Thing 11 - Mentoring

As mentioned previously in my blog, our job title at Blackpool Sixth is 'Learning Resources Mentor' so this section of cpd23 should be quite relevant! Rather than finding a mentor (as the notes in 'Thing 11' suggest), we are the actual mentors to our students! We monitor, manage, encourage, motivate, advise, assist, empathise, sympathise, console and cajole them throughout their time at College in order to get the best possible performances and results from them. Our main responsibility is to ensure that they remain focused and 'on task' during their 'directed study periods' (sessions in between lessons when they are given tasks by their tutors) which they spend in our Learning Resource Centre. We are not allowed to call these sessions 'free periods' because the students are supposed to use this time to work, revise, research, reference etc, and generally prepare themselves for their forthcoming lessons and exams. Also, when new staff begin their time at our College they are assigned to another established member of staff in order to guide them through their first year. This gives us an opportunity to be both a mentor and a mentee in our working environment.