Comments on: Mentoring Instead of Teaching: A Paradigm Shift

By: Tree Trimmer Jim

Tree Trimmer Jim — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 04:19:08 +0000

Parents are mentors, always have been. The parent’s responsibility is to prepare the next generation to be parents, and the beat goes on.

Compulsory education made it against the law for parents not send their children to a government run school. Government schools are guaranteed customers. Government schools are a monopoly in a high dollar industry.

Parents are more interested in their children than their neighbor’s children and more interested in their neighbor’s children than the children from across town and more interested in the children from across town than the children from a distant town.

Teachers who are not paid by the success of the individual cares more about the wishes of those who do control their pay. Parents, without being paid, are more interested in the success of their child than the teacher. Parents do not control the teacher’s pay. Therefore parents have lost their ability to impact the success of the child.

The people who do control the teacher’s pay are not affected by the success of the individual students or the community. The people who control the teachers pay are affected by the wishes of those who control their pay.

What motivates a mentor? The success of the individual. Mentors are like parents.

By: Kathleen Jasper

Kathleen Jasper — Sat, 24 May 2014 18:41:07 +0000

Wow. The kids must have really benefited from the real world experience you brought into the classroom. That’s why we have to foster those opportunities for students and teachers. Life does not operate like a multiple choice question. Real interaction, story, and mentorship are the authentic circumstances that happen in the real world. We afford those experiences to students in their academic lives.

By: John Harkness

John Harkness — Sat, 24 May 2014 15:19:48 +0000

This is very well presented and thought out. As a retired teacher who is also retired Navy, I had the background and willingness to share so many experiences and ideas with students that I learned traveling around the world. Teaching history and civics did not usually allow me the opportunity because of the time constraints. When the schools are attempting to clone teachers in all departments (High Schools That Work is an example), it becomes more and more difficult for students to see the real person behind the teacher. Thanks for sharing this.