The Yoda Factor
There are many words to describe our experiences with the fall and early winter of 2021. Does disillusionment resonate with anyone? Disillusionment is a phase that researchers have used to describe the overwhelming feeling and challenges experienced in November and December on the roller coaster ride of first year teaching. More than any other year I think this phase could describe many of our experiences. The good news? The same researchers find that following disillusionment, beginning teachers experience rejuvenation, reflection, and anticipation for the adventures teaching brings. I hope that whatever phase of teaching you are in, that rejuvenation is on the horizon for you.
When I look back at my experiences as a beginning teacher and my mentoring relationship, I see the ways my mentor and I navigated these phases of teaching. She offered support, shared resources, and exuded encouragement. I see how her simply listening to me was a powerful intervention of support, and often the only thing I needed. She knew when to answer my questions, and when to answer my questions with questions that challenged me to work through whatever I was grappling with. She communicated that she believed in me and made me feel seen. She acknowledged and celebrated my growth. These moments created the beginning of my positive experiences with mentorship, but what has lasted most from my relationship with my mentor is how she noticed and encouraged me in all the ways I was bringing who I am to teaching.
Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story. I share my mentorship story because it is my hope for others to experience how powerful a mentoring relationship can be. In his book, Mentor, Daloz (2012) describes the gift of true mentorship as having the Yoda Factor: “Though we may be drawn to mentors for such immediate purposes, as we grow, we come to realize that their gift is not the opportunity to become like them but the challenges to become more fully ourselves through them. They call for the best we have.”
Whose mentorship story will you be a part of? Connect with ccolleen.gregory [at] abbyschools.ca to learn more about opportunities to participate in our district’s mentorship community.