Mentor Teacher Job Description
In education, a mentor is an adult who works with students one-on-one, works with new teachers as a form of support staff, or both. It is not specifically akin to an academic tutor or teaching assistant, although definitions overlap. Where an academic tutor has a set list of objectives--such as improving a student's math scores--a mentor is more of an ad hoc counselor, role model and personal support.
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History
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Formal academic mentoring can be traced to the early 1980s. Educational policymakers had noted the challenge of retaining new teachers--many of whom left the profession within the first three years--and decided to implement mentoring programs as a form of on-site support. By 1997 this model was a standard feature in more than 30 states. In the decades since, mentoring has become more common and effective than ever, writes Dara Barlin, educator and co-author of the 2009 book, "New Teacher Mentoring: Hopes and Promise for Improving Teacher Effectiveness."
Features
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Mentors can provide ad hoc support for classrooms. While specific schools and districts define the job differently, they tend to agree on some features of what constitutes a mentor. First and foremost, mentor teachers are not replacement teachers or long-term substitutes, nor are they supervisors for existing teachers. Rather, they provide an additional teaching presence in a classroom. They are capable of singling out in-need students and of helping establish a positive learning environment. By extension, their work assists the regular teacher.
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Skills
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A good mentor teacher has an understanding of the field of education in general and of teaching in particular. Mentors are passionate about teaching, committed to scholastic excellence, and often (but not always) are established master teachers demonstrating the knack to guide new teachers. This form of guidance can apply to the students as well. A mentor can work with a student or students in a personalized way, adapting to certain learning styles that would be impractical in a larger classroom without sidelining the general classroom curriculum.
Experience
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New teachers often leave the profession within the first three years. Mentor teachers invariably have experience with children, be it through tutoring, day care, or as team leaders for reading groups or organizations such as the Boy or Girl Scouts. In general, public school teachers must have at least a bachelor's degree and meet the requirements for state teacher certification, but the precise definition and requirements of mentor teachers vary. Individuals interested in pursuing the career can contact local boards of education, schools and literacy groups to see how the job is defined in these areas.
Considerations
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One issue for prospective mentors to consider is how duties and experience requirements vary across districts. One district may require a master's degree from its mentors, while another may not mandate a higher education degree at all. Mentors may work in schools suffering with large classroom sizes or large proportions of troubled students. In addition, it can difficult to assess the effectiveness of mentoring programs as the scope of mentor job descriptions is so wide.
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References
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