Sometimes an enthusiast might confuse enthusiasm for competence. Related experiences and a sense of commitment can suggest that mentors are positioned to do something well, even when they have had no genuine preparation for the task. In this article, the author warns them that their experience as teachers by itself may be insufficient preparation…

If the author was to pinpoint her greatest passion as an educator, it would be that of mentoring teachers. Everyone knows the statistics of how many new teachers leave the profession after just a few years and that one of the factors in retaining them lies in the value of a quality mentor. Looking back, the author realizes that educators' first…

Rachel Malchow Lloyd describes the wonderful and quite natural potential for a team of teachers, through their professional conversations and routine planning, to model for less experienced teachers how to prepare for instruction, how to assess its effect, and how to assume a professional stance consistently in the daily execution of…

Mentors need to be proactive in helping the newer teacher to anticipate the critical episodes that inevitably face any teacher. These episodes include the challenge to manage a daunting workload while following habits necessary to stay healthy; to recover from disappointments, errors, and disrespect; to form positive relationships with students,…

Without the benefit of having experienced many years of teaching, it is hard to emulate the experienced colleagues one admires. In her second year of teaching, the author seems to have captured some of the wisdom that comes with many years of teaching. Her advice reveals many of the practices that distinguish veterans from newcomers. Teachers who…