“Ecologists tell us that a tree planted in a clearing of an old forest will grow more successfully than one planted in an open field. The reason, it seems, is that the roots of the forest trees are able to follow the intricate pathways created by former trees and thus embed themselves more deeply. Indeed, over time, the roots of many trees may actually graft themselves to one another, creating an interdependent mat of life hidden beneath the earth’s surface.”    Parks Daloz, 2012, p. xii

As I begin to reorient myself towards the return to school, I am struck by the pull of being allowed to gather again. As Daloz describes so beautifully above, I too feel like I grow more successfully planted in amongst my colleagues and broader community than I do alone.

In this post, and with the return in mind, I want to focus on mentoring, because now more than ever I believe that we all need in-person access to the root system beneath us. Particularly those who are new to their role or context. It’s vital that they are purposefully woven into the web, so they’re able to draw on the root systems of the more experienced practitioners.

Like the mature trees in the forest, mentors bring a deeply-rooted contextual knowledge and understanding that they have developed through experience and over time. The mentor knows what specific resources and ‘nutrients’ are necessary to thrive in that particular context or section of the forest. So purposefully establishing the space and time for this dynamic between the mentee and mentor to get established is vital, as it fortifies the resilience and sustainability of the whole system, school, or team.

Now more than ever, our mentees need a mentor, like the saplings need the forest, to help sustain the new growth that’s going to come with this new year, and which, for many, also includes a new school, new team and/or new role.

What are the key factors that contribute to this need?

• the complexity of current teaching and leadership roles at all levels and the inherent expectations, responsibilities, and challenges specific to each level
• the support and encouragement needed for new teachers and leaders on their steep learning curve to get beyond the “sink or swim” imperative and focus on learning and growth
• the desire to overcome the culture of isolation, through fostering a culture of encouragement and support for new teachers and leaders, building rich professional networks
• the reality that face-to-face learning and mentoring are the most favoured ways of learning by all generations, including Generation X and the Millennials (Meister & Willyerd, 2010)

Within mentoring, as within education, our focus is ultimately about supporting others in learning and growing, as they build their capacities. While we claim this, often we continue to fill the vessel instead of inviting the vessel to fill itself.

Follow us on social media for further inspiration and reminders on how to help the vessel fill itself and how to be an effective mentor.