Hey, Mike... If I read you correctly, what you are describing is not induction and mentoring the way I and many of my colleagues understand mentoring to be. The role of mentor as “expert-who-has-the-answers” has its place and value, but as a new teacher, you need to develop the capacity and confidence to make your own informed decisions, enrich your own knowledge, and sharpen your own abilities regarding teaching and learning. Coaching and guiding, not "teaching and telling" you to this level of professionalism is your mentor’s primary role.

This is done by helping you reflect on what you do, why you do it, considering its results, and how you -- not your mentor -- might do it differently so that you can, with their guidance and support, take responsibility and make your own decisions.

You also mention "induction classes?" Induction (and mentoring) is not instruction. It recognizes and treats individuals individually -- not formulistically.

Your state may regulate WHAT to include in an induction program, but I bet they don't legislate HOW to do it.

Be that as it may, Mike, I suspect you will get the most you can out of the experience, stick with it, and become the great self-reliant teacher you seem to want to be.

Posted by Mary Anne
We have a program in Las Cruces, New Mexico. We meet once a month. It is a great support for me. It is a chance to meet with my peers. Some of us graduated together. We give each other the same kind of encouragement we did while we were college students. We learn strategies that make our jobs easier. The district is providing this support so that I can meet their expectations.

The program, my fellow teachers and this chatboard have been instrumental in encouraging me to get through the first three years of teaching. This "new career" is far more difficult than I thought it would be, but it is just as rewarding as I hoped it would be.

Posted by EC 5th NC
My district has one for all 1st-3rd year teachers. Barring some crazy assignment they've yet to tell us about, I can honestly say it's not bad. Useless? Pretty much, but time-consuming? No. I've heard they recently re-vamped it, so maybe that's why I think it's not bad. I'm so sorry your program [is] so bad. And people wonder why the burnout is so high....numbskulls.

Posted by Tessa- FL
I enjoyed having a mentor to help me solve problems, and we also spent a day observing at another school (which was very helpful and I wish we could have spent several days observing!) But the annoying part was making a portfolio. Hello? I must have made a half-dozen of those in college; why am I doing that again, especially when they are "checked" (read: breezed over within 2 minutes), checked off, and then left to gather dust for the rest of eternity. Oh how I hate portfolios!

I guess the good news is it only lasted from August-January year 1. I feel for these people who have to go through it for 3 years. As if teachers don't have enough on their plates!

Posted by K Anderson
I can thankfully say that we don't have a formal program in Minnesota. It seems like a gigantic waste of time. I have found, in my first quarter of teaching, that you can't follow someone else's plan or style. I tried for the first few weeks and realized that I need to develop my own classroom management style and procedures. If I have questions, I go and ask one of the more senior teachers. There's no need for a “mentor.”

I love teaching (so far anyway!) but these formal state mandated programs seem like a way to put teaching up on a pedestal and a way to get re- elected come election time. There were a lot of things in college that seemed like we were just jumping through hoops. Formalities. This is a perfect example of politicians, NOT EDUCATORS, managing the education of our youth. Just like the pay for performance push that many states are going through. Sounds great as a sound bite for a politician that, "We're going to reward those teachers that do a better job." This ends up creating unhealthy competition between teachers because you are competing for a raise. The whole aspect of sharing what works and operating as a department is shot out of the water. I'll get off my soap box now. :)

As for one of the posts before about making sure that "all teachers are on the same level across the state," I'm pretty sure that colleges and universities have to pass accreditation boards before they are allowed to offer various degrees. Why can't the accreditation board simply make everything uniform? It's out of the public eye.

Posted by Carol
This is in response to the California teacher who is frustrated with the mentoring program. I have been a New Mexico educator for over 30 years, and am presently the secondary-school teacher mentor director for our district. A parent conference takes precedence over every other meeting you might have (including a meeting with your "mentor") because you are, first, responsible for your students, and anything relating to them takes priority. Your mentor should know that. The only time that anything takes precedence over a parent conference is if you are on school duty and cannot leave your post. In that case, the duty comes first.

*Hal Portner writes, develops materials, trains mentors, facilitates the development of new teacher and peer-mentoring programs, and consults for school districts and other educational organizations and institutions. In addition to Mentoring New Teachers, he is the author of Training Mentors Is Not Enough: Everything Else Schools and Districts Need to Do (2001), Being Mentored: A Guide for Protégés (2002), Workshops that Really Work: The ABCs of Designing and Delivering Sensational Presentations (2005), and editor of Teacher Mentoring and Induction: The State of the Art and Beyond (2005) – all published by Corwin Press.

Hal also writes a monthly column for Teachers.Net Gazette. His articles include:

Get the Most Out of Being Mentored

Get the Most Out of Being Mentored - Part 2:Take Responsibility

Be Your Own Mentor: REFLECT

It Takes a Community to Induct a Teacher