My greatest mentor was my first boss. The technical information he taught was the greatest asset I carrried throughout my career. Now I get to pass that knowledge onto my students.
I think we all may have had an uncle like that, or relative. Following after their footsteps can only lead to success. And value, a perfect word to describe the things like positive attitudes and optimism that we emulate in our everyday lives. I am sure your Uncle would agree.
It is wonderful to hear that your mentors came from different places. I can understand the influence of your grandfather. My father was a mentor in many ways to me because one thing I was sure of is what he stood for. His values and principles were clear and he did not sent mixed messages. I have come to appreciate how important it is to be clear to everyone as to who you are and what you stand for. It makes decision-making easier and it tells students, employees, and such what type of person you are. Students know if you are not what you seem to be.
At significant points in my life a mentor has had impact. When I look back at these experiences I can see that I observed the mentor, but really valued the discussions about what I saw. Understanding what you see is important because perception is not always right. I was grateful that my mentor took the time to discuss with me what I was seeing. These were often moments that helped me form a philosophical base from which to conduct myself in the field of education.
Lucy
Stan,
Great example. Sharing this story with students can have a great impact on their beliefs of their potential.
Michael,
That is great that your professor went out of his way. However, just asking about a student's family is more attention than they receive on a daily basis.
David,
This is a great explanation of a mentor and an intelligent heart.
Christy,
Do you beleive your high school art teacher and had a continued impact on you over the years? We all mentor to our students, however we sometimes don't realize the impact we have until later in life. Thanks for sharing this great story.
I began automotive school and did not put out the effort that I could have. My first instructor saw potential and took me under his wing. He opened my eyes and I realized that he was right. When he left the teaching profession to open his own auto shop, he asked me to work for him part time after school. I will never forget how much he influenced my life and career. Look at me now, I am an instructor doing the same thing.
Nothing beats a positive attitude. Your Uncle was your Mentor.
In college I had a professor come and watch my football games. He always expressed in interest in what I was doing in and out of school. He made me feel special. I try to go out of my way and make several students feel that way while they are attending school. I wish I had more time in the day to devote time to this. I really think it’s beneficial.
I hade a teacher in shop class that lived what he spoke, that set a standard for all off us to live by in that class. That was a goal I set for myself, I believe that students have a hard problem responding to an instructor that does'nt practice what he preaches.
I have had many Mentors in my life. One was my grandfather. He was always talking about the difference between right and wrong and how important it was to do what was right. He displayed this in every thing he did, he led by example.
I also had other mentors that I worked with when first starting in my carreer as an automechanic. They were always ready to lend a hand and show me the way.Not only did I learn tasks, but I also learned what teamwork was all about.
I pass these things on to my students and show them the importance of doing whats right and being ready to help others and work as a team. That is true success.
I never really thought of people who influenced my life as mentors but I guess they were. They took the time to care when no one else did. That connection is something that can last a lifetime. As an instructor it feels good to make a diffrence in someones life.
I had a high school coach that also played a big part in my future. In a conversation one day, he said he could see my love of the game. I responded by saying that I wished I was better at it than I was. I was the guy who played every position but never found a home. He told me that my versatility was extremely important to the TEAM.I had never looked at it that way before. To this day I aim to be as versatile as possible; not only teaching multiple classes, but teaching each class in different ways depending on student needs.
Most mentors that I have looked up to in the past shared their stories about their work experiances, said hello to every one every time and really tried to make sure we understood the material being presented to us. They were always available for questions and truly cared about me learning experiance.
In a diversity class I had in college our prof was a hardened marine corp captain. the man could look at you and make you tremble if he so chose to. But the way he lead us through his cirriculum and the manner in which he taught made everyone in the class really take a long look at themselves and those around us. you knew he cared about us as students, you knew he was going to see to it that you did your very best and believe me he brought the best out in all of us in that class.
My first IT network instructor turned out to be a mentor. He got me to take a class one semester, then teach it the next. This influenced my decision to stay in technical training, for it came easy for me.
I had the "anti-mentor". I grew up on a farm with merciless beatings from my Grandfather. As soon as I was old enough I joined the Army to escape it. I had a number of good NCO's that showed me how things could be, without the beatings. I know first hand how damaging negitivity can be. I vowed to stay positive with myself, my family and now with my students.
My art teacher in high school was very student oriented. She took time to spend with everyone who was in her class. She would sit and talk and discuss what project you were doing at the time. I remember I had done a huge pointilism, which is art with little dots versus painting,(it gives it a better effect)and when I was finished she told me I should enter it in the art contest. Wow, the art contest? I never would have dreamed that it was that good. Well, sure enough, I got first place, a blue ribbon. I will never forget that as long as I live. I realized that a smile and her confidence in me, made be hold my head up a lot more.
