find a mentor

I have moved on to mentor #3, found through mentor #2. The others are still in in the background, but it looks as though I will be working more directly with #3, and on a regular, practical basis. She gave me some homework so I have some things to think about for next week’s session. I think she will have a lot to teach me about curriculum design. I will have to reign her in sometimes because sometimes her brainstorming ideas don’t fit well with my realities (she doesn’t know my field very well).

Some day when I have done a lot of job-related mentoring stuff I’d like to move on and get a coach for the rest of my career-related issues. But I have enough to work on at the moment. I would also like to work with a clutter consultant, or personal organizer, or even hire someone with library skills to get a lot of my materials in a usable system. But all that costs money, which I don’t have at the moment. Fortunately, the mentor(s) I am working with aren’t costing me anything (which is amazing, really).

not sure if this should be changed to find a therapist! ...It would be nice to have someone that was always there and encouraging of my ventures – it’s just a shame that you have pay for something like this?

ha ha, just realised it makes me sound like I’ve got no friends! ...I have it’s just that they like to talk about themselves and don’t really understand what I do.

Hey ho, such is life.

I had a meeting today with potential mentor #2 (and one this morning with mentor #1). Mentor #1 told me to beware of making myself into too much of a project, which I guess makes sense, but it feels good to talk to someone not at work (which mentor #1 is).

Mentor #2 seems to be more practical. Mentor #1 listens to my reflections to get at where I’m having professional blockage. Which is funny, because he isn’t really at all the touchy-feely type.

I look forward to the day when I don’t really need either of them, but it is good to have them for now.

one, I seem to have found one for now.

This semester I will be meeting weekly with my supervisor to talk to him about the previous teaching week and telling him how it went and why I think that. I think that these will be helpful, although of course he is my supervisor and internal, which may have some limitations. In the meantime I also called my old coach at the CTL at my old university who is sending me some contact information for local teaching consultants. I’m hoping that it won’t cost too much to do this, but it might make me feel better, and less alone with all of this.

In Makeup.

Here is what I could do:

1. call GM for advice
2. maybe talk to SH, adjunct here, but a colleague with more experience than I
3. talk to EN back in CH; he will at least give me a pep talk, and perhaps break down some things into doable steps

The most important potential mentors are influential and successful people you have bonded with in the past. Once you put your mind to it, you’d be surprised who you know and how helpful they will be.

Well I’m off to Hong Kong this w/e to visit friends and they’re the closest I’ve had to a mentor so hopefully I’m going to pick up some ‘life tips’ :)

Well I have a mentor now…he is ok…I guess hopefully next semester I get a better one! :P