mentors (teaching)

For the past year and a half, I have had a university provided mentor to help me become a better teacher. She is old-school; she was a principal of another school for many years and that fact oozes from her being. She has high expectations, amazing ideas, and a no-nonsense attitude that doesn't stop. She is also well versed in the back-handed compliment. In the past, when she has said something good about my teaching, it usually also includes the words "anal retentive" or "much better than last year." Today, she actually told me that I am a good teacher. While I still disagree, it was so nice to get that feedback from someone who has probably caused more teachers to cry than anyone else I know.

One of my mentor's official capacities is to meet with my principal to discuss the state of affairs in my classroom. In the past, my mentor has accused my principal of being out of compliance with federal mandates, has demanded to know who my vice principal was, and has caused me to have to put out several fires after she leaves. This time, I think that it is possible they had a good conversation. I'm anxious for my principal to have a good sense of how I am doing in the classroom right now. She is engaged in her reorganization for next year and I am very interested in being in my own classroom. For the past two years, I have co-taught with two different general education teachers. The woman I work with this year has taught me many things that I should be doing. The woman I worked with last year showed me that good intentions mean nothing in a classroom if they are not linked to much, much more. I would like to have the opportunity to see if I can manage things on my own, to truly take the responsibility for what happens in my classroom.

Ok, enough of this...I'm being distracted by what I think is the worlds darkest credit card commercial on my nightly news podcast. I have to go focus on that right now.