Professional development or mentorship is tricky. As teachers, we want to do our job well and grow. Typically, we love genuinely love learning. It would seem we would love learning about teaching, and we do, yet teacher professional development sessions are some of the most painful things I have experienced. This includes professional development I coordinated or attended, voluntary or voluntold.

Finding Quality Teacher Professional Development

Currently, our school is testing out a new platform for online faculty professional development. The platform groups us into to teams (referred to as circles) and we are to share each week a reflection on our teaching and provide feedback to two peers. Think online course discussion board, but more in-depth. To say participating in the process has been a struggle wouldn’t be fully true. The work itself does not require much effort, but it truly does require significant and precious time.

Feedback from strangers?

Receiving feedback from strangers is another difficult aspect of the process, taking it seriously is a challenge. Feedback isn’t easy for me – I’ve shared some insight to that before. Ultimately, I once lived in a space where all feedback would be soul crushing and devastating. The pendulum swung to where I valued no one’s input. I’ve worked on balancing a desire to improve with allowing only certain voices to speak into my personal and professional life. Those voices belong to people who can call me, who I would invite into my living room, and can tell me “no” or “go” as needed with a kind heart.

So you can see, when a stranger (also known as someone I would not let into my living room) has input, it’s hard to open the metaphorical door. Yet, we know, I know, the value of peer-to-peer feedback. Where does the sweet spot of professional development and valuable feedback collide?

What’s Better Than Teacher Professional Development? Mentorship.

Mentorship influences our lives yet we seem willing (or at minimum curious) to outsource the efforts, facilitated by people who don’t know our student population or campus mission. Yet, we know mentorship means more than spending time on a discussion board conversation. Our online platform feeds into the same connected but lonely culture of our social media saturated existence.

Learning from Rebekah.

Over the weekend, I spent more time reading than I have in months. The book, Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis-Higgs provides deep looks into the roles and stories of women in the Bible through her engaging writing style and in-depth research. I read about myself on page 117:

As the years passed, Rebekah’s strengths, allowed to grow unchecked became her weaknesses.

Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible, Liz Curtis-Higgs

Rebekah boldly followed in faith the life God provided her, until she didn’t. Rebekah’s courage showed a character all would aspire to, until she didn’t. Her strength physical, emotional, and spiritual strength served her well; until she started serving someone other than God.

Teaching is a profession which, in order to do well, requires intense amounts of empathy, boldness, intuition, and sheer determination. Yet, these ingredients left unchecked can create a self-righteous, power-driven, autocrat or left uninspired, a storm of passivity, boredom, and complaints. Either way, the spirit slowly dies.

We need mentors.

Reading about Rebekah’s strengths turned weakness reminded me how important mentorship should be on campus and in my classroom work. This requires me, 10-years into teaching to look to those coming in behind and willingly serving alongside them. It also calls on me to seek out the feedback and input of those whose experience can enrich my strengths and keep my spirit humble.

Mentorship does not need to be a formal process, regulated by your institution. Some states, districts, or schools require a first-year mentor and after the first-year consider you “good to go” for the rest of your career. Again, 10-years in and I can assure you I am not “good to go” until retirement, at best I am “better than I was yesterday.” Instead of a formal process or creating something new, consider the circle you spend time with now. Are there people in that circle whose opinion you would value on your teaching style? Critiquing assignments? Someone to talk out new ideas?

Be intentional. Give your people permission to correct missteps in your teaching and guide them on how you best receive feedback. Be thankful when they provide it and implement the change.

Who Rebekah was gets lost for who Rebekah became.

Who Rebekah was at the beginning of her story in Genesis gets lost for who Rebekah became as her strengths, unchecked, became her downfall. Her controlling attitude and deceitful tactics are what gets remembered. Did you remember she watered all of Abraham’s camels? Most likely not. Did you remember she helped Jacob lie to Isaac? More likely so. As we strive to do good work well for the long haul, mentorship plays a critical role. Go get started, today.

Struggling to stay in for the long haul is real. I almost quit. Read about why I stayed, here.