On Being Ready, Willing, and Able

by Sarah Kain Gutowski, Chair, New Member Mentoring Program

Congratulations! You've worked here for a full month!

It was fantastic seeing so many of you at the first event of the New Member Discussion Series. I hope that those of you who attended learned much from our lovely three panelists, Jared Dowd, Dawn Wing, and Jill Malik. All three gave us a lot of insight into creating balance and establishing positive, working relationships in the first year.

In the next few weeks I'll be posting the notes and talking points from Jared, Dawn, and Jill's presentations, archiving them here on the blog so that those of you who could not attend will still be able to benefit from their individual perspectives and advice. Of course, the only way to benefit from someone else's story is to be willing, first and foremost, to truly hear what he or she is saying. And this leads me to the topic of today's post.

Friday's NMDS: See? We had fun!

Mentoring is not something that happens to another person, an act we bestow or inflict on another living being. Mentoring is a relationship, which means it's symbiotic, and mentors benefit from interactions with mentees as much as the new faculty member gains insight from the veteran member. And for both parties to gain, and feel the benefits of the mentoring relationship, an extremely important element needs to be present: openness.

Such openness to mentoring may seem easy and like a no-brainer to some of you, but for others, particularly if you've been kind of wary of this New Member Program thing, the following excerpt from Hal Portner's "Being Mentored: A Guide for Protégés” (published by Corwin Press, and adapted by NYSUT’s Education & Learning Trust for a seminar they hold regularly on mentoring) might help you get the most out of this next year:

Be ready – “Wholeheartedly accept the opportunity to be mentored”

Be willing – You need to “believe that you have an ongoing need to learn . . . When you are doing something you believe in – when what you are doing sits well with your set of values and is relevant to your life – you will do it better; you will do it with passion.” Additionally, you need to “have confidence that being mentored . . . can make a difference between success and failure.” And lastly, you must  believe that “being mentored can help you remain in the profession and have a satisfying and gratifying career.”

Be able – “Whether you have a mentor who offers little help or support, or a mentor who throws so much information and help your way that you are constantly overwhelmed, or a mentor who is . . . experienced [and] who understands how to work effectively with a protégé, you will still get more out of being mentored if you are ‘able’. Being able means having the knowledge, skills and understanding necessary to be proactive in the mentoring process. Being proactive means not only being ready and willing to access the resources available to you, but also being empowered to do so.”

Finally, NYSUT’s Education & Learning Trust offers new faculty members these “Principles for Success”:

• Take the initiative when it comes to having your needs met as a protégé.

• Avoid making assumptions about your mentor’s plans and expectations.

• Solicit feedback from your mentor as a way to improve.

• Receive feedback objectively.

• Attempt to construct ways to learn from seemingly untenable situations.

• Take responsibility for your personal well-being.

• Contribute to the learning of other educators. 

So, to these ends, I would take the next step and mark on your calendars the date of the New Member Bagel Brunch that will be occurring on your campus this month. The dates, times, and places are as follows:

October 14 -- Grant New Member Bagel Brunch (Captree 113, 11:00 a.m. - 12:20 p.m.)
 
October 21 -- Eastern Bagel Brunch  (Corchaug 18, 11:00 a.m. - 12:20 p.m.)
 
October 28 -- Ammerman Bagel Brunch  (Alumni Room, Brookhaven Gym, 11:00 a.m. - 12:20 p.m.)

At each brunch, FA officers and New Member Program campus coordinators will be present to answer any questions you may have, tell you a little more about the college, and give you your very own shiny white NYSUT "promotion folder" -- the savvy faculty member's secret weapon when it comes to building (and keeping track of) a successful career.

So: Mark the date of your campus bagel brunch, continue to open my emails and read these blog posts (!), and extend a hand and an open ear when your mentor comes to say hi or checks in via email. We are, after all, ready, willing, and able, too!