The Role of the Mentor – Reflective Blogging Part 6
This post is part of the Reflective Teaching Blogging Challenge hosted by Terry at Te@ch Thought. While the original challenge is a year-old already I thought it would be the perfect thing to keep me on track over the next little while.
DAY 6 – Explain: What does a good mentor do?
I’m glad that this question was included as part of the challenge because I often say that I am trying to create a classroom that sees “teacher as mentor” as opposed to “teacher as expert”… but what does that really mean? To me, a good mentor is someone who:
– is encouraging and supportive of their mentee(s)
– helps the mentee feel safe enough to take risks
– maintains a positive attitude
– is knowledgeable in their field
DAY 6 – Explain: What does a good mentor do?
I’m glad that this question was included as part of the challenge because I often say that I am trying to create a classroom that sees “teacher as mentor” as opposed to “teacher as expert”… but what does that really mean? To me, a good mentor is someone who:
– is encouraging and supportive of their mentee(s)
– helps the mentee feel safe enough to take risks
– maintains a positive attitude
– is knowledgeable in their field
– listens to their mentee(s)
– is willing to learn and develop alongside their mentee(s)
– is enthusiastic/passionate about their field
– can provide specific and effective feedback to help the mentee’s development
– is flexible in their approach
– recognizes and values differences in opinions
– encourages forward development
Here is a short video about mentoring that I enjoyed.
Be a Mentor. (2012). Uploaded to YouTube by Morph Digital Solutions. Available online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFIFvXQ4Cfo
What would you add to this list?