Chain of Command

Jill graduated with a degree in elementary education from a small college in Nebraska. She never thought she could afford the costs of attending a university until she enlisted in the local National Guard. This gave her the opportunity to complete her degree while serving her country at various times throughout the year. Upon graduation, her unit was called to serve overseas for 18 months.  She was more than proud to serve knowing it would make her a better person when she eventually secured a teaching position. In fact, her duties included a component of teaching English to local citizens in the country where she was deployed.  At the end of the 18 months, her unit was reassigned to another country where she then served for 12 more months.

“I didn’t see my service in the National Guard at all as an interruption to my career. It really helped me to solidify my knowledge about teaching and gave me a totally different perspective on life. Although I was never in a combat zone, I enjoyed the team building experiences and camaraderie of my fellow soldiers. It was a terrific experience.  I looked forward to bringing back my experiences to the classroom.”

After Jill’s military service, she immediately began applying for teaching positions.  She was offered three positions in schools that she liked. She selected the school that was equipped with several high tech computer labs and other cutting edge teaching tools that were available for all teachers to use.  This school also had an extensive new teacher induction program that offered a lot of assistance to beginning instructors.

“The school was fantastic. I was afraid that I would teach at a school that was not as ‘wired’ as what my training in the military and university afforded me.  My mentor, Chris, was also a great match and he spent a good deal of time during the summer helping me with all the things a new teacher needs to know. She had ten years of experience and had already set up her room early in the summer, so she was able to spend some good chunks of time with me.”

It wasn’t too long before Jill realized that her mentor was being more than helpful.  In fact, she was starting to wonder if the advice Chris was giving her was not only a bit too much, but also too narrow in focus. Jill began to see a pattern of suggestion that closely resembled Chris’s way of teaching.  Jill felt pressure to mimic the way that Chris was teaching.  Chris turned controlling.  If Jill diverged from Chris’s plans, she was scolded by Chris.

“It was actually starting to get kind of frightening to hear her comments and thoughts about how I should conduct my lessons.  After being in the military for almost three years, I really thought I would enter a career that gave me a lot more independence and freedom to select my own teaching strategies.  Even though I was closely following the school district curriculum and state goals, Chris would often give me her set of lesson plans to execute with the students along with very specific methods to follow. I wasn’t quite sure how to handle this as I thought she was really infringing on my space.  Even though she was mostly friendly and casual about it, nonetheless, I often felt compelled to follow her directions because when I didn’t, she would be disappointed or sometimes angry.”

Jill eventually contacted the director of the new teacher induction program who had originally set up the mentor/teacher pairs. She was concerned that the director would not handle the situation professionally, and that an intervention with Chris would not go over so well. The director said he would set up a meeting for the three of them to discuss how best to resolve the situation so that Jill would feel more comfortable working with Chris as the year progressed.

Questions

1. Although mentors rarely try to consciously “clone” themselves with their mentee, it can often appear to be that way in the eyes of the new teacher. How should Jill handle this situation if, in fact, she felt she was being “cloned” by her mentor?
2. What are some specific issues a mentor may need to beware of when working with a former military person?  Does this change the relationship in any ways?
3. If a new teacher/mentor pair is not working out, what kind of “exit” procedures should an induction program provide in order to reassign a new mentor?
4. What is the fine line for a mentor when it comes to helping out and forcing too much help?  Can this line be definitive, or is it this aspect of mentoring too subjective?

Another Look

People with military experience often make great teachers.  Jill is clearly an enthusiastic teacher who wants to succeed in all that she does in the classroom.   Jill’s previous experience is certainly not the norm for teachers new to the profession.  Mentors need to be aware that a new teacher with military experience is a highly qualified candidate for a teaching position.  In a survey of 875 principles across the nation who supervised teachers with military experience, the results speak for themselves; “Sixty-seven percent…said [teachers with military experience] were better prepared to teach than their peers; 72 percent said ex-military teachers dealt better with parents.” So why do ex-military teachers have such a high success rate in the classroom?  The answer is based on the qualities that have led to successful military careers.  Here is what a mentor can expect of a new teacher with military training:

• “determination and discipline, maturity and experience” - i
• “a refusal to surrender, an armor of self-confidence” - i
• “When there is a concern or a problem, they know the channels to go through” - i
• The ability to mulit-task
• Eric Combs, an assistant principal in Ohio explains that ““Most people in the military know how to work in an austere environment and a hostile environment and to be project-oriented and to get the task done.” ii
• The military is a culturally diverse environment.  Ex-military teachers are sensitive to diverse communities in schools.
• Leadership skillsiii
• Motivationiii
• Independence tempered with the ability to seek out help when needed - ii

Mentors can better serve the needs of ex-military new teachers when they understand the skill set and qualities that they possess; furthermore, mentors aid the entire educational community by encouraging new teachers to use these skills.  Of course, many new teachers without military experience still have these qualities, but it is important to understand that military men and women come from a background where these qualities are essential for success.