thoughts from 10/25 Mentoring and induction

I have has the opportunity to work in a school district that offered both induction and mentoring. These were very beneficial, especially when I was a brand new teacher and new to the area. Through the induction program I was quickly introduced to how schools worked in the south. The department head was assigned as my mentor and the thing that she helped me with most was the IEP process which was quite different than what I was used to. I realized the importance of these two programs when I started to work in  the prison system. I had a week of pre-service orientation, which didn't really tell how the classroom was, and then I was pretty much on my own. I had to seek out individuals to help me. Sometimes they would tell you the right thing, and sometimes I had to figure it out on my own. Having a mentor can give a new teacher a peace of mind.