Mentor-where?

Mentoring isn't a new concept at all, to me or the education/sporting community. First as a TouchFootball Refeere in my younger years, we where otften assigned different mentors from the higher level refeeres at carnivals to help us to develop as compatent refeers and make sure noone abused us!
Mentoring programs are invaluble as they allow relevant and productive information to be provided to the mentee, after observing the class/sport. Mentors can then provied pointers and ideas which can be directly applyed to the mentee's skills.

As a student teacher I am assigned a Mentor Teacher during every  prac-placment which I undertake. Having completed two pracs, I have had the oppertunity to observe and work with two very different but capible teachers, with a number of years experiance. This allowed me to recieve constructive and invaluble feedback from people who are in the indestry and really know what they are talking about. Being supportid and guided by Mentors, with the continual communication and non-formal feedback, provieds invaluble experiance which prepers student teachers for the "real world". This also allows questions to be answered and discussions held on a continual basis, which is integural to teacher development. Formal feedback and assesment is also provieded by the Mentor teachers, which allows future employers to view student teachers progress and development.

This year the NSW Govenment has decided to impliment new criteries which both student teachers and mentor teachers will have to meet. Mentor Teachers will "...have to undertake accredited programs to create a more professional class of mentoring teacher..." now while this sounds like a brillient idea, making our teachers better and putting more back into the community. Being a Mentor Teacher is entirlley vollentary, yes they get paid a few bucks for taking us, but I've spoken to a number of teachers who don't think we are worth the hassle now, let alone if they have to undertake extra training to take us! Another great idea in theory, yet a stiffling difference from the reality of classroom politics. Already student teachers are forced to "cue" to recieve a placment, waiting till another is done and replacing them in the same school, I can only image the result of these new standereds on the whole procces.

New Teachers are also given a mentor teacher during first year of work(and free counsling), this is to help them develop, provied someone which they can converse about classroom probles or bounce new ideas around and give advice, as new teachers navigate the experiance of their own classrooms!



http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/nsw-raises-bar-for-new-teachers/story-e6frgcjx-1226591681671