Mentoring: The Only One Factor In Knowledge Building

Mentoring can be done at any point of life, but the common time to meet role models is during formal schooling, when we are the most impressionable. Mentoring is only one element in the development of knowledge. The attitudes and actions during school and postgraduate studies, and also the characteristics that we develop, are partly influenced by those we emulate, consciously or unconsciously. So the mentor is an example, the characteristics of which the apprentice can try to imitate.

Being a mentor is an opportunity that is available to almost all. You're a mentor every time you're a faculty member leader or even a new employee is on the job. Mentors are a reference.

They're taking us on the journey of our lives. We trust them, man. They've been there before; they've got the expertise we're hoping to learn. They represent our dreams, they light the road ahead, they interpret signals that warn us of risks, and, if they are good mentors, they point out unexpected opportunities.

Our professional lives usually fall into three phases: education, accomplishment and payback, the last phase of which is the most common period for mentoring. Mentoring typically requires maturity, self-confidence, and ability to devote time and energy beyond what is needed for teaching.

Usually, the mentor is considerably older than the apprentice and is someone who has acquired a lot of experience and seniority; someone who is more than an educator or colleague; someone who is a friend, a consultant and a model; someone who has the time to offer advice and support; someone who can offer guidance; and, as I stated earlier, someone whose high standards of leadership emerge.

A master mentor's hallmarks are well known: collegiality and knowledge; a reputation for common sense, integrity, accountability, and good judgment; and the confidence that enables one to share credit. Teachers seek compassion, excitement, and expertise, and the opportunity to articulate challenging subject matter.

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The author is Head Teacher VI – Senior High School at Dapdap