Cut, roll credits.
Seriously though, if you’ve been in the classroom for more than five minutes you’ve discovered that there is much, much more to teaching than anyone could know before starting. I’m convinced that the best investment you can make in your own professional growth is to build a relationship with someone who can share tips, guidance, and understands the learning process that you’re going through.
In celebration of that, here are Five Reasons that New Teachers Need Mentors! Teacher prep programs can’t teach you everything.
At least once a day something will happen at work and I’ll say “see, they can’t teach you about that in teacher school because nobody would believe it.” Having a good mentor can help you navigate the massive undertaking of teaching without losing your mind in the process.
Mentors have developed a much bigger toolbox based on their experiences.
Via: Faculty Loungers
Sometimes the quickest way to a solution is to benefit from the experience of others. This decreases reinventing the wheel and increases feelings of success!
Mentors understand that sometimes the most important professional development happens outside of meetings and trainings.
Teaching life can seem like an endless stream of meetings, trainings, and projects punctuated by actually trying to teach, and a mentor has been there and done that! Mentors have a way of distilling down lots of information into meaningful pieces that you can apply to your classroom right away.
Mentors can celebrate your successes, no matter how small!
We all need a little positive reinforcement or just plain old encouragement, especially when the going gets rough.
Mentors understand what makes teaching unique!
No matter how rough the journey is, teaching is one of the most rewarding jobs there is. Every small victory, every new connection our students make, every opportunity our students enjoy and milestone they achieve is a source of pride of us as well.
If you are a new teacher and have been connected with a mentor already, take advantage of that fantastic opportunity! If you haven’t connected with a mentor yet, make sure you’re building relationships with your team and others in your building, or even online! My hope is that this blog, my TpT store, and the brand spanking new Special Ed Safari Facebook page will be great resources for teachers at all levels of experience.
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