By: Karen Swanson & Matt Moulton

A mentor teacher stood in her classroom.

“Oh, oh!” said the mentor teacher. “The students will be here soon! I need to get everything ready! I must get some help!” she said. “I will be back.”

So away she went.

A new teacher walked into her mentor teacher’s classroom.

“Where is my mentor?” the new teacher said.

She looked for her. She looked up and down the hallway. She did not see her.

“I will go and look for her,” she said. So away she went.

Down the hallway she went. Down, down, down to the teachers' lounge.

It was a long way down the hallway. She could not find her mentor, but she could ask for help.

“Now I will go and find my mentor,” she said. She did not know what her mentor looked like. She went right by her. She did not see her.

She came to the school secretary. “Are you my mentor?” she said to the secretary.

The secretary just looked and looked. She did not say a thing. The secretary surely holds lots of power.

But, the secretary was not her mentor, so she went on.

Then she came to a fellow teacher.

“Are you my mentor?” she said to the teacher.

“No,” said the teacher. “But I can help you with the new attendance reporting program.”

The secretary was not her mentor.

The fellow teacher was not her mentor.

So the new teacher went on.

Then she came to the school librarian.

“Are you my mentor?” she said to the librarian.

“I am not your mentor, I am the librarian,” said the librarian. “But I can help you find resources.”

The secretary was not her mentor.

The teacher was not her mentor.

The librarian was not her mentor.

So, the new teacher went on.

Now she came to the school counselor.

“Are you my mentor?” she said to the counselor.

“How could I be your mentor?” said the counselor. “I am a counselor. But I can help you with your students' well-being.”

The secretary, the teacher, and the librarian were not her mentor.

The counselor was not her mentor.

“Do I even have a mentor?” said the new teacher.

“I know I do! I have to find her. I will! I will!”

Now the new teacher did not walk, she ran.

Then she saw the school principal.

The new teacher did not stop. She ran on and on.

Now she looked way, way down the hallway. She saw the custodians.

“There they are,” said the new teacher. She called to the custodians, but they did not stop. The custodians went on with their work.

She looked in the gym. She saw the school mascot preparing for a pep rally.

“Here I am, mentor!” she called out. But the mascot did not stop. The mascot danced on.

Just then, the new teacher saw a big shadow. This must be her mentor.

“There she is,” she said. “There is my mentor!” “Mentor, mentor, here I am, mentor!” she said to the shadow.

But the shadow was a school bus whose driver said, “I’m the school bus driver. I’m here to take thestudents home.”

“Oh, you are not my mentor,” said the new teacher. “You are a bus driver. I have to get out of here!” But the new teacher could not get away. The bus’s engine roared, and the bus drove off, leaving her behind.

But now where was the new teacher going?

“Oh, oh, oh, what am I going to do?”

“Get me out of here!”

Just then the new teacher heard a familiar voice.

“Where am I?” said the new teacher. “I want to go back to my classroom! I want my mentor!

The new teacher made it back to her classroom and something wonderful happened.

Her mentor appeared at the classroom door. The new teacher was relieved.

The mentor teacher came up to new teacher. “Do you know who I am?” she said to the new teacher.

“Yes, I know who you are,” said the new teacher.

“You are not just any other teacher.

You are not the secretary.

You are not the librarian.

You are not the counselor.

You are not the principal, the custodians, or the bus driver.

You are my mentor! And you are here to help me!”

Finding a mentor can be a challenge. In some schools new or induction teachers are assigned a mentor without any useful matching criteria. These matches can be helpful in terms of behavior management support, curriculum design and emotional support. However, they can also be awkward and more work than support. Therefore, we suggest taking on a search to find teachers who match your energy, love their content and students, and can provide a positive support system.

The structure of mentoring has evolved in education from the traditional model of the experienced teacher mentoring the new teacher. The broader context of mentor acknowledges that complexity of teaching and with intentionality, the impact mentoring can have on teacher efficacy.

Some matches to consider may include:

• Content area leaders in your building
• Grade level teachers that students and teachers respect
• A teacher how is amazing at the technology aspect such as Google Classroom or Schoology
• Finding a mentor who is younger than you and problem-solve together. 

Mentoring should be a mutually beneficial experience for both teachers. It is no longer a hierarchical structure but a level playing field in which everyone has something to give and something to gain. We hope your journey to find your mentor is short and productive. Much like the teacher searching above, look in the expected and unexpected places. Be open and ask around for who is a good teacher, good colleague, and effective leader. You never know, someone may even ask Are You My Mentor?