Mentoring In Education

MentorMentoring in Educationing in Education

International Language School Group

International Teacher Training

&

Development College

Some provocative Some provocative introductory questionsintroductory questions

� What is Mentoring?

� Is Mentoring necessary in the

School of the 21st Century?

� Who can become a Mentor?

� Can a Teacher play the role of a

Mentor?

Learning Journey EQUAL Conference Turnhout

Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35 31 May 2007

What is MentoringWhat is Mentoring??

� A definition that comes from Greek

Mythology: the Mentor is a fully

trusted Helper

� Background information: Odysseus

entrusted the baby Telemachus

and his whole household to Mentor

when he joined the coalition

against TroyLearning Journey EQUAL Conference Turnhout


Is Mentoring necessary in the Is Mentoring necessary in the School of the 21st CenturySchool of the 21st Century??

YES since

� 15 – 30 per cent of all Students

show signs of LD

� 25 – 30 per cent of all Students

leave the Elementary Education as

functional illiterates

� a growing number of Students

have a handicap of some sort



Who can become a MWho can become a Mentor?entor?

� Anyone who meets the original

definition, i. e. anyone who is a

fully trusted Helper

� If we slightly modify the original

definition, anyone who is fully

trusted by the Baby, and who can

effectively help the Baby



Who can become a MWho can become a Mentor? (2)entor? (2)

� Anyone who meets the original

definition, i. e. anyone who is a

fully trusted Helper

� If we slightly modify the original

definition, anyone who is fully

trusted by the Student, and who

can effectively help the Student



Can a Teacher play the role of a MentorCan a Teacher play the role of a Mentor??

YES if he honours some important principles

� (1) Mentoring is not teaching. Rather, it is a

helping process that makes room for some

otherwise blocked learning.





� (2) The Mentor is a learning and

developing being.





� (3) The Mentor has a very clear picture of

his own development.





� (4) The Mentor is deeply concerned but he

does not create dependency.





� (5) Mentoring always has a clear aim.





� (6) The precondition of successful

Mentoring is a warm, welcoming, accepting

environment.





� (7) In Mentoring we only step backwards to

gain momentum, and jump longer forward

as a result.





� (8) Mentoring is not an analysis. Rather, it

is a catalysed synthesis.





� (9) The Mentor will profit from the process

by giving and there is no guarantee for a

return.





� (10) Mentoring can only be effective in an

atmosphere of mutual trust.





� (11) The Mentor – Mentee relationship is

based on a very clear contract.





� (12) The Mentor – Mentee relationship

starts with a voluntary and autonomous

decision on both sides.





� (13) The Mentor must know the limits of the

mentoring process, as well as his own

limits.





� (14) The professional basis of the

mentoring process is a successful self-

mentoring.





� (15) The ‘All-rounder’ or ‘Jack of all trades’

Mentor is only a fiction.





� (16) The Mentoring process may bring

about both positive and negative results.





� (17) The Mentoring process may bring

differences in opinion and friction to the

surface in critical issues.





� (18) A synergic group can act as a very

highly effective Mentor.





� (19) The Mentor does not want to replace

the family or friends.





� (20) The Mentor must not meddle into

topics the family or a friend are actively

working on.





� (21) The Mentor has to be aware of his

attractions as well as his repulses, and has

to be able to handle them.





� (22) The Mentor gives his active attention,

rather than merely his time.





� (23) The Mentor does not give advice.

� The Mentor could only give very troubled

advice since he is part not only of the

problems, but also of the solution to the

problems.





� (24) Mentors should find or create a forum

where they can exchange ideas in the form

of case studies.



Some further thoughts Some further thoughts aaboutbout mentormentoringing

� (1) The Mentoring process takes the

Mentee from tunnel vision to insight.




� (2) The ‘AHA’ experiences shape the

development of both the Mentee and

and the Mentor.




� (3) It is very important to reach and

then keep the coherency between the

knowledge about people and their

problems, and our own experiences

about people and their problems.




� (4) Mentoring may bring a number of

ethical problems to the surface.




� (5) Who ‘owns’ the ‘material’ that is

produced in the Mentoring process?




� (6) The high level of trust that is

present in the Mentoring process will

allow topics that are generally pushed

down or silenced.




� (7) Mentoring may bring about the

development of ‘double-loop learning’.

It is the sort of learning that not only

helps the solution of existing problems,

but it also helps avoiding similar

problems in the future by studying the

causes of those problems.




� (8) In the Mentoring process the

Mentor and the Mentee have to aim at

using equal time in the long run.




� (9) Mentoring may give a new

definition to failure. We can see

‘failure’ as a postponed success.




� (10) The qualification the Mentor is

very important. There is one thing that

is even more important and it is the

quality of the Mentoring process.



What has been left out of thisWhat has been left out of thisIntroductionIntroduction??

� Needs analysis – client-mapping

� Mapping the sorts of problems the

potential Mentor can handle

� 10 wishes of psychological origin as the

basis of motivation

� Sympathy + empathy vs sympathy

� Deficiency analysis: what was missing

that caused the problem



Thank you for your attentionThank you for your attention..



Mentoring In Education

Education

Transcript of Mentoring In Education