When I first envisioned our mentorship community at The Mentoree, it was made up of Mentors and Mentees. The first year was focused on populating that and considering the materials that both Mentors and Mentees would need to help develop their supportive relationships. When quarantine began last March, we evolved our offerings to invite people to learn with and from our Mentors through Conversations to Build Capacity. It was this new initiative that helped us see that we could grow into a larger community of educators who could teach and learn from each other.
Reviewing a variety of definitions of the term community, many things stood out. The word comes from having common interests, linked to ideas or a place, or fellowship. Those aspects of the term allowed me to think more deeply about how we would now when we had become a community. The Mentoree has developed a network of Mentors and Mentees and, now people who have attended a Circle Conversations or Responsive Presentation, all under the Conversations to Build Capacity umbrella. Through feedback on Circle Conversations, that feeling of fellowship has been referred to, having an instant community gathered around an idea in a space through The Mentoree. We will continue to invite Mentors to lead these experiences and create a place to learn, share, and wonder with others.
When we launched our 4th season of OnEdMentors last Thursday, Stephen, who guest hosted the show, asked us about our community. I was so happy with the line of thinking that it helped me recall a disagreement that I had with someone a few months ago. They referred to their network as a community because there was a large number of people in it that this individual believed was connected because they had access to each other. It was a network, but it made me wonder about how one would know if their group is, in fact, a community. The mark of being a community is more than just a group of people gathered in a place or around a common interest. It’s a feeling that you are not alone and there is a collective conscience about the space, itself. That’s what can make social networks feel like tight knit communities and become a place that you go to for comfort and to reach out. Stephen was looking at the conditions that allowed our mentorship stories to “take flight” and that got me thinking about the conditions for The Mentoree to really be a community.
I think you know you are a community when:
- It's somewhere you turn to for comfort or to guide you
- They help you feel more connected and promote feelings of belonging
- Have people working together towards a common goal
- Invites the voices of its members and is responsive to them
I have been extremely anxious all weekend. I spent the summer preparing to teach Grade 5 for the first time. Then, I was redeployed to the virtual school. I waited to find out what I was teaching, and my lack of knowing was eating away at me. At 7 am on Sunday, I received my tentative assignment. The relief washed over me and then came the rush of worry over how to bridge my gaps. I am thrilled to be teaching Grade 8 and nervous to add Music and Physical Education to my online virtual practice. My first response was to search our community of Mentors to see some of the people to whom I could turn for guidance. That was such a cool indicator for me. When I discovered that Teri did the same upon receiving her assignment, I realized that we really were on our way to meeting the enabling conditions for a community, The next steps is to share this with more people and expand the number of educators to reach out to and connect with to feel better about professional work, develop the skills needed to improve practice, and feel a sense of connection to others.
The name The Mentoree originated as a combination of the words mentor and mentee, to show that interrelationship that blurs the lines between the perceived roles. While many intersperse the pronunciation with that of a mentoree, one who is being mentored which is synonymous with the term mentee, the intention was to make it sound like community because we are more than the sum of our parts. For The Mentoree to really become a community, more people need to be aware of it and turn to it as a source of learning, comfort, and growth. The possibility is incredible, and it’s something I will work hard on with the team and our evolving community this year.
As I embark on this new adventure as a teacher in the EVS, the Elementary Virtual School in YRDSB with close to 30,000 students, I am among 1200 teachers and counting, and yet I will be alone. There will be a lot of PD to support me and a lot of people in the same boat but, as with any teacher, so much of the time it’s just me and my students. I’m excited about the chance to learn the skills I need to help the students feeling connected to each other, themselves and to me. As I consider all that lies ahead, I am deeply comforted by the community that I have helped to initiate but is being built by everyone involved. I can't wait to see how we grow from here!
