My mentor was spotty at best and the principal finally got me a good mentor for my final semester in this program. I had to write weekly reflections which, for a beginning teacher is HELL on top of the paperwork I already had to do and the grading and the lesson planning and …

And of course we had to submit our reflections to HR. And they counted them. How do I know? Because I was one short. I got “audited” and almost was put through the first year induction program again.

And the meetings we did have didn’t even discuss outmoded classroom management techniques. They were meetings to discuss the requirements of our beginning teacher paperwork.

All that said, I did manage to find ementors over at LiveJournal’s Teaching Community which, while a blog, does somewhat approximate a forum. However, they have many many more elementary educators than secondary ones.

Dan, I’m with you. I’d prefer an ementor (since I’ve somewhat had the experience) to my real life spotty mentor any day. But what I’d really prefer is Scott Elias :) It sounds like he understands the needs of a beginning teacher.

Some say yeah. Some say no.

Is it practical though? I’m not so sure. Yeah, yeah, it’s easy enough to hop online, complain a bit with some folks, blow off some steam, and then get on to good stuff like classroom management tips, ideas for assessment, etc.

However, at the end of a hard day (and I’ve had many in my first 5 years), I don’t want to sit down at a computer and start up a chat with half a dozen people across the country (or world) that are probably busy watching video clips or answering e-mail during the same time I’m trying to commune with them.

I want to walk across the hallway, sit down with a veteran teacher (whether they’re my mentor or not), and share my successes and failures for the day with them. Why? Because they’re in my building, they’ve probably interacted with my students, and they have a MUCH better understanding of my circumstances without ever having to ask. The human/connected elements of mentoring can be easily lost online, especially when you consider that the individuals you talk with online are dedicated to helping educators, not necessarily your school’s or classroom’s issues. Mentorship face to face presents (when done properly) a way to address not only your own efficacy as a teacher, but also provides a way for teachers to invest in their own environment; help make the new teachers better, and you’ll in turn make your school a better place for teaching and learning.

An online consortium starts to sound a lot like those induction programs that companies sell districts, and then expect them to excel with. I would much prefer something hone-grown, like your experience at Starbucks :)

@dan, you find that stuff joy-sucking? i don’t have a clue about any of what you listed, but i think it’d be fun to explore. the problem is the huge amount of time it takes to do it all on your own when you’re also trying to hold down a full-time teaching job. every time i become involved with starting something new outside of the classroom (two summers, two separate summer programs), it has a significant effect on my sleep / teaching / overall well-being. a negative effect.

So, what next? Who knows how to make this whiz-bang idea come to fruition… what are the steps… who’s in? Because if you have any criticism of the edublogosphere, Dan, it’s that it’s all talk… let’s get to the action part of this here edublogosphere.

Stipends aside, I am thankful for the edublogosphere because it is where I also venture for inspiration. Veteran teachers need “juice” too. New teachers have more challenges than ever before. This is due in part to many administrators who are out of touch with the day-to-day needs, who have forgotten their roles as instructional leaders, who are clueless about the technology they push, and who have sold their souls to the world of standardized testing. Evaluative matrices used in many states are to cya. You should be on the mentoring end of a teacher who’s on an “action plan!” I think we need to consider Alvin Toffler’s ideas and start over. See: http://www.edutopia.org/future-school

DAILY face-to-face contact, observations, reflections, and in depth discussions with your peers are by far the best method for honing the art and science of teaching. This is true for veteran teachers who long for such opportunities. We could all use a secretary just for “documentation” detail.

Using edublogging has tremendous potential for lesson study as well as collaboration. Build it and they will come. You’ve already started.

It will take time. Back to Toffler. For instance, I may be the only teacher at my school who even reads blogs much less have one. I actually had to teach a new teacher how to use e-mail a couple years ago which begs the question, WTH are they doing in the universities?

Finally, my best mentoring efforts occur many Fridays during our “Geography Meetings” at a local brewery where egos are washed away and teachers let it all hang out.