Special Topics Colleagues,

Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt wrote:
  I am not trying to generalize, but is it ALMOST safe to say that anyone who supports you and gives you good advice that helps you move along in life is a mentor?  If so...I have a LOT of people to thank!!!  : )
There is a wide range of informal mentor relationships (for example with guides, coaches, tutors, supervisors, and others) that I hope many in our field have had and are having. There are also formal adult literacy education mentor relationships like those that Joy Zamierowski described, that take place in Pennsylvania. (Is Pennsylvania the only state that has formal adult literacy mentorships?)  Some of these informal or formal relationships are intentionally created to mentor new or emerging leaders.Informal ones may be initiated by an experienced leader or by an emerging leader or both. 

One of the purposes of this discussion is to find, profile, and promote examples of both these informal and formal leadership mentorings in our field. I also hope it may cause some people to actively develop these relationships. I hope that emerging leaders, for example, will ask people they believe have the skills, knowledge and experience they need to be their mentors. I hope that some who have these skills, knowledge and experience will offer to be mentors to others. I hope, perhaps using the Professional Development discussion list, and/or the Adult Literacy Education Wiki, we can find, create, and make available some good mentoring tools, both for formal and informal mentors and mentees.


>From this discussion we have a pretty good list of qualities, experiences, skills, and behaviors that adult literacy education leaders need. (I will update and post this later today.) This may, in some small way, advance leadership in our field. Taking mentoring seriously -- and devoting some resources to making formal mentorships happen -- might be another way to advance leadership. 


Perhaps you have other ideas. If so, let's hear them!

David J. Rosen
Special Topics Discussion Moderator
djrosen at the world.com
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