Stages and Roles of Mentors

1. Stages and Roles of Mentors

2. The Beginning • is uncertain and anxious. • may mask anxiousness as “bravado” • fears “losing face” in front of peers • discovers new roles, relationships, and environment • may fear mentor and hesitate • to “open up” • knows about the “journey” • has been there before • recognizes the importance of letting the protégé explore • gently urges protégé to speak of fears • acts as a guide to shift protégé away from dangers in the road • helps protégé build on strengths Reprinted with permission from NAESP The Protégé The Mentor

3. The Middle • begins to see patterns in problems. • relaxes and their initial fear of mentor gives way to acceptance • gains new perspectives on previously difficult issues. • sees the mentor as a partner and a colleague. • offers support and encouragement. • helps protégé focus on the process of solving problems rather than the problem • provides nurturing during difficult times. • begins to see independence in the protégé Reprinted with permission from NAESP The Protégé The Mentor

4. The End • At some point the mentor must go in a different direction. The process has been about the protégé, not the mentor.

5. Business/Education Parallels • Education Goals • Reputation • Graduation Rates • Mill Levies • Grants, Scholarships • Business Goals • Product Branding • Profits • Market Share • Outperform Comp.

6. Mentee Benefits • Having a role model • Enhanced leadership practices to improve instruction and student performance • Improved leadership capacity • Constructive challenges • Better understanding of personal development • Improved networking

7. Mentor Benefits • Increased personal learning • Practice good development behaviors in a new realm • Positively affect the lives of students through leadership development • Help preserve a sacred right

8. School Benefits • Improved instruction • Improved student success • Creates a culture for learning

9. MENTOR BEHAVIORS • Facilitate • Be a safety net • Give structure and direction • Empower protégés • Exhibit empathy • Enthusiasm • Commitment • Fix • Fight protégé’s battles • Dictate or control learning • Tell what to do • Discount feelings of protégé DO DON’T

10. Good Protégé • Excited to work with mentor • Open to new ideas • Positive attitude • Wants to learn • Not defensive • Kid centered • Collaborative • Courageous • Goal oriented

11. Culture and Climate

12. School Culture • SHARED VALUES, IDEAS & BELIEFS • IDENTITY • PAST EXPERIENCES • FUTURE ACTION (HOW WE DO THINGS)

13. School Climate • The way students and staff feel about being in the building each day.

14. Four Aspects of School Climate • PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT THAT IS WELCOMING AND CONDUCIVE TO LEARNING • SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT THAT PROMOTES COMMUNICATION AND INTERACTION • AN EFFECTIVE ENVIRONMENT THAT PROMOTES A SENSE OF BELONGING AND SELF-ESTEEM • AN ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT THAT PROMOTES LEARNING AND SELF-FULFILLMENT

15. The Face of Your Mentee’s School?

16. HORSE STORY • Common Advice

17. When the horse you’re riding dies, get off. • Buying a stronger whip • Trying a new bit or bridle • Switching riders • Moving the horse to a new location • Riding the horse for longer periods of time • Saying things like, “This is the way we have always ridden this horse”. • Appointing a committee to study the horse • Arranging to visit other sites where they ride dead horses more efficiently • Increasing the standards for riding dead horses • Creating a new test for measuring our riding ability • Comparing how we’re riding now with how we did 10 or 20 years ago • Complaining about the state of horses these days • Coming up with new styles of riding • Tightening the cinch • Blaming the horses parents. The problem is often in the breeding.

18. Many reform efforts target the superficial aspects of schools, but disregard the “values, beliefs, behaviors, rules, products, signs, and symbols” (Donahoe, 1997), which serve as the very foundation of the school – the culture.