Mentorship and Education: Realities, Support, and Representation
As an educator, your experience is marked by several realities, including: 1 in 8 roles being currently unfulfilled, making the most of limited resources, burnout resulting from the overarching teacher shortage, and a lack of support. In this episode of The Ruth and Scott Podcast, Ruth and Scott explore these challenges and more, diving into the numbers and what’s behind them. Also explored in this episode are: the changes in education that have happened since and as a result of COVID-19, factors contributing to teachers leaving the field of education, lower numbers of educators entering the field, and the transformational keys of mentorship and representation.
Interested in a topic you want Ruth and Scott to talk about on an upcoming episode of the podcast? Email us at admin@podcast.votmg.org. We look forward to hearing from you!
FAQ
Why become a teacher?
Teachers have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of students. Here are a couple of the other benefits of being a teacher:
- Mission-alignment of making a positive difference in the lives of students
- 2 months of potential downtime during the Summer
- Having off for major holidays
What are some of the factors contributing to the teacher shortage?
COVID-19 and the changes that came with it changed the educational landscape. Remote access to teaching and learning was part of this change. Another part was the lack of respect and support teachers felt during this time that, in some ways, was never corrected for. Society as a whole also doesn’t necessarily do the best job with highlighting the importance of the role, with lessthan 18% of Americans willing to encourage others to go into the field of education.
As an admin, what do I need to be mindful of when recruiting educators?
In this episode, Dr. Scott Gostchock shares stories from his over 31 years of educational and community service in cross-cultural, inner-city, and urban education settings as a teacher, administrator, and community activist. Some of the factors identified in his conversation with Ruth include:
- Intentional mentorship and representation in mentorship
- Embracing the positives that come from teacher service
- Managing expectations so recruits aren’t caught off-guard by challenges
- Establishing and clearly presenting pathways for career advancement
- Help second-career educators better understand what stepping into a role as an educator looks like and how to navigate certification.
Dive deeper into the importance of mentorship with this episode from The Ruth and Scott Podcast Blog.
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