What's Missing from Mentoring?

 Mentoring Outside of the Classroom

I am not sure how all mentoring programs work, but what I observed is that a new teacher (whether new to the profession or the district) is paired up with an experienced teacher (currently teaching or retired). They get together to discuss the ins and outs of who to contact for contractual stuff, resources, etc. The mentor can answer any questions about the subject and its implementation. They might brainstorm ideas about how to manage the students' and their behaviors. Sounds productive on the surface. 

The other day I was observing a new teacher in action and I stepped in when I thought "my students" were not behaving in a manner that I would expect. That's when it occurred to me that in order for teachers to learn how to manage kids in the classroom, they really need to have the opportunity to watch classroom management in action. The only way to do that is to stop teaching and spend time in the classrooms of their mentors, or maybe another teacher whose classroom management style would match their own style of teaching. 

Teaching is a lonely job and unfortunately, too often, we are thrown into a classroom without a lot of time to understand what classroom management actually looks like in action. As far as I can tell, colleges don't teach this aspect of teaching and this is the one thing that impacts every thing about the day and how successful a teacher can be in implementing their curriculum.  It is one of the hardest parts of the job, quite frankly.

I may be off base here, so if you disagree with my assumptions, please share how your mentoring program includes the opportunity for teachers to get into other classrooms. I think it is a critical piece of helping teachers to avoid burn out and frustration prematurely. This is just something that was fresh in my mind and so - there you have it. Does your mentoring program have a focus on classroom management? 

PS- I am not in any way indicating that administrators are leaving their teachers to hang out to dry, or that mentoring programs are not useful. I just think we may need to do more to help new teachers when behaviors in the classrooms become more difficult.