Being a Mentor

TODAY: Who was your favorite teacher? Write him or her a note of thanks. Or do something that honors them — start a book, read to someone, donate a gift to your college, take a walk and imagine the advice your teacher would share with you today.

I am very lucky to be doing what I always wanted to do. I have been a schoolteacher for more than 24 years and have truly loved it as much as I thought I would as a child growing up in the Deep South. I have been a preschool, kindergarten and second-grade teacher, plus I’ve been a learning disabilities teacher for the last 15 years. Each and every day is challenging yet extremely rewarding.

Three years ago, I became a part of the brand new Fairfax County Public Schools mentor program. I thought, finally, the school system is doing something to help the new teachers by placing them with experienced teachers to help them on a daily basis.

The first year, I was the mentor to a new teacher who did have experience as a substitute. Scott was older than most beginning teachers, loved kids and caught on very quickly. He also was going to school at George Mason University to get his certification in teaching learning disabilities students, so I also was able to help him with questions about college courses at my alma mater.

Last year, I had the pleasure of being the mentor to a brand new teacher from Georgia. Brooks had fantastic teaching skills, computer skills and people skills. I again worked hard to help him adjust to the life of a teacher, especially when he was only 24 and was teaching 18-year-old seniors.

This year, I am a mentor to someone I held as a baby. Aaron is a graduate of Madison High School and never saw teaching in his future. He became a long-term substitute last year and has stayed on to teach math to learning disabilities students. He is excellent at teaching anything that has to do with math.

Guess who has learned the most in the past three years, though? I have on a daily basis. From Scott, I learned to be patient with the kids who cannot seem to learn that history is important. From Brooks, I learned that it is OK to be kind to kids you really would like to kick out of class — permanently — because they are so disruptive. From Aaron, I have learned to be steady and ask for help when I did not know the answer.

How could I have known that some of my most rewarding time as a teacher would be as a mentor? I did not know that, by helping others, I would learn so much more than they have from me. These men have made me laugh and smile, but mostly they have shown me that there are many parts of being a teacher. Mentoring is such a gift that they have given to me — the mentees have become the mentors — to a teacher with more than 24 years of experience.

— Pamela Rawlinson