The Importance of Mentors

Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash

Recently,  I attended an Eagle Scout Court of Honor for the son of a close friend. I knew that
his achievement  was very special, but  I didn't realize how emotional the ceremony would be. The part that touched me the most was when my friend's son gave out "mentor pins" to three people who helped him achieve his goal of becoming an Eagle Scout.

As  I dabbed the tears welling in my eyes, I started thinking about the three people who have most influenced my career as a school librarian and educator. While there are many people who have had a  positive influence on me over the years, my three "mentor pins" go to my mother, Ann Swift; my predecessor in the library, Mary Lou Purpura; and a phenomenal teacher and  dear friend, Barbara Kistner.

My first mentor is my mom, a retired science teacher. I know that my mom was a great teacher because I was actually in her science class in 7th grade in Saint Thomas the Apostle School in Bloomfield. It was a little awkward having my mom as my teacher. After all, every  teen thinks his or her parent is "cringey." (That's teen-speak for cringeworthy. I think the fact that I am attempting to use teen slang is "cringey" in and of itself, but that's probably the subject of another post.) I learned a lot of science from my mom, but I learned greater lessons from her when I became a teacher myself. My mom taught me to never make a child feel small. It's easy to do, but it is wrong. She also taught me that even a veteran teacher has something to learn from the new teachers on staff. When she won Teacher of the Year at her school, she told me it was because I had been helping her on the computer as I started my teaching career. I'm sure my technology lessons helped a little bit, but she was then and is now far too humble. Technology doesn't make a teacher great; a great teacher uses technology to make his or her teaching even better. Thanks, Mom. I'm happy I can follow in your footsteps.

My second mentor is Mary Lou Purpura, who was the school librarian at HBW for many years before I took over the position. Mary Lou is graciousness personified. She is a gifted storyteller who made every book sound appealing, but she did more than tell great stories; Mary Lou always took the time to listen to YOUR story. Mary Lou taught me that the key to collaboration is forming relationships. Take the time to listen to your coworkers' stories. Open your heart and befriend your grade level partner or the teacher down the hall. Your teaching will be better if you do.  The friendships that I have formed in the past 16 years at HBW are very, very important to me. As the saying goes, you can't pour from an empty cup. Take care of each other. Your students need you, but you can't give them your understanding, encouragement, and support if you let the stress of life wear you down. I will be forever grateful to Mary Lou for building an amazing library program so I could hit the ground running, but I am also in her debt for the example she set. People say the library is the hub of the school; I say it is the heart of the school. As Aristotle said, "Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all." Thank you, Mary Lou.

My final mentor is Barbara Kistner, who taught at HBW for many years. Sadly, Barbara passed away in 2015. Barbara was special in so many ways, but the greatest lesson I learned from her was to be a fighter. Barbara never fought for selfish motives like a better class schedule or a bigger classroom. When she retired due to her illness, she was a traveling teacher without her own classroom. But Barbara always had the courage to do the right thing and speak up even when no one else would. A few years ago an author who visited  our school made a remark that offended a student. I demanded an apology from that author and would not back down until he acquiesced. I'll never forget Barbara telling me that she was proud of me and that she didn't know that I had that in me. Through Barbara's eyes I began to see myself as someone who could advocate passionately for our students. Thank you, Barbara.

I think everyone should BE a mentor and HAVE a mentor. It's good for the soul. Lately, Carol Thomas has been a very special mentor to me. Thank you, Carol, for listening and for being someone I can look up to. Who am I trying to mentor right now? I will mentor anyone who is willing to listen. 

I have a postcard on my desk that says, "In this classroom, everyone is a student and everyone is a teacher."  I hope that I can always be humble enough to learn and kind enough to teach.