What does it take to be a good mentor to a preservice or new music educator?  Mary Jane Belz, a teacher-educator and MENC member, lists some ideal attributes for the job:

• “I recommend that a mentor have at least a master’s degree, be knowledgeable about current, time-honored, and respected trends in teaching music in the mentee’s area (for example, elementary and middle school vocal or instrumental, middle school general, high school general, vocal, instrumental).
   
• A good mentor is a trained music educator and is aware of both current and traditional ideas in child development, legal issues affecting educators, educational psychology, classroom management, and discipline techniques.
   
• The best mentors are usually master teachers who have considerable successful teaching experience in the mentee’s area.
   
•  An effective mentor has sufficient time to devote to mentoring and can be available on a daily basis, if necessary, for giving advice and guidance.
   
•  Ideally, a mentor is a music educator who is financially compensated for his or her time and expertise, thereby reinforcing the idea that mentor services are respected and valued because of the important impact they will certainly have on future teachers.”
   

MENC member Mary Jane Belz is an associate professor of music education at the University of Montana, Missoula. Her doctoral dissertation, accepted in December 1994 by the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, is titled "The German Gesangverein as a Model of Life-Long Participation in Music.”

What qualities do you believe a good mentor needs? You can discuss this on the Higher Ed / Admin / Research Forum.

Resource:  For more information on mentoring, check out the article by Mac Randall, “Voices of Experience,” in the August 2008 Teaching Music, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 48-52.

--Ella Wilcox, Oct 29, 2008, © MENC: The National Association for Music Education (www.menc.org)