subject: Mentors Without Borders [print this page] We recognize that some teachers work in schools where the mentoring possibilities seem limited. For example, one colleague works in a school that has only two English teachers: one early-career teacher and one veteran who claim to dislike the students. In such a circumstance, the teacher may do well to look outside school for the help that an in-school mentor teacher might otherwise provide. One possibility is contact with a former professor or teacher, or perhaps the cooperating teacher from a clinical or student teaching experience or even a university supervisor. In many cases these professionals have already served the new teacher as a mentor and can continue in some ways, if only by phone or email.
We know that we have been contacted from time to time by teachers who have read our books or articles and ask for some assistance in pursuing research or initiating some improvement in their schools. We feel MBT Shoes(http://www.mbtshoes4sales.com) an obligation to respond with whatever resources and support we can provide. Our experience has been that contact with the people we admire in education is usually met with grace and generosity, although sometimes after a bit of a delay. Often articles appear in journals with the contact information for the authors.
It is more realistic to encourage new teachers to develop a network of mentors, including experienced teachers from various departments, other new teachers in the same school, friends from university days, former professors, and family members. Our experience has been that authors are pleased that someone is reading and thinking about their published work, and the contact information has been provided to initiate conversation.
NCTE obviously provides a wealth of online resources. Some, such as Pathways and CoLEARN, offer opportunities to join a professional learning community with colleagues from other schools. Participation in local conferences and the NCTE Annual Convention leads to contacts with colleagues from across the country and offers possibilities to maintain professional dialogues online.
First-year teacher Caroline shared this observation with us: "I wish we still had our listserv going, because during our student teaching we had our listserv, which was all 50 of us student teachers and we all got Clearance MBT Shoes(http://www.cheapmbtshoes4sale.com) along. It was just a group that had the best time, and it was great and we wish that we would still use the listserv and sometimes people do, but I wish that everyone would keep in contact." Caroline's testimony emphasizes that a new generation of teachers has gone through school with the expectation that conversations and social networking live online. Some universities provide support systems to promote the online network. With a little effort, new teachers can maintain the relationships with former classmates and professors, even when the college email account ends. Where are the good mentors? They appear to be everywhere.
