I personally think that this is a fabulous idea:) I think that new teachers shouldn't be compared to a teacher who has been there years before her; obviously the new teachers doesn't quite have the experience the other does and therefore, she should not be as experienced either. I think a lot of stress is put on teachers and the complainers don't make our job any easier. Mentors are a great idea because basically the teachers who will offer to do this, want to so, we won't be getting an grouchy old ladies who will be hard of us. In a few years, I will be a new teacher and I would really appreciate a teacher to, not give me things or do my job for me but, to help me out and give suggestions as to what worked for them and what didn't.

To me, it sounds like a great idea for a newer teacher to have a mentor to go to for help or suggestions. Becuase newer teachers still get the experience in the classroom and are freshly out of school I feel it is important that the newer teacher does not reley on the mentor for everything. The mentor should be there to help guide and answer small questions the new teacher has. I also think that a few years or so, this new teacher should no longer have this mentor because they should be capable of handling all situations that they cross.

I never really thought about this. I guess since we go to college and have a semester of student teaching we should be able to handle it; but it really is a good idea to have someone showing the new teacher the ropes for at least the first year. I mean other places like McDonald's and Wal-Mart have their trainees have a person showing them the ropes for a certain amount of time so why not new teachers. Plus the retired teachers could give life lessons learned over time that the books can't provide. I think this would be a good idea.

I feel that having a mentor is a fantastic way to help people transition into new aspects of a carreer. No one can do everything alone, so it is useful to have a go-to person when you need assistance. It is not fair to terminate someone because they have not had an ample opportunity to meet qualifications for an area that was not required when they were hired. If someone refuses to use technology even though they have the knowledge and skills to teach it, I believe that it is necessary to reevaluate that competence and objectives of that teacher.

I am not really sure how I feel about this subject. I think that it would be great to know people in the field that are more than willing to help you and give you pointers. And I also agree that sometimes it is horrible to throw a new teacher right into the classroom and just leave them. In my opinion I don't believe that we have enough hands on training during the program. Yes, we observe in classrooms and we observe in the pre-school, and we block teach, and we student teach, but at the same time when we observe we only look and don't touch. Most of our classes do not have us get up and teach. I feel that this is an opprotunity that we are missing out on. To be a teacher you cannot be afraid to get up in front of a group of people, that is what you are planning on doing for the rest of your life! The teachers of the education program should take more advantage of this idea and give us the opportunity to teach. Then when we go out into the field we will have more hands on experience, so if we have a mentor then great; if we don't have a mentor then we can still survive on our own.

I personally would like it to mandated or offered more to be with a highly qualified teacher. I think this would be beneficial in many different ways. I think that a lot more can be learned by doing and seeing others doing, than actually sitting in a classroom. It could give us ideas on how to run our classroom, different ways to approach behavior issues, what lessons are done best when throughout the day. It think this would be the most beneficial in the Special Education classrooms. We are learning a lot in the 4 or 5 years that we are at college, and no kid is every the same, especially when it comes to disabilties. I, myself, am very nervous about being thrown into my classroom right after college.

I think it is important that teachers who have taught for a long time, show the new teachers what is going on. That way the new teacher isn't left out and the kids will understand and communicate better with him or her. Everyone needs a little guidance and I think it is very important for them to be shown things they normally didn't know!