Networking with other Mentors - Introductions

Hi.  I live in Newington, NH about 5 miles from the ocean and 80 miles from the mountains.  Like Leslie I am a member of the eMSS program.  I am in my fourth year of eMSS with the last three as both a mentor (this year filling in for someone) and facilitator.  I retired from full time teaching Physical Science almost three years ago and now teach one night per week in an adult diploma program. I was a mentor in a science program called the Northern New England Co-Mentoring Network, my school district's lead mentor and a mentor instructor

Teaching was my second career after 26 years as a nuclear engineer and manager in the submarine overhaul business.  I was hired to teach under an alternative certification program.  My school assigned me a "mentor" who never observed me and whose contact usually consisted of a "How's everything going?"  After my first year of 60-80 hour weeks I survived and stayed teaching for another 10 years.

A few years after beginning to teach I started working on my Masters.  Part of the curriculum was to do a Practicum.  My adviser told me it should be something about which I had a strong passion.  I struggled to come up with something until talking to a first year teacher who had decided not to return for a second year.  He was well liked by both the staff and students.  When I asked why he was leaving the field he told me how he had struggled with many issues throughout the year and had never felt so alone with nobody offering to help.  I felt extremely bad about his situation and vowed to help prevent this from happening to another teacher.  I had found the subject for my Practicum.

Hi!  I am a recently retired High School Science teacher.  I was a face to face mentor several years ago for 3 years in the BTSA program in CA.  It was a partial release assignment and I mentored  7 teachers at 2 school sites as well as participating in monthly Professional Development meetings with the new teachers.

I currently am an online co-coach for 8 teachers in Chicago, they also have a face to face coach as well.  I am also a part of the eMSS program, e-mentoring for student success and online program for new teachers in all 50 states.  I have also been a facilitator in the program for 2 years now, this year in the Chemistry Content area.

I have always wanted to "pay it forward" in other words share the good mentoring that I have received.  I always take student teachers, I became dept. chair, so that I could help the new teachers in our dept. And I did the BTSA program (Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment-California) for 3 years.

• Why are you passionate about mentoring beginning teachers?

I cannot teach every child, but others can!  By mentoring I can ensure that we retain more wonderful teachers and that the students of today grow into productive individuals in life.  Then they can all pay into Social Security and help support me!

Leslie