1 comment:
Hi Danica - In Prince William County, the lead mentors are classroom teachers who provide training to the teacher mentors at each school. I am a lead mentor as well as a mentor, and I support your idea of a full-time mentor position. It is very difficult for me to provide support to new teachers while taking care of my own classroom. In addition, you and your group and absolutely correct that other teachers could use some support, even if it's not the first year as a teacher. Good luck with your advocacy project!
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