Happy 2014! January is National Mentor Month, so it’s
time to celebrate the work you do! As a
coach, your role is frequently that of consigliere: a trusted advisor and
counselor. A consigliere gets you going
when you don’t know where to start. She
gives you a boost when you’re ready to climb.
You can be that guru for getting it done!
One of the reasons coaches are
valuable is because we offer outside perspective. That point of view, which gets teachers
beyond the thinking in their own heads, is critical, especially when they are
besieged with new initiatives and the everyday life of having 25-or-more little
bodies in their charge. Psychologist Michael
Woodward points out that without honest
and informed feedback it’s easy to “get wrapped up in your self-talk and for
beliefs to get in the way.”*
Having a mentor with whom thoughts
can be openly shared can help a teacher to uncover strategies and ideas she may
never have considered. People benefit
from a fair and knowledgeable sounding board, and research suggests that the
coach benefits, too – there’s even something in it for you!
It’s a way to be reminded of the
journey you’ve taken and a way to give back.
Coaching can be a calling to help people achieve their dreams, a way of honoring
the profession that you care so deeply about.
It’s a chance to show gratitude for the privilege you’ve had of going to
work every day to a job you care about, where you know you are making a
difference in people’s lives. It was
true when you were teaching young students, and it’s true today as you support
their teachers.
But there’s more to it than
fulfilling a professional obligation: Sharing
your hard-earned wisdom is a good way to get perspective. And it’s also a way to learn. When you are mentoring, you are also learning
from the teachers you are working with – it’s a trade. Being in a symbiotic relationship with a
knowledgeable colleague is a way to keep a good thing going.
Unfortunately, some experts suggest
that informal mentoring is on the decline, due in part to the increase of a
competitive atmosphere.** That makes
your job as an official mentor even more important. Although teachers can get valuable feedback
from the principal, it’s important to have someone who can give an
off-the-record perspective. A mentor can
help teachers assess whether their routine is on a roll or in a rut. Being open, honest, and direct is the best
policy. There is value in the
relationships you’ve created when teachers are willing to hear your feedback
and do something with it.
So take a moment to celebrate yourself
during National Mentor Month. Thank you
for all you do!
This
week, you might want to take a look at:
A series of articles in this “Spotlight
on Coaching” from Education Week:
An
interesting video about developing student responsibility by offering them
choices – this time about seating arrangements:
A large collection of online math
games for K-12:
A blog that tells you about
educreations, which is a great app for classroom use:
An article with ideas for using Twitter
in the classroom:
That’s all for this week – Happy Coaching!
*Smits, J.C. (2014). Guidance counselors: both sides benefit from a top-flight mentor relationship. Spirit, January 2014, 58, 62-66.
**Webb, M. & Adler, C. (2013). Rebooting work: Transform how you work in the age of entrepreneurship. Hoboken, NJ, Wiley.
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