The best way a mentor can prepare another leader is to expose him or her to other great people.
Maxwell’s words reign true as it relates to my own Kenan Fellows mentorship. I was blessed to be a part of the lesson planning fellowship sponsored by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. As such, I further lucked up with being directly mentored by Anna Frost- NCDPI’s Grades 6-8 ELA Consultant.
While the entire process has proven to be somewhat trying for me- mainly due to other conflicting events (multiple family deaths, new school regulations/programs, etc)- my mentor has been supportive EVERY step of the way! She positively critiqued all submitted materials and knew how to “nudge me along” without being condescending. I have been most impressed (and thankful!) for Anna’s wealth of knowledge. She has consistently sent various resources (units, websites, etc) that have helped me to better create my own unit.
Due to Common Core transitions, DPI has adopted a new focus on the (3) Shifts in ELA classrooms. (See SHIFTS at NCDPI’s livebinder: http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/262077). Without my mentorship relationship, I would’ve had NO, true understanding of this process! I have learned more about text sets that I thought possible! Honestly… 5 months ago, I knew NOTHING about text sets… or at least, NOW I know that I knew very little about how to properly create one! These and much more lessons “taught” by my mentor have made me a much more effective Language Arts teacher.
As I watched my 8th graders engross themselves in my Kenan Fellow unit, I was able to introspectively see (2) things:
#1: What I lacked in previous units which was necessary to truly REACH, TEACH, and GROW my learners
#2: What I have learned throughout my Kenan Fellowship
As I confidently assisted my new student intern in understanding the value of lexiles and importance of challenging text sets, I am (once again!) thankful that I took the leap of faith and applied for Kenan Fellowship!