I found a website that I absolutely have to share. I have been following Barking Up The Wrong Tree for some time, and I often share many of the articles with colleagues. This site offers "you science-based answers and expert insight on how to be awesome at life." It really, really does! The blog post I ran across this morning focuses on picking a good mentor. This topic is important to me since I run the mentor and mentee program at my school.
In South Carolina, teachers are required to keep a portfolio of their accomplishments in various standards, such as Professionalism and Knowledge of Curriculum. During the mentor and mentee meetings we hold at my school, the mentor and mentee bring their notebooks and we discuss the components of each section. We not only ensure every person at the table has appropriate and sufficient information to document each standard, but we also share best practices. This format has been very successful for us thus far, as mentors and mentees have both commented about how they feel incredibly accomplished with all of their documentation to show it!
One thing we ran across this year was a lack of relationship building between a mentor and a mentee. When I can across this article, I had had some major ah-ha moments. Although it is not logical that a mentee can come into our building in August and know who to pick for a mentor, it is obvious that the people who pick for the mentee need to be more cognizant of their choices. I think about who I go to for advice, and it is the person who gives clear directions, honestly tells me when I do something wrong, and who scares me a little (only sometimes).
If you don't already follow Barking Up The Wrong Tree, you may want to consider it. The articles are so informative, and include links to way more information than I can process at one time. Every article has provided me with REAL tips that I can implement immediately! One of my favorite posts was about the best and worst times to do things at work. Check it out!
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