FEATURE Rediscovering enthusiasm The vast majority of us entered teaching because we wanted to provide young people with the best possible start in life through giving them quality education. However, there is always a danger when we’ve been teaching for an extended period of time that we begin to lose the wide eyed enthusiasm that we started our teaching careers with. Mentoring a trainee teacher can change all that. Trainees want to change the world and have the fierce determination to do so. Their positive energy can revitalise even the most jaded of teachers. With this unbridled enthusiasm comes fresh ideas and perspectives. Yes, some of those ideas may not always be successful but harnessing that energy and using it to motivate the class can have a significant impact on both pupils and mentors. Trainees bring a level of excitement to the table that is often contagious and reminds us why we entered teaching in the first place.
Building collaborative relationships
Giving up control
Building relationships is a key part of teaching. Not just with our pupils but also with our colleagues. Having those strong working relationships really is an integral aspect of our professional practice. The journey of mentor and trainee should be a shared one that encompasses collaboration and learning. We want to get the very best out of our trainees and ourselves. A strong relationship will help facilitate this. There is something very special about watching a trainee teacher grow professionally and knowing you have been part of their journey. There are two important components to a good mentor/trainee relationship. These are congenial relationships and collegial relationships. Whilst the congenial relationship focuses on the more personal aspects in terms of feeling part of a team, the collegial element of the relationship is centred upon professional interactions. It is discussing teaching practice, the sharing of knowledge and promoting success of both parties. Ultimately, the mentor/trainee relationships can last a lifetime. I am still in contact with the majority of the trainees I have mentored and it has been a joy seeing them establish themselves in the world of teaching and knowing I had a small part to play in it.
This is one that many mentors can initially find hard! During my first year as a Mentor I was working with an excellent trainee but I found it difficult to share my classroom. Don’t get me wrong, I loved so many aspects of the mentor experience but giving up classroom control was a learning experience for me. Up until that point everything had been done my way. The classroom was set up just how I liked it, I had my routines, and my way of doing things. However, I quickly realised that in order for the trainee I was working with to succeed I had to share the class with them, rather than see myself as the one solely in charge. This was challenging to begin with but it allowed me to grow in ways I wouldn’t have considered. Giving a new teacher the space to experiment with new strategies allowed them to develop and also gave me the chance to see different techniques in action - some successful, some not. Of course some things didn’t work. What is important to bear in mind when this happens is that they are still a novice at this stage and need to be given the chance to develop their practice. What was particularly powerful was reflecting on these experiments together; refining and changing. This provided the opportunity for rich professional dialogue and forced me to reflect on my own practice.
“Trainees bring a level of excitement to the table that is often contagious and reminds us why we entered teaching in the first place”
HWRKMAGAZINE.CO.UK
JA N UA RY 2 0 2 2 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 1 7
