Mentoring Workshop

“Always remember,” declared Pope Benedict XVI in an address to educators, “that teaching is not just about communicating content, but about forming young people.”

Teaching is an essentially personal profession. The matter of its art is the human person—born with intellect and will, a heart full of feelings and passions, and a deep yearning for a transcendent purpose which often evades his grasp.

To teach is to form: it is to help another discover what he truly believes and really wants, become who he most truly is, and realize that he can choose to grow no matter where he currently is. It is to assist another in finding practical ways to grow, here and now, with an eye to the transcendent ideals that animate his being. The fruit of such formation is real freedom. Rather than someone who merely follows rules out of a rote sense of duty, gritting his teeth to fulfill obligations imposed on him, the fruit of such formation is someone who does good because he wants to do good—because he feels like it, to paraphrase St. Josemaria.

This task, difficult though it may be, is what teaching is all about. In this way, every teacher is a mentor. Rather than an optional addition, mentoring is essential to teaching, such that if a teacher is to fulfill his professional calling, he must find ways—fitted to his circumstances—to impact his students beyond teaching a particular discipline.

The purpose of this workshop is to share ways in which teachers can be more intentional, thoughtful, and reflective in their role as mentors. Whether or not you teach at a school with a formal mentoring program, our hope is that this workshop will challenge you to expand the horizon of how you imagine your work as a teacher, as well as to equip you with some practical strategies for putting these aspirations into effect.