What difference does mentoring make for Christian teachers?
We encourage teachers to look for and take advantage of opportunities to influence students one-on-one and in small groups. But even before such opportunities arise, we encourage teachers to view students through the lens of relationality rather than simply through the lens of content conveyance. We call this a “mentoring mindset” because it helps teachers view their students as mentors would view their mentorees-with warmth, caring, support, and acceptance, as well as honesty, a goal-orientation and a focus on accountability. Such relational skills are conclusively and overwhelmingly related to student success. Consider just a few insights from the volumes of academic research on the subject: • Interpersonal relationship skills of teachers were significantly associated with achievement motivation and self-esteem of students. • Students’ sense of being liked, respected and valued by a teacher predicted whether they would value the subject matter and expect success. • Students who belie
