When I was first asked to be a mentor teacher, I thought, “Sure, why not? It’ll be nice to have an extra set of hands in the classroom.” I imagined someone helping grade papers, assisting with small groups, and maybe even lightening my workload. Easy, right?

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Mentoring turned out to be a lot of work—but also one of the most rewarding professional experiences I’ve ever had. It pushed me to think more deeply about my teaching, challenged me in ways I didn’t expect, encouraged me to be vulnerable, and gave me a new perspective on what it means to be an educator. In fact, research shows that strong mentorship programs not only help new teachers grow but also improve mentor teachers’ professional development and job satisfaction. In this four-part blog series, we delve into the successes, challenges, and transformative impact of mentoring. Whether you’re a seasoned mentor or just beginning to consider the role, we invite you to read along and connect with our stories.

The early challenges of mentorship

Being a mentor isn’t just about showing someone the ropes. It’s about opening up your teaching to be observed, questioned, and sometimes even critiqued. That level of vulnerability was uncomfortable for me at first.

One of the hardest parts? Becoming hyper-aware of my own teaching moves—things I did instinctively but had never actually put into words.

For example, one day my student teacher asked, “How did you get the kids on the right side of the room to quiet down so fast?” I had no idea what they were talking about. Then I realized—I had casually walked toward that side of the room while giving instructions, and just like that, that simple move of walking to that side of the room where the noise was coming from, settled the group down. It was something I had always done without thinking, but now I had to figure out how to explain it to a new teacher.

Moments like that made me realize that mentoring wasn’t just about teaching my student teacher—it was about learning to articulate my own practice in ways I had never considered before. It meant reflecting on the in-the-moment decisions I made and sharing that with them. It also meant being willing to open up my practice and share mistakes I had made or things I could have done differently. It meant highlighting my own imperfections as an educator and being willing to unpack those with my mentee for both of our learning. Anthony’s blog delves into the imperfect and challenging journey of being a first-year mentor teacher.

Learning to See Teaching Through an Inquiry Lens

Being a mentor means constantly asking yourself questions and inquiring into your own practice, and inviting your student teacher into that inquiry stance with you. Instead of just going through the motions, I started thinking:

• Why do I make certain instructional choices?
• How do my subtle habits shape student behavior?
• How can I explain my decision-making process to my mentee in a way that actually helps them?
• How do I become comfortable with being imperfect, and model my own reflection on ways I can grow?
• How do I encourage my mentee to reflect and question their own practice?

This shift in mindset made mentorship a two-way street. My student teacher wasn’t just learning from me—I was learning from them, too. Their fresh perspective and questions challenged me to refine my explanations, rethink my teaching habits, and explore new strategies. Research supports this and mentors often report gaining new insights, strengthening their reflective practices, and feeling reinvigorated in their work. Rosiane will talk more in her blog about what each of her mentees taught her.

The Lasting Impact of Mentorship

Beyond immediate classroom interactions, mentorship strengthens the teaching profession as a whole. When experienced teachers take on the responsibility of mentorship, they help sustain a culture of collaboration and ongoing learning. Plus, mentorship plays a crucial role in teacher retention where new teachers who receive quality mentoring are far more likely to stay in the profession long-term, creating stronger and more stable school communities.

Beyond immediate classroom interactions, mentorship strengthens the teaching profession as a whole. When experienced teachers take on the responsibility of mentorship, they help sustain a culture of collaboration and ongoing learning. Mentorship plays a crucial role in teacher retention, where new teachers who receive quality mentoring are far more likely to stay in the profession long-term, creating stronger and more stable school communities. As mentioned in Rosiane’s blog and deeply explored in the final blog by Sheila, mentorship also holds powerful potential for advancing equity and justice in education and by helping new teachers reflect on their beliefs, center student voices, and take meaningful action toward more inclusive classrooms.

What I didn’t anticipate was how mentoring would reignite my own passion for teaching. Supporting a new teacher, guiding them through challenges, and witnessing their growth reminded me why I chose this profession in the first place. The experience was so fulfilling that I continued mentoring, taking on one or two student teachers each year for the next six years.

By the end of my nearly ten-year career, I had mentored nine teachers with each one shaping my own teaching just as much as I shaped theirs.

Mentorship wasn’t just about giving back, it became a source of renewal and inspiration for my own practice.

Let’s Reflect

As you follow this blog series, I encourage you to ask yourself:

• What teaching habits do you do automatically that you’ve never put into words?
• How often do you step back and reflect on why you teach the way you do?
• How could mentoring help you grow as a teacher?
• What role can mentorship play in strengthening the teaching profession as a whole?

Taking on a student teacher is a big commitment, but it’s also an opportunity for growth, not just for them, but for you, too. So, should you become a mentor teacher? That’s the question. But maybe the better question is: How might mentoring change your teaching in ways you never expected?