Most teachers can easily point to what they love and what is difficult about being an educator. What makes a teacher remain in the profession, however, is the most important sentiment a veteran teacher can convey when mentoring a student teacher, according to Kirsten Nelson, an educator lecturer at Washburn University.  

“Show the challenges and rewards,” she said, “and share how you keep going…and why you stay.”  

Nelson facilitated a break-out session about mentoring during this week’s Kansas Exemplary Educators Network (KEEN) conference, in Topeka, sponsored by the Kansas State Department of Education. The discussion featured two Washburn University education majors who shared their experiences when they were placed in a classroom.  

Cody Colwell, of Topeka, said he wants to teach middle school math. He said he appreciated the teacher he was matched with allowed him to interact with the students instead of just sitting in the back of the classroom. 

“I got to help kids with math questions and do other things around the classroom,” he said. “That helped me engage with kids and learn how to answer questions.”  

Katy Menke, of Hermann, Mo., who wants to eventually become an elementary school teacher, said she didn’t have a good experience when placed with a veteran teacher. She said there were about 10 students on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and the  classroom was difficult to manage.  

“It was my first time seeing a classroom environment,” Menke said. “I think that classroom wasn’t a very good fit.”  

Menke said she had a better experience when she was placed with another class.

“Having a teacher that can control the classroom and show the joys of teaching, that’s really important,” she said. 

Classroom management was the key concern when Colwell was asked what worries him the most about being a teacher. Nelson agreed, saying it’s equally as hard as a veteran teacher to watch a difficult situation play out in the classroom while observing a student teacher. 

“It is hard to watch a train wreck in front of you,” she said. ”Whatever is happening, you can fix it…but sometimes you have to intervene.” 

Rochelle Napier, a fifth-grade teacher at Plum Elementary School in Buhler USD 313, said it would be helpful for young teachers to observe the beginning, middle and end of a school year. When things go sideways in a classroom, she added, that’s when young teachers can learn the most. 

“It’s actually a win if you can see what you did wrong and know how to change it next time,” Napier said. “The school culture is so important.” 

When a student teacher is doing a good job and the classroom is calm, Sally Lopez, a fifth-grade teacher at Oliver Brown Elementary School, in Manhattan-Ogden USD 383, said she’s able to do the “happy parts of teaching.” 

“It gives me the space to enjoy being a teacher again,” she said. ”It really energizes me.” 

Nelson said mentoring is one of the single biggest contributions a veteran teacher can make to the profession. 

“It is a different kind of service when we’re losing teachers so quickly,” she said. “I was a better teacher when I had people observing me.” 

Click here to learn more about the KSDE mentoring program.