Latest / New Teacher Talk / Ep 122: Mentors Matter: Navigating the Path to Teaching

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Ep 122: Mentors Matter: Navigating the Path to Teaching · New Teacher Talk

0:01
Welcome back to another episode of New Teacher Talk.
0:04
We discuss the most common challenges that early career
0:08
educators experience and find answers.
0:12
Our discussion today, like other episodes,
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supports new teachers, whether working in a rural,
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suburban, or urban setting.
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We are so glad you're here today.
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In this episode,
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we are going to talk about the value of finding mentors
0:27
that help you grow and succeed.
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But before we introduce our special guests today,
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let us do two quick introductions of our own.
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I'm Dr.
0:38
Anna, one of the co-founders of this podcast channel.
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I'm also an early childhood generalist who mentors
0:45
educators on their journey toward National Board C
0:48
ertification.
0:51
I'm Dr.
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Beth.
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My work in education includes being a high school band
0:55
director, mentor, and induction coordinator.
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Dr.
0:59
Anne and I are excited to have several guests joining us
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today on this episode, Shelby Green and James Scheffers.
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Shelby is a seventh and eighth grade special education math
1:12
and history teacher in the Springfield,
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Illinois Public Schools.
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For several reasons,
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we are excited to tell Shelby's story as a professional
1:20
educator.
1:22
First,
1:22
she came to teaching as a second career after earning her
1:26
undergraduate degree in environmental studies, and two,
1:31
yes,
1:31
two graduate degrees in public health and public administration.
1:37
Secondly,
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she has quickly become a teacher leader by being part of
1:41
the Golden Apple Accelerators in 2023 and a Teach Plus,
1:47
Illinois Affinity Group facilitator in 2023 to 2024.
1:53
Third and finally,
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Shelby attributes much of her success to the mentors who
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have guided her along the way.
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We're also excited to have with us today James Scheffers.
2:05
He is a district mentor with the Springfield Public
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Schools.
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James is also a veteran classroom teacher now in his 16th
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year of teaching and his second year in the district mentor
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role.
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So welcome, Shelby.
2:23
Welcome, James.
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In our episode today,
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we want to lean into Shelby's pathway to the classroom and
2:30
the role her mentors have played and why that has been so
2:34
helpful to her.
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So welcome.
2:37
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
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I'll start with Shelby.
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Thank you for such an amazing introduction.
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I'm Shelby Green Owusu, and my current titles are Mommy,
2:48
Mrs.
2:49
O, Daughter, Sister, and Affinity Group Facilitator.
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I teach departmental special education for middle schoolers
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originally from Chicago.
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I've been calling Springfield,
2:59
Illinois home for the past 11 years.
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Through Teach Plus, I became an affinity group facilitator,
3:05
which deepened my understanding of my purpose and my why as
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an educator,
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and it also equipped me with tools to lead with compassion
3:13
and self-awareness.
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In all honesty, they should be listed as a package deal.
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I love it.
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I love it so much.
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Because I've talked to with a lot of folks that have been
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through the Golden Apple program,
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it's given them opportunities to just have this sense of
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belief in themselves.
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And I don't know whether they what kind of magic wand they
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wave over all of the participants.
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But once they've left that program,
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there's a sense of I can do this.
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There's a sense of such self worth and confidence that I
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can make a difference out here in the world with my
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students.
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So all hail to Golden Apple.
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Absolutely.
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I love Golden Apple so much.
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I recommend it to one of my coworkers to do the program,
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and she's currently in it right now.
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So she looks forward to being a teacher next year.
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And then I'm also recommending someone else.
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So hopefully that works out for them.
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So yeah.
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Oh, this is exciting.
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It's so exciting.
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And I work with some teachers in CPS,
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and they are always identifying some of their para pros who
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just have the skills and the gift.
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So I think that this could be a great way for them too,
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to be able to have a fast track to that degree and have
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them making even more impact within their district.
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Welcome, Shelby.
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Tell us a little bit about yourself, James,
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in your role as a mentor coordinator.
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I'm not a mom, however, I am a dad of two.
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That's always my favorite title as well,
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but in my role here as a district mentor,
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Shelby and I have just worked very closely on her needs,
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things that I can bring back to my team to improve what
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mentoring looks like for other educators,
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and then I just look forward to letting others know what
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process is and how it works and if we can improve it.
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Thanks so much, James.
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We appreciate hearing that because it's always about
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looking at what we're doing, reflecting,
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and improving upon our practices.
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So I'd like to ask Shelby to share with our audience your
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non-traditional pathway to becoming a middle school teacher
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and how mentoring has played a role in your success as a
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professional educator.
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I come from a family of educators, daycare workers,
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classroom teachers, and nurturers.
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Despite their influence,
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I didn't see myself following in their footsteps.
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Growing up,
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I focused on the stress and challenges they faced rather
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than the joy and fulfillment their work brought them.
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After high school,
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I became a first generation college graduate earning a
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degree in environmental studies.
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But when I graduated, I found myself uncertain,
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unsure of what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be.
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Tiffany Burris, a principal, my sorority sister,
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and mentor suggested I try substitute teaching.
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I started in 2020 as a permanent substitute teaching a
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science class full time without certification.
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It was a challenging yet eye opening experience.
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During this time, I met James Scheffers,
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a special education teacher who later became a district
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mentor.
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His support became instrumental in shaping my path.
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Then comes along 2020, the year of change.
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The pandemic shifted education to a virtual setting,
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and it was during this transition that I discovered my
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calling to be a full-time teacher.
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Fast forward to 2021, with a newborn at home,
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I was determined to pursue teaching certification.
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That's when I discovered the Golden Apple Accelerator
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Program, a 15 month,
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fully virtual certification program with free tuition.
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I felt like I had hit the jackpot.
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With determination, I applied,
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gathering recommendation letters and transcripts.
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Once accepted, the real work began.
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Over the next 15 months,
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I juggled roles as a student teacher, mom, wife,
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and learner,
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while completing my special education certification at
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Blackburn College.
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During this journey, I had incredible mentors,
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Shalonda Gaines from Golden Apple and Abby Bretz from my
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school.
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Their guidance combined with the support of my family and
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colleagues made all the difference.
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Today, I am proud to say I've come full circle.
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I'm in my second year of teaching at the same school where
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I student taught.
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Every day, I get to do what I love with amazing people.
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It doesn't feel like a job, it feels like coming home.
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Wow, Shelby,
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that just grabs my heartstrings because you had,
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in your early experiences,
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watching your family in education,
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you didn't always see from that outside place,
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the joy that you get from working with young people.
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And once you had that opportunity,
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the family business kicked in for you,
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which is pretty exciting.
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I am certain that your family is so, so proud of you.
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James, how did you influence Shelby to become an educator,
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to go from being a substitute to saying,
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I want to do this every day in my life.
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I think the best part was I didn't.
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She already knew in her heart what she wanted to do.
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And so I just continued to push her to follow what she
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already knew.
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And sometimes that's all it takes is just having that
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person check in on you.
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Again, at Washington Middle School is where we first met.
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I had no idea that our paths would cross again,
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but they did.
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And so things I think are just meant to happen,
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sometimes happen.
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And so being able just to check in on her during her
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science days at Washington Middle School has helped blossom
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the relationship that we have that sometimes can be very
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sarcastic if you don't understand us,
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or it may look a different way.
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But once you get to know the dynamics of our relationship,
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you will see that it's nothing but the best.
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And so often we can recognize things within ourselves,
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but it's that imposter syndrome.
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You're not sure that you can really carry that out in the
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real world and among other people and really be believed.
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But when you have that person that believes in you,
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that sees you as you are and just nurtures that,
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that's so impactful to one's professional and personal
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growth.
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I would like to circle back on something you said, Shelby,
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about Golden Apple,
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your work with Golden Apple and the Teach Plus affinity
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groups.
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I know you've been a facilitator there.
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Our listeners are new teachers like yourself.
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So they may not know much about Golden Apple and Teach
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Plus.
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So might you describe for our listeners,
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your experiences and how that influenced your work with
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students as well as your professional development?
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Golden Apple definitely transformed my career path.
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They gave me the tools that I needed to pivot and pursue my
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passion for teaching while also making it accessible,
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right?
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We live in a time where we need things to be accessible,
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especially when we have families and we're trying to do
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something that changes everything about our daily lives.
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As well as Teach Plus,
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being able to experience Teach Plus has offered me the
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space to reflect and heal and grow as a leader.
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In our show notes Shelby,
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we will be sure to add information about Golden Apple and
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Teach Plus so other educators can learn about their good
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work and then they can connect what you've just said to
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what they're able to offer others and hopefully they can
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take advantage of similar opportunities that are offered
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wherever they might be because our listeners come from all
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over the United States, not just from Illinois.
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James,
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have you had direct work with Golden Apple and Teach Plus
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yourself?
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I have a handful of coworkers who are, who I mentor,
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but not specifically like Shelby.
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So this is a unique experience for me as well as we walk
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through this process together.
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Tell us more about that experience with Shelby and why it's
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so unique.
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So I've attended two or three different mentoring meetings
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outside of Central Illinois where other districts bring
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their mentoring teams and we can see what it looks like and
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Golden Apple was actually one of those participants.
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And so I was able to just kind of ask the questions from an
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outsider's perspective and bring that back into talking
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with Shelby and about what ways we can continue to push her
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teaching and maybe bleed those resources into other new
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teachers that come to Franklin and our district.
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Thank you.
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So I'm going to go on to my next question here,
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and I'm going to ask,
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what can districts do to create a culturally affirming
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school environment?
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And how does mentoring support this?
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And James, since you've been a mentor for some time,
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I'm going to start and ask that question of you.
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I think the first step is to acknowledge it,
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that it needs to happen,
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whether it's fully inclusive right now in a district or
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it's you're starting at the very beginning,
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starting is key.
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And obviously, people just could become a hot topic.
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And so I think it's important to have anyone and everyone
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who's willing to be a part of such a movement forward. C
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urriculum staff needs the opportunity to be trained to be
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heard.
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We talk about inclusivity,
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but how inclusive are our practices actually.
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And so if you sit down and actually boil it down.
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And I'm not speaking just about my district,
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but in whole when we talk how and what does that look like
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and does the group that we think is being heard?
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Are they actually being heard.
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So bringing those those people at the table who maybe are
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more quiet or of a certain group who maybe are a little
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more shy or don't want to be in front of the camera getting
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their voices heard.
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And obviously bring it in the community. Because community
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support can move can break things can really set the tone
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of how positive something can be in a school district.
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Our communities really are so important and impactful on
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the work that we can do if we take time to listen to them.
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So I'm going to pose the same question to Shelby.
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How do you see districts being able to create that true
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culturally affirming environment?
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Well, agreeing with what James said,
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opening that doorway to say we're taking the opportunity to
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listen to people,
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to hear what they have to say is extremely important.
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Imagine if we didn't take the time to say, okay,
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first-year teachers and second-year teachers,
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they need support.
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How can we support them?
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Then the rate of teachers leaving would be higher.
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But because our district does such a great job with
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implementing having mentors,
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then you have more teachers that are staying,
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that teacher retention is greater,
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and it gives teachers the opportunity to have the
14:52
assistance and the guidance that they need to want to
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continue to push forward.
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The idea of mentoring and having that support and knowing
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that we can make people feel welcome in our space and that
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there's a space for everyone in our space goes a long way
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to building a place where people want to work and people
15:19
want to contribute to the goals that the organization has.
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All voices need to be heard and valued.
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You know,
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this topic of being a new teacher and mentoring is so
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cogent.
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Our listeners come from rural, suburban,
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and urban environments.
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So my question I would like to ask is really about one
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piece of advice.
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If you had to give a salient piece of guidance to new
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teachers, what would that be? Shelby?
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I would definitely say to make sure you take care of
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yourself first.
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A lot of the times we spend so much energy focusing on the
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needs of our students, the needs of our administrators,
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the needs of our district,
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and we don't put ourselves first.
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So if you make sure you take that time to take care of
16:18
yourself first,
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then what you do for yourself will pour into what you do
16:22
for your students in your building.
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Well-being is so important as a teacher,
16:27
whether you're new to the profession or you've been in the
16:30
profession a long time.
16:33
Taking care of ourselves, as you so well stated, Shelby,
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to pour our energy into others,
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we must have the energy and take care of ourselves first.
16:42
I really like that adage, appreciate you sharing that.
16:46
James, what about you?
16:47
If you had one piece of advice to give to new teachers,
16:50
to help them be successful, what would that be?
16:56
I'm gonna cheat your question and turn it into three.
16:59
One, to be curious.
17:01
You can take that however you would like,
17:03
but in the realm of education,
17:06
if you see something and you don't understand, ask.
17:09
One would be be curious, two would be ask.
17:12
So no question, doesn't have an answer,
17:15
but if you don't ask it, you'll never have that answer.
17:19
And then three, time management.
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Please, please, please, please, educators,
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if you get nothing out of this from me,
17:26
do not stay at school till 10 o'clock every night.
17:29
Be prepared for tomorrow, and then go home.
17:33
Then tomorrow, be prepared for the next day,
17:36
and then go home.
17:37
Because if you live at school,
17:39
it's not going to turn out any better than if you set
17:42
yourself a time limit, get your work done,
17:45
and then go be a human being, please.
17:48
Sounds like personal, James.
17:53
I love it.
17:54
Wow, we ended up with four great pieces of advice.
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We're still waiting on James' response.
17:59
Well-being, curiosity, ask, and time management.
18:02
James, would you like to respond to Shelby?
18:05
We still have half a semester together, ma'am.
18:09
Oh my goodness.
18:09
I love it.
18:10
This is the relationship that you were talking about
18:13
earlier in the podcast that if we didn't understand we
18:17
would think, oh my goodness,
18:19
these two don't like each other,
18:21
but they respect and I love that you have got that rapport
18:25
that you can talk with each other in a way that's that's
18:29
real,
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because too often mentoring relationships become formulaic.
18:35
I'm going to ask you this question,
18:37
and you're going to answer me with something that you think
18:40
that I want to hear, but your relationship is really real,
18:44
and that I think is the tip that I'm going to share.
18:49
Bring yourself to your mentoring,
18:50
whether you're a mentor or a mentee,
18:53
be your authentic self.
18:55
So I'm going to ask you if our listeners would like to
18:59
reach out to you with more questions for more advice from
19:03
either of you.
19:04
How can our listeners reach out to you and connect?
19:08
My email is accel.affinity1@gmail.com.
19:13
That's A-C-C-E-L dot A-F-F-I-N-I-T-Y one at gmail.com.
19:20
I will also start with an email and then if you reach out
19:24
we can communicate whatever works best for you.
19:27
So I'm going to go with j-s-c-h-e-f-f-e-r-@sps186.org.
19:41
I am certain that some of our listeners are going to hear
19:44
about your experiences and especially some of those
19:47
experiences with Golden Apple and Teach Plus and mentoring
19:52
in general in terms of how can I learn more?
19:56
So we appreciate that so much.
20:00
Well, thank you, both of you, for being our guests today.
20:03
It's been a great conversation.
20:05
We also want to thank our listeners for joining us.
20:08
They come from all over the country,
20:10
and actually we are heard in over 30 other countries
20:13
besides the United States.
20:15
So if you found this episode helpful,
20:18
share it with a fellow teacher,
20:19
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20:24
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20:25
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20:31
Each week,
20:32
we will share a helpful resource that you can download and
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20:38
For example, look for the Tuesday Teacher Resource,
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and also check out our Thursday Thought to keep you
20:44
motivated.
20:45
And remember, as a new teacher, we are here to support you.