My employment background at the university covers both teaching and administrative tasks.

As a teacher, I am assigned to handle general education subjects in languages and major subjects in professional education. On the other hand, my administrative job includes the responsibilities of managing the internal and external activities of students and dealing with intervention plans and training projects for teachers in all matters in the levels of both elementary and secondary education. For this problem posing vignette, I would like to dwell on the issue of mentoring program as one of the focal projects in my workplace. The mentoring program in our school has long been in existence, but a recent assessment of its program components puts it into its proper prospective. This means that the program has been overhauled in order to cater the present needs of the workforce in our organization. But no matter how well-established the program, problems arise. Almost every first semester, there are newly-hired teachers to meet the growing number of student population in our university. Most of them are beginning teachers. In this case, these teachers will be required to undergo the mentoring program. First and foremost, my first concern is assigning mentors to these new teachers. I am certain that finding criteria and methods for choosing mentors is a problem common to all mentoring programs. Guided by the principle that beginning teachers become good teachers by assimilating the desirable skills, attitudes, and professional outlook of their mentors, it seems to me a tough decision as to who will I appoint to become a mentor of each beginning teacher. What I also noticed is the transition of these novice teachers from their student teaching experience to their first teaching assignment which can be both exciting and traumatic. The same can be true for mentors as well. Part of the transition for mentor is dealing with the responsibilities of a new job (mentoring) along with the other responsibilities they have. Thus, confusing "assessment" with "evaluation" provides a common cause of mentor program failure. As part of our programs thrusts, an effective mentoring process is built on a foundation of mutual trust. The objective of the process is assistance. Both trust and assistance are placed in serious jeopardy if the mentor is saddled with evaluation responsibilities. Assessment, however, is an important part of the mentoring process which allows the beginning teachers selfreflection and direction for improvement. Further, lack of time is yet another factor that can negatively impact on the quality of the mentoring relationship and can determine, in some cases, whether or not the relationship will be a success or failure. Like in the case of X & Y, I have assigned X as mentor to our newly-hired teacher named Y. Mentor X has been working in UM for almost seven (7) years. She had an excellent reputation being chosen as the model teacher of the year in her third year of teaching. In fact, her track record of splendid performance as a classroom teacher, year level advisor, club consultant and as a faculty officer is very evident. She was so excited about the opportunity to become a part of the mentoring team. After successfully completing the mentors training program, she applied for the position as mentor. When the screening process was complete, I immediately informed X that she had been appointed as a mentor for Y, a beginning

teacher assigned to teach in the Engineering department. X and Y met for the first time the day before in-service. They spent time discussing the students, fellow teachers, school administration, classroom management issues, and a variety of other topics that were on Xs mind. That first day seemed quite promising. But over the next month, X and Y found it difficult to find time to meet. There was an instance when Y needed information and direction from X, but I took the responsibility of mentoring because X has been busy all the time. Although email was a resource for communicating, but seeing and talking each other would be more personal and helpful. At the close of the semester, X and Y reflected on their mentoring relationship. X was not pleased with her lack of being able to support Y, although Y did not blame her for that. Both were disappointed and frustrated because they had not been able to meet on a regular basis. I stressed to them that communication is one of the most important aspects in a mentoring team, but nevertheless I characterized their mentoring relationship as supportive, even with the limitations that existed. In relation, I embraced the idea that good communication helps to strengthen mentoring, which in turn contributes to performance and the professional development of both new teacher and mentor. When communication is minimized and is not a priority for one or both mentoring team members, then we can expect to see a relationship that is not functioning at its full potential. Communication is a choice and not every adult is as skillful in communicating with other adults as they might be with their students. That is why I need to be thoughtful and purposeful in my selection of mentors. Also, as new teachers are adjusting to a new career, they need to know that someone is willing to support them. Believing that support is important, because it helps the new teacher understand that they are valued and that someone is there to listen and care, I realize that it is necessary for me as the administrative coordinator of the mentoring program to seek mentoring practices that is more effective and beneficial for both the mentors and the mentees. To attain this goal, firstly, I should consider some mentoring program practices in other organization to find out what practice is suitable in my workplace. Secondly, I need to know some common obstacles in mentoring programs to be able to foresee arising conflicts to overcome them. Lastly, I would like to find out how to handle conflicting issues in mentoring program to safeguard the mentor-mentee relationship.When I return to my workplace, the management expects me to mobilize the Teaching-Learning Center (TLC) where mentoring program is a component. Thus, a chance to explore this project would be a great opportunity. This will be beneficial in my future workplace endeavour. Thus, my focusing questions for my research story revolve around these areas of concern: (1) what are some of the best mentoring program practices? and (2) what are other conflicting issues in mentoring program and how I would be able to handle it? Guided by these focusing questions, I began to keep a professional journal where I can encode instances or conversations that may arise that would help me gain a deeper reflection of mentoring practices for beginning teachers. I began noting in my personal

journal the two-fold experiences that I had related to mentoring. I recall my experiences as a mentee when I was still new in the teaching arena. Gradually, upon gaining a number of years in teaching, I had been given an opportunity to become a mentor, as well. The mentor-mentee relationship in our university has long been in existence as a focused project in the professional development program. This project is known as mentoring. Mentoring is defined by Nemser and Parker (2002) as a coping mechanism assisting novice teachers in facing challenges in a teaching- learning environment. They expound the idea of the power of mentoring to improve teaching. In their article, they examined two mentoring programs in the United States. In the mentoring program, experienced teachers are expected to play major roles in the induction and socialization of beginning teachers. This concept is almost the same with the mentoring practices in my workplace. Beginning teachers are helped through our mentoring program on how to adjust with the teaching requisites and as well as to adapt in the existing organisational culture in our university. When I was still a new teacher, I recall the experiences I traversed in dealing with my fellow teachers and students. It was indeed a tough challenge. I even recalled the instances where I feel shy in dealing with my coteachers and being numbed most of the times in conversations. I feel that I have not gain enough ideas to share and I thought that it is better to listen rather than talk because my opinions might not be of help. Another struggle was when I had an older student who seems to act as the teacher in my class. But these experiences that I had were reinforced by the mentoring program. With the help of my mentor, I was able to conform in those teaching- learning situations with ease and confidence. I was even chosen to be an emcee in every school program that we have. Much to my amusement, my fellow teachers and students even nominated me as one of the candidates for model teacher during the teachers day celebration. Though, I did not get the most coveted award, but it was an achievement as a new teacher. I owe that honor to my mentor. As Allen, et al ( 2006) states in their article that role modeling of mentors impact their mentees. This is proven to be true since my mentor is known as one of the best performing teachers in our university. She has even reached the hall of fame this year being awarded in her fifth trophy as model teacher. She has inspired me a lot to follow her footsteps in the field of teaching someday. In the course of following my mentors footsteps, it leads me to where I am now. Like her, I become a mentor to beginning teachers. But my responsibility encompasses more than a mentor, I have been appointed as the coordinator of the professional development program where mentoring is a striking component as one of its focal projects. As a coordinator, I discover the saliency of mentoring program in the academe. Even before my appointment, I already embraced the importance of mentoring program. In my experience as a mentor, I have seen and felt, and honestly I can relate the struggles of beginning teachers. Being a neophyte is a battling experience. Stansbury and Zimmerman (2000) reveal the need to design support for beginning teachers in order to attract them to remain in the teaching profession. In their article, they explicitly mention that most teachers quit within their first three years on the teaching job and opt to other occupation that offer more financial rewards and less stress. The reason behind this steady loss can be attributed to the challenges sensed by rookie teachers such as

classroom management, motivation of students, dealing with the individual differences among students and peer pressures, assessing student work and relation with parents. In fact, Britton, et al (1999) cites the same problems as most pressing difficulties of beginning teachers in China, New Zealand and Swirzerland. In like manner, the academic planning and mentoring director in our university confirms that similar reasons also apply in my workplace among our novice teachers. In a virtual interview, he expresses the need to help beginning teachers in dealing with these troubling instances. A well- implemented mentoring program for beginning teachers is a must. I even noted in my journal-entry when he expounds that:
The benefits of mentoring programs are not only substantial for novice teachers, but as well as to mentors. The mentee gains a new direction or perspective while the mentor feels a sense of achievement when their mentee succeeds. (Serrano, Journal Entry: Web Interview , page 12)

Relatively, Clinard and Ariav (1998) confirms the idea of our academic planning and mentoring director that mentors derive benefits from mentoring. They acknowledged a study of 178 mentor teachers conducted by Hawk in 1986 that mentoring programs provided positive professional growth among mentors. The mentors enumerated ways they grew professionally which include: (1) improvement of own classroom teaching skills; (2) awareness of the importance of communication among teachers; and (3) realizing the role of experienced teachers in honing the best teaching skills among novice teachers. This led Hawk (1986) to advocate that practices in mentoring program must be designed accordingly aiming to benefit not only the mentees but as well as the mentors. Further elaborated in the study are some suggestions that should be included in the practice of mentoring: 1. Mentoring should be a practice geared onwards to professional competency. It should serve as a training ground for both mentors and mentees on how to give and take feedback on demonstrations, assimilate teaching techniques and design curriculum. 2. Mentoring should be a reflective practice. Mentoring programs should enable mentors and mentees to be reflective about their own beliefs about teaching, students, learning, and teaching as a career. 3. Mentoring should boost a practice of professional renewal. Mentors and mentees should regain energy and strength in their commitment to the teaching profession. 4. Part of the practice of mentoring should be an experience of psychological benefits. The experience of mentoring should empower experienced teachers in enhancing their self-esteem derived from their satisfaction of helping less experienced colleagues. On the other hand, mentees should

endow greater self-confidence as they are being provided with professional and personal support. 5. An established collegial interaction between mentors and mentees increase confidence and maturity. Thus, mentoring should be a practice of collaboration. In fact, working with new teachers can lead mentors to participate in collaborative research projects or teacher researches. 6. An ideal practice of mentoring should contribute to teacher leadership. The training and experiences in mentoring such as classroom observation and coaching skills build mentors' capacity for leadership. Mentees also develop sense of leadership in demonstration skills.

In relation to the suggested mentoring practices, an experienced practitioner in mentoring program for over 12 years who is currently employed in a distinguished university in Australia mentions that in a mentoring program, the role of a mentor is significant not only in the classroom coaching, but most importantly, in shaping the ideals of a beginning teacher. As a specialist in mentoring teachers and coaching teacher interns, I am grateful having the opportunity of discussing with her some important topics that would lead me in discovering best mentoring program practices. She even freely discloses some conflicting issues in mentoring program and suggests how I would be able to handle it if I would be in the situation. In my face-to face interview with this experienced practitioner in mentoring program, she cites some of the best mentoring program practices. However, she reminds that a mentoring program must be based from the needs of our organization. It must be a suitable design that is accepted within the norms of our organizational culture. Nijveldt, et al (2005) supports the same idea as they posit that well-structured mentoring programs achieve best results when its goals are linked to corporate needs. Being exposed in the mentoring program, she further cites that best mentoring practices must reflect a responsible program with the following requirements: (1)a well-defined mission and established operating policy; (2) regular, consistent contact between the mentor and the mentee; and (3) paid or volunteer personnel with appropriate skills. She expounds that there are a lot of best mentoring program practices, however, what is applicable in answer to the needs of the organisation is the most appropriate. This statement leads me to conduct a preliminary needs analysis in my workplace. Aside from our academic planning and mentoring director, I also engaged in a virtual interview via internet with a senior mentor and a past mentee. This is to trace occurring phenomenon in the mentoring program of my workplace to find out the present needs of the participants and inflict improvement in the future, as well. Extracts of the said interviews are posted in the appendix with slight modification due to some vernacular responses. Combining the responses of the virtual interviewees, I sense the needs of a recruitment plan for both mentors and mentees. They also mention that in the orientation for mentors and mentees, the following should be detailed properly;

1. overview of mentoring program which includes its rationale and bases 2. description of eligibility, screening process and suitability requirements of mentors and mentees 3. level of commitment expected such as time and availability of both parties. 4. benefits and rewards of mentors and mentees. 5. summary of program policies including reports, interviews and evaluations

As I spearhead the mentoring program in our workplace, I find the matters mentioned in the interview as useful guidelines in the modification of mentoring practices in congruence to the needs of our organisation. Those needs will serve as information to be included in my mentoring plan. Considering them as factors to create a successful mentoring initiative, it would also be a means of sustaining the mentoring program. In order to sustain the mentoring program, Allen,et al(2006) adds that eligibility screening for mentors and mentees is a component. The screening should commence with an application process and review, face to face interview, reference checks, suitability criteria and completion of pre-match training and orientation. They also suggest the need of readiness program which is almost similar to our pre- trainings for all mentors and mentees. These pre-trainings are conducted to avoid conflicting issues in the future.

During my interview, the experienced practitioner affirms that conflict is inevitable in mentoring. These conflicts vary and needs trouble-shooting. She elaborates that some of these conflicts may arise between the mentor and the mentees or it can be within my self as the administrative coordinator of the mentoring program. First conflict is when mentor or mentee does not get along well. In this case, dialogue and discussions must be done before the relations deteriorate. Second conflict is when mentor/mentee is too busy to arrange meetings. Time is essential in mentoring. She suggests that I better renegotiate it and set meetings at a frequency that suits both parties. The third is a dispute which is almost similar to the second conflict. It is when the mentor/mentee arranges meeting but then cancels it at the last minute. Relatively, our academic planning and mentoring director divulges that this is the most common problem in our mentoring program which can be attributed to the mentor/mentee high workload. To put the partnership on hold while this busy period passes is a good solution. Nevertheless, this instance should not be frequent as the other partner could feel disheartened and undervalued. She also raises another case as the fourth conflict, it is when either mentor or mentee is unhappy with my choice of their partnership, it would be my immediate responsibility to establish rapport between them. Lastly, another conflict she reveals is when mentee/mentor has made an improper advance during a meeting. She advises me to emphasize that meetings should never take place in the mentee or mentor's home in order to protect against false allegations. Mentees and mentors

should ensure meetings take place in suitable surroundings, where some privacy is ensured to facilitate privacy, but not in complete isolation from other people. I realize that these conflicting issues are difficult, yet challenging. It can be noted however, as Clinard and Ariav (1998) maintain that the easiest way to solve this problem is to dissolve the relationship between the two participants. However, I contend that would be the last recourse if the issues cannot be resolve in an amicable way. Thus, criteria in matching the mentors and mentees must be carefully intertwined.

Stansbury and Zimmerman (2000) suggest that a matching strategy must be based on the programs eligibility criteria. As the administrative coordinator of the mentoring program, I am guided by the norms of matching criteria as set by professional development council where it reconsiders not only chemistry but also interests and other elements such as race and ethnicity, gender, age, language, availability/schedules, needs, temperament, attitude, experience, skills and expertise. In my term as a mentoring coordinator, I have imposed team building activities to reduce the anxiety of the first meeting of both parties. This is a face-to-face training to unleash inhibitions and establish good relationship among mentors and mentees. Our senior mentor and a past mentee recognize that face- to- face is more effective than on-line team building because it is more personal in contact. They even suggest that this may be made an-going support as features of our mentoring practices. Similarly, it is suggested by the experienced practitioner during the interview that a monitoring process must be made operational to safe guard mentoring pairs privacy and security. She emphasizes that there must be consistent scheduled meetings with the mentoring participants, tracking system for on-going assessment, mentoring filing system and most importantly, a process for managing grievances, praise, re-matching, interpersonal problem solving, and pre-mature relationship closure. Monitoring the mentoring program is important to ensure that the stability of mentoring pairs and the workability of the mentoring practices. In fact, reflected in Hawks study in 1986 shows that the mentoring pairs last longer and more successful if monitored by ways of newsletters or mailings, meetings and casual conversations discussing relevant issues and concerns for dissemination. Also, in my recount of work experience which involves mentoring, I embrace the idea that evaluation is a salient aspect of mentoring practices. The evaluation is a process which will measure the outcome of the program and assess for future changes and improvements. In the light of my research story, I conclude that mentoring beginning teachers is indeed a noble task. It provides support by helping, guiding and comforting new teachers to understand that they are valued and that someone is there to listen and care. I can relate that when emotional support is limited or is not being provided at all, the new teacher can feel insecure, frustrated and lack of confidence. Further, the problem posing vignette, journal entry, related literature and interview in my research story provide confirmation that mentoring opens the opportunities of professional development not only to mentees, but as well as to mentors. This study offers some insights into the issue by decoding responses of the selected individuals who are

involved in mentoring programs. While I learn that there are varieties of best mentoring program practices, I also acknowledge the importance to reciprocate the mentoring plan to the needs of the organisation. On the other hand, it ignites my interest knowing the conflicting issues in mentoring program to seek something more effective and beneficial for both the mentors and the mentees. Further, the findings of this story inspires me to explore more on the impact of the mentoring program practices not only among mentors and mentees, but also in the organisation as a whole. As Allen, et al ( 2006) indicates that mentoring paves the way to ensure continued success in organisation, I am propelled to strengthen our program practices. After all, the human resources are considered as the most important component in any organisation. I therefore reaffirm based from my previous position that shaping the practices of our mentoring program is one of the best ways to build a strong crop of human resources in our organisation. Building a strong crop of human resources spells organisational success. Thus, as I am about to return to my home country and I am also about to resume my task as an administrative coordinator of the mentoring program for beginning teachers, I hope to traverse a path that will lead my steps to effective mentoring practices for the benefit of the mentors and the mentees and the organisation as a whole.