AshleyAaron

TE872
Week9
TeacherMentorProgram
Runningaschoolwouldbeaverytoughjobformanydifferentreasons.Among
thosereasonstwoofthebiggestaretimeandmoney/budgeting.IfIwereabletosetupa
teachermentorprograminmyschooldistrictIwouldmakemanychangestothecurrent
programinplace,especiallyifneithertimenormoneywereanissue.Thisessaywill
reviewthedifferentelementsIwouldincorporateinateachermentorprogram.
Onehugekeyininduction(mentoring)programsiscommunication;thenew
teacherneedstobeabletospeakfreelywiththeirmentorsmakingiteasierforthe
mentorstounderstandthenewteachersproblems.Anotherprobleminmostmentor
programsislackofstructure,solidexamplesandguidelinesfortheinductionprocess.
Currentlyinmydistrictthesearetwoareaswestrugglein.ThenewKindergarten
SecondgradeTitle1Teachersmentorisanexperienced5thgradeteacher.Firstofall,
whatguidancecana5thgradeteacherreallyprovidesomeoneworkingwithstudents
muchyounger.Thebehaviorsofthetwogroupsofstudentsandtheirabilitiesareso
vastlydifferentthe5thgradeteachercantoffermuchhelp.Inaddition,theexpectation
of5thgradeteachersisverydifferentthanthejobrequirementsofearlychildhood
teachers.Thereforetheircommunicationsuffersbecausethetitleteacherchoosestoask
otherteachersquestionsthathaveabetterunderstandofwhatsgoingon.
AsImentioned,ourdistrictalsodoesnthavestructureorguidelinesinthese
mentorrelationships.AlthoughIhaveanamazingmentor,thisoftenaffectsus.Thereare
timesMelissa,mymentor,andIhavemetandshellaskmeifIhavequestions,Ill
answerno.Andthatsthat.Ifwehadspecificissuestocoverordifferenttopicstocover,

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TE872
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inadditiontomyquestionsorproblems,ourmeetingsmightbemoreinformativeforme.
Withthelackofstructureourmeetingsbecomefreeforallswherenothingis
accomplished.
Wong,Britton,andGanser,authorsof,WhattheWorldCanTeachUsAboutNew
TeacherInductionstate,Althoughtheinductionapproachesinthefivecountries
[France,Japan,NewZealand,ChinaandSwitzerland]differfromoneanother,theyhave
threemajorsimilaritiestheyarehighlystructured,theyfocusonprofessionallearning,
andtheyemphasizecollaboration.(Wong,Britton,andGanserp.383,2005).Using
Wong,BrittonandGansersarticleIwillstatedifferentthingsothercountriesaredoing
topromotecommunication/collaborationandstructureintheirnewmentorprogramIm
providingformycurrentdistrict.
Wong,Britton,andGasnercontinueintheirarticletosay,inFrancenewteachers
areprovidedapedagogicaladvisor,whoisavailabletoansweranyquestionthenew
teachermighthave.Althoughitdoesntsayinthearticle,Ibelieveitssafetoassumethe
advisorhasalargeknowledgebaseofthegradethenewteacheristeaching,unlikethe
exampleIprovidedaboutmyowndistrict.Thearticlegoesontosay;theadvisorand
newteacherobserveeachothersclassroom.
Ibelievebeingabletoobserveanotherteachersclassroomwouldbeahugehelp
toallnewteachers.Thenewteacherwouldbeabletoobserveandwatchhowthe
experiencedteachermanageshisorherclassandthenasktheveteranteacherquestions
aboutwhytheydowhattheydo,helpingthenewteachersunderstandingofthefield
grow.Inaddition,asthementorwatchesthenewteacher,theywouldbeabletocomment

AshleyAaron
TE872
Week9
ondifferentthingsandhowitcouldbeimproved.Whoknows,maybetheveteranteacher
mightlearnsomethingfromthenewteacher.However,nomatterthecaseofwhos
learning,thelinesofcommunicationareopenandthetwoteachersareabletowork
together.
Wong,Britton,andGanseralsodiscussthestrictstandardsinNewZealand.They
say,inNewZealand,allnewteachersmustbeapartofanAdviceandGuidance
programs.Thenewteachersmustdocumentthetrainingsandcommunicationbetween
themandveteranteachers.Aprogramlikethiswouldrequireschoolstosetrulesand
guidelinesformentorprograms.Forexample,everyotherweekthementorandnew
teachercouldworkonsomenewtopic,thatwaynottooverwhelmthenewteacher,
however,itwouldgreatlyhelpgrownthenewteachersknowledgebase.Also,with
specificguidelinesfortheseprograms,itcanbeassumedalldifferentareasofteaching
willbetalkedabouthelpingtobetterprepareallnewteachers.
Beinganewteacherishard.Althoughthenewteacherhaslikelyspentfourplus
yearsincollegelearningtobeateacher,theresnopossiblewaytheyarecompletely
prepared.Havingastrongmentorprograminschoolsmakesbeinganewteacher
survivable,howeveritskeytheseprogramsarestructuredwithguidelinesforboththe
newteacherandthementorteacherandprovidedthenewteacherandmentorampletime
tocommunicationproblemsandquestionsandworktogethertofinddifferentsolutions.
WorkCited:
Wong,H.,Britton,T.,&Ganser,T.(2005).WhattheWorldcanTeachusAboutNew
TeacherInduction.PhiDeltaKappan,379384.RetrievedMarch19,2015.