<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en">
<html>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
I think the short answer is ...bad controlling idea. i think the
long answer is....what a fantastic opportunity. I think that opening
space for the relationships to unfold within could be a very valuable exercise...I'm
sure needs and passions would come forward that you could never have planned
for otherwise. And the relationships will be that much more meangingful.
<p>I agree with others in letting people propose the topics they wish to
convene around. For sure the needs of the teachers will come forward,
and the mentors may find themselves alone in a group if their passion is
not shared by others. The other benefit of opeing the space is that
the line between teacher and mentor will probably become blurred...not
a bad thing for the operatives in any educational system to experience.
<p>But don't tell them this ;-)
<p>Chris
<br>
<br>
<p>Rhett Hudson/Chris Weaver wrote:
<blockquote TYPE=CITE>Hi people!
<p>I'm excited today about a new application of OS that emerged in a meeting
this morning. I'd love feedback, especially on one particular aspect.
<p>I'm working with a program called NCTeach, in North Carolina, which
is a newly-created way for people working in other fields to switch careers
and become public school teachers. We have about 175 people statewide
who are making this bold transition. They are currently in an intense
summer graduate program at six sites across the state.
<p>I am helping to develop the structure for a mentoring program to support
these new teachers. Mentors for new teachers are commonly assigned
in a one-to-one relationship; experienced teachers are paired up with new
teachers. They drop by for scheduled or unscheduled meetings at the
school. Often the chemistry is not right, and the mentee-mentor relationship
becomes another source of stress for the new teacher.
<p>Here's what I imagined today: What if all the mentors and all
the new teachers at a particular site (say, 25 of each) attended a half-day
(or more if we can) Open Space to start things off. The focus groups
would be convened around the needs of the new teachers. Useful relationships
would be formed, but not in a one-to-one fashion; the new teachers would
leave that event with the names and contact info for ALL the mentors, and
with relationships with several of them based on their OS interactions.
<p>>From then on, the new teachers would choose when, how, and from whom
they would need help. Mentors could be paid for <i>being available,</i>
and, hopefully, for attending regular mini-open-spaces with the new teachers
throughout the school year.
<p>So: Has anyone else done this type of thing as an alternative
structure of a mentorship?
<p>And, here's my specific question: During the first OS, I am considering
inviting <i>only the new teachers</i> to convene focus groups. On
one level this feels heretical to the spirit of Open Space. But on
another level I want to deliberately break the set-up of the mentors being
the experts. I want the whole program to be oriented around the needs
of the new teachers, not around the expertise of the mentors. In
my current thinking, requesting that the mentors not convene focus groups
but instead to simply attend the ones to which they feel they can contribute
the most would serve to empower the new teachers. WOULD YOU DO THIS?
Or is it a bad controlling idea?
<p>Thanks a lot!
<p>-Chris Weaver</blockquote>
<p>--
<br>CHRIS CORRIGAN
<br>108-1035 Pacific Street
<br>Vancouver BC
<br>V6E 4G7
<p>Phone: 604.683.3080
<br>Fax: 604.683.3036
<br>
</body>
</html>