describes the role of the teacher as mentor

1. Mentoring in Education
International Language School Group
International Teacher Training
&
Development College

2. Some provocative
introductory questions
What is Mentoring?
Is Mentoring necessary in the
School of the 21st Century?
Who can become a Mentor?
Can a Teacher play the role of a
Mentor?
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

3. What is Mentoring?
A definition that comes from Greek
Mythology: the Mentor is a fully
trusted Helper
Background information: Odysseus
entrusted the baby Telemachus
and his whole household to Mentor
when he joined the coalition
against Troy
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

4. Is Mentoring necessary in the
School of the 21st Century?
YES since
15 – 30 per cent of all Students
show signs of LD
25 – 30 per cent of all Students
leave the Elementary Education as
functional illiterates
a growing number of Students
have a handicap of some sort
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

5. Who can become a Mentor?
Anyone who meets the original
definition, i. e. anyone who is a
fully trusted Helper
If we slightly modify the original
definition, anyone who is fully
trusted by the Baby, and who can
effectively help the Baby
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

6. Who can become a Mentor? (2)
Anyone who meets the original
definition, i. e. anyone who is a
fully trusted Helper
If we slightly modify the original
definition, anyone who is fully
trusted by the Student, and who
can effectively help the Student
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

7. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(1) Mentoring is not teaching. Rather, it is a
helping process that makes room for some
otherwise blocked learning.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

8. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(2) The Mentor is a learning and
developing being.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

9. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(3) The Mentor has a very clear picture of
his own development.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

10. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(4) The Mentor is deeply concerned but he
does not create dependency.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

11. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(5) Mentoring always has a clear aim.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

12. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(6) The precondition of successful
Mentoring is a warm, welcoming, accepting
environment.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

13. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(7) In Mentoring we only step backwards to
gain momentum, and jump longer forward
as a result.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

14. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(8) Mentoring is not an analysis. Rather, it
is a catalysed synthesis.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

15. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(9) The Mentor will profit from the process
by giving and there is no guarantee for a
return.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

16. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(10) Mentoring can only be effective in an
atmosphere of mutual trust.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

17. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(11) The Mentor – Mentee relationship is
based on a very clear contract.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

18. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(12) The Mentor – Mentee relationship
starts with a voluntary and autonomous
decision on both sides.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

19. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(13) The Mentor must know the limits of the
mentoring process, as well as his own
limits.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

20. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(14) The professional basis of the
mentoring process is a successful self-
mentoring.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

21. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(15) The ‘All-rounder’ or ‘Jack of all trades’
Mentor is only a fiction.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

22. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(16) The Mentoring process may bring
about both positive and negative results.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

23. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(17) The Mentoring process may bring
differences in opinion and friction to the
surface in critical issues.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

24. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(18) A synergic group can act as a very
highly effective Mentor.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

25. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(19) The Mentor does not want to replace
the family or friends.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

26. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(20) The Mentor must not meddle into
topics the family or a friend are actively
working on.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

27. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(21) The Mentor has to be aware of his
attractions as well as his repulses, and has
to be able to handle them.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

28. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(22) The Mentor gives his active attention,
rather than merely his time.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

29. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(23) The Mentor does not give advice.
The Mentor could only give very troubled
advice since he is part not only of the
problems, but also of the solution to the
problems.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

30. Can a Teacher play the role of a Mentor?
YES if he honours some important principles
(24) Mentors should find or create a forum
where they can exchange ideas in the form
of case studies.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

31. Some further thoughts about mentoring
(1) The Mentoring process takes the
Mentee from tunnel vision to insight.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

32. Some further thoughts about mentoring
(2) The ‘AHA’ experiences shape the
development of both the Mentee and
and the Mentor.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

33. Some further thoughts about mentoring
(3) It is very important to reach and
then keep the coherency between the
knowledge about people and their
problems, and our own experiences
about people and their problems.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

34. Some further thoughts about mentoring
(4) Mentoring may bring a number of
ethical problems to the surface.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

35. Some further thoughts about mentoring
(5) Who ‘owns’ the ‘material’ that is
produced in the Mentoring process?
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

36. Some further thoughts about mentoring
(6) The high level of trust that is
present in the Mentoring process will
allow topics that are generally pushed
down or silenced.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

37. Some further thoughts about mentoring
(7) Mentoring may bring about the
development of ‘double-loop learning’.
It is the sort of learning that not only
helps the solution of existing problems,
but it also helps avoiding similar
problems in the future by studying the
causes of those problems.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

38. Some further thoughts about mentoring
(8) In the Mentoring process the
Mentor and the Mentee have to aim at
using equal time in the long run.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

39. Some further thoughts about mentoring
(9) Mentoring may give a new
definition to failure. We can see
‘failure’ as a postponed success.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

40. Some further thoughts about mentoring
(10) The qualification the Mentor is
very important. There is one thing that
is even more important and it is the
quality of the Mentoring process.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

41. What has been left out of this
Introduction?
Needs analysis – client-mapping
Mapping the sorts of problems the
potential Mentor can handle
10 wishes of psychological origin as the
basis of motivation
Sympathy + empathy vs sympathy
Deficiency analysis: what was missing
that caused the problem
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout

42. Thank you for your attention.
Learning Journey
Leslie Simonfalvi A/67 HU-35
EQUAL Conference
31 May 2007
Turnhout