The Good Mentor by James B. Rowley Summary

James Rowley discusses the qualities of a good mentor in his 1999 article. First, he says that mentors should be “committed to the role mentoring,” “understand that persistence is as important to mentoring as classroom teaching,” and have a belief that mentors can make a difference (Rowley, 1999, p. 20). However, he says that in order for this to happen mentor teachers must be trained on mentoring. These mentor programs specifically explain how to be a mentor, require mentor and mentee teachers to keep a journal of their experiences, and perhaps a stipend for the mentor. Moreover, he says that the mentor teach must be accepting of the mentee like the mentor would accept his/her students. This aspect of mentoring should also be in the training program, understand and accepting the mentee (Rowley, 1999, p. 20). In addition, the mentor must be able to help the mentee with instruction. “Good mentors are willing to coach beginning teachers to improve their performance where their skill level” (Rowley, 1999, p. 21). Mentor and mentee teachers should observe each other teach, then dialogue about that. The mentor training program should also train mentors in the appropriate ways to do that. Finally, a “good mentor is effective in different interpersonal contexts” (Rowley, 1999, p. 21).