3.6 A mentoring mindset: preparing future principals to be effective  (Page 7/10)

Because we had a history of working together, I had mixed emotions about approaching Diane to be my mentor during this next phase in my career. To say I was afraid is truly an understatement! As I sat and pondered this idea, I came up with every excuse why I did not need a mentor. I was afraid that she would turn me down, or think that I wanted her to be my mentor to assist me in getting a job.

Selecting a mentor was not as easy as I thought. For fear of rejection, I did not ask my potential mentor directly. I emailed her. She replied and agreed to meet with me, but had to cancel for good reason. I had a second person in mind, so I immediately called my second choice. She graciously accepted and told me she was honored that I asked her because she values the mentoring process.

The First Mentoring Session

After participating in several class activities designed to clarify their professional learning objectives, each student entered the first mentoring session with a list of thoughtful and specific goals for the mentoring relationship. Examples of the goals are too numerous to list here, but in general, it was noted that goals centered on each student’s desire to receive guidance from an individual who had proven to be effective in leadership. Students were also required to discuss the protocols for future mentoring sessions with their mentors and suggest ground rules for the meetings. Using the template found in Zachary’s (2000) Mentor’s Guide, students and their mentors filled out a Mentoring Agreement Form which outlined the agreed upon protocols and ground rules. Students were not required to continue the relationship beyond the initial meeting for the class assignment, but the majority did ask for and arrange regular mentoring sessions for a specified time, ranging from 6 months to 1 year.

The Benefits to the Protégé

Toward the end of the course, students were asked to write a reflective paper about their mentoring experience. When asked what the mentoring experience had meant to them and what they learned about becoming a better protégé, the students in the course responded with comments that revealed new insights about mentoring. There were three major themes that emerged in their reflections: (1) seeing their need for a mentor and facing their fears about obtaining one, (2) developing new knowledge, skills and dispositions of protegeship, and (3) gaining awareness of the mentor’s role and the protégé’s role. Each of these themes will be explained briefly and illustrated with excerpts from the students’reflective journals.

Theme 1: Seeing Their Need for a Mentor and Facing Their Fears.As a part of the Mentoring for Educational Leadership course, students were asked to identify their own learning goals as they prepared themselves to be administrators. This activity heightened each student’s awareness of his/her need for a mentor. However, this awareness did not come without the realization that there was a somewhat daunting assignment that their professor was asking them to complete. There were some initial fears expressed about approaching someone to be a mentor to them. After completing the assignment, however, students realized the growth that had come as a result of facing their fears. A sample of their reflections follows: