Mentoring Requires Doing More than the Minimum

Talking with the teacher mentors, reviewing the transcripts, and listening to the digital recordings over and over, one theme was consistent across all study participants. None of these individuals was satisfied with doing the minimum. Nichols (2011) described this as a type of faith, not in the religious sense, but as a focus and belief in the positive. All five teacher mentors exhibited exceptional belief in their students. Nichols (2011) talks about teachers as servant leaders having that faith in their students to learn, grow, and thrive no matter what the circumstances of their lives. The role of these teacher mentors showed a depth of commitment to not only help their mentees navigate through their middle school years but also to help their mentees develop their own self-efficacy and create positive relationships with their teacher mentor and with others inside or outside of the school. While often the teacher mentors were dealing with their mentees having made poor choices, they continued to be dedicated and committed to the students. Christensen, Stout, and Pohl (2012) note “persistence-plus” (p. 4) as a key element for mentoring. This capacity to not give up and to providing unconditional support as is also noted by Brough, Bermann, and Holt (2013) as an important characteristic for a mentor.

One of the concerns about school-based mentoring shared by Rhodes (2002) is that school-based mentors may focus so much on the academic progress of a student that it may override more social activities that could have greater impact on the bonding between a

mentor and a mentee. Although I understand how this could be a concern with all the emphasis place on teachers to positively impact academics, with all five teacher mentors in this study, their stories demonstrated that the demands they placed on themselves did not end with academics, at the once a week meeting, or even at the school door. They each provided their own version of what I consider going above and beyond expectations to help their mentees. It is important to share these stories from the voices of the teacher mentors as they more fully inform the experiences and commitment shown through them. Jane shared about the investment in these students:

If any of our Check and Connect kids got into trouble, we were there as an advocate at their meetings. If we knew, such and such just happened, then one of us would cover a class so that one of us could go down there and sit down with them and be a part of that meeting so that they knew that I’m in for the long haul. It’s not just about academics; I’ve invested in you.

The stories from the mentors provided a glimpse into the power of the relationships established with their mentees and their desire to have their mentee know and feel that caring for them was beyond just the importance of schoolwork. The personal touches also allowed the teacher mentors’ personality and human side to come out. One teacher mentor, Lindsey, lit up as she told about the year that, “every Tuesday I’d make chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen and have the kids stay after. Sometimes I’d even drive them home from school.” She also shared that because she had mentees with attendance issues she would often gather their homework and drive it to their house, she would do conferences at the student’s home because their family didn’t have transportation to come to conferences at the school, and she

found ways to help that also gave her a new awareness of the simplicity of meeting their needs. Lindsey explained that on one occasion:

I picked up laundry detergent for the kid. She had an odor issue, and her family didn’t have laundry detergent. You and I wouldn’t necessarily think that’s a big deal, but when I went to buy it, I thought, this is twenty bucks. I never really look at that. Bernstine-Yamashiro and Noam (2013) found that students do have a desire to have a close relationship with their teachers, especially when the student has limited access to parents and other adults. This may be why some of the mentees maintain on-going contact with their teacher mentors.Jane felt she had some great successes with students and many of the relationships established through mentoring still continue:

My best group is now seniors and I still keep in contact with them. That was part of it. Another part is it just doesn’t end in the classroom. I would make sure that if they were in a play or if they had a game or if they had something, I would go and watch it. It wasn’t all the time, but I would make sure that they saw me outside of the school day.

Providing access to food for their mentees was common among all the teacher mentors. Knowing that their mentee’s life context often provided limited meals, or other opportunities most of us take for granted, the teacher mentors used availability of food as an incentive for their students. Rob described his efforts to incentivize his mentees’ goals, saying:

I’ve made some promises with the current kids I have because I really do think that they’ve been doing a great job. If certain criteria are met, we’ll do McDonalds or

something like that. I haven’t done it yet because they haven’t met their end of the bargain.

The teacher mentors also used food as an enticement for the mentee to connect. One participant, Lindsey, shared her strategy of keeping snacks in her classroom as a way to have her mentees reach out to her: “If they didn’t get breakfast, they’d stop in immediately in the morning and pick something up before they went to class.”

The teacher mentors were providing these special opportunities for their mentors, and others in their classroom, out of their own pocket. While not a rare occurrence for teachers to spend their own money on needs in the classroom, it still demonstrates the level of

commitment the teacher mentors had to their mentees. While this middle school does offer a small stipend of $400 for being a mentor, they shared that it was not uncommon for some mentors to refuse to submit for it. Although two of the mentors indicated that the stipend was definitely a consideration, it seemed the stipend was more about a justification to themselves that they were being compensated for spending that extra time because some of the things they would have done within their prep time would have to be done outside of school. The school also had a fund for mentors to purchase things for their mentees; however, the study participants again displayed their humility while sharing that they rarely turned in the receipts for reimbursement.

Each teacher mentor shared his/her own unique ideas and as to how he/she

acknowledged and affirmed mentees beyond grades and any recognition the school provides. One participant, Maggie, talked about creating encouraging notes for her students and how at holiday time she, “got them a stocking with school supplies and just other things to kind of

keep them motivated and keep them excited, and realize that Check and Connect is a cool thing and it’s not that somebody’s always on your back.”

The efforts of the teacher mentors extended far beyond what is needed to be successful in the day-to-day study skills, doing homework, and checking on attendance at school. They were committed to a relationship with their mentees both personally and academically (Gay, 2010). Particularly inspiring was how the teacher mentors were also creating situations where they were teaching or assisting their mentees in being in service to others. Nichols (2011) emphasizes the importance of teachers being a role model:

Students need to see in us, their teachers, a strong work ethic, character, self- discipline, self-regulation, self-confidence without arrogance, and our passionate desire to serve their needs, whatever those needs, might be at the moment. (p. 50) Although each teacher mentor had some type of story in this regard, one particular touching story revealing this capacity in the teacher mentors was shared by Rob: “One of my students this year was telling me it’s his sister’s birthday tomorrow. I said did you get her anything? ‘No.’ I happened to have this stuffed animal under my desk and I said give her this. She’ll love it.” Another student had the chance to go on a holiday shopping trip as part of a local police program for students living in poverty. Rob shared that following that experience, he and his mentee had a chance for the student to reflect on the opportunity provided by the local police department, including how it felt to be able to buy gifts for his family.