TITLE: Teachers and Mentors
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: April 27, 2011  6:12 PM
DESC: 
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BODY:
I'm fortunate to have good relationships with a number
of former students, many of whom I've mentioned here
over the years.  Some are now close friends.  To
others, I am still as their teacher, and we interact
in much the same way as we did in the classroom.  They
keep me apprised of their careers and occasionally ask
for advice.

I'm honored to think that a few former students might
think of me as their mentor.

<IMG SRC="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog-images/art/telemachus-and-mentor.jpg"
     ALT="classic image of Telemachus and Mentor"
     ALIGN="right"
     WIDTH="200" />

Steve Blank recently captured the difference between
teacher and mentor as well as I've seen.  Reflecting
back to the beginning of his career, he considered
what made his relationships with his mentors different
from the relationship he had with his teachers, and
different from the relationship his own students have
with him now.  It came down to
<A HREF="http://steveblank.com/2011/04/19/mentors-coaches-and-teachers/">
   this</A>: 

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
I was giving as good as I was getting.  While I was
learning from them -- and their years of experience
and expertise -- what I was giving back to them was
equally important.  I was bringing fresh insights to
their data.  It wasn't that I was just more up to
date on current technology, markets or trends; it
was that I was able to recognize patterns and bring
new perspectives to what these very smart people
already knew.  In hindsight, mentorship is a
synergistic relationship.
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

In many ways, it's easier for a teacher to remain a
teacher to his former students than to become a mentor.
The teacher still feels a sense of authority and shares
his wisdom when asked.  The role played by both teacher
and student remains essentially the same, and so the
relationship doesn't need to change.  It also doesn't
get to grow.

There is nothing wrong with this sort of relationship,
nothing at all.  I enjoy being a teacher to some of
my once and future students.  But there is a depth to
a mentorship that makes it special and harder to come
by.  A mentor gets to learn just as much as he teaches.
The connection between mentor and young colleague does
not feel as formal as the teacher/learner relationship
one has in a classroom.  It really is the engagement
of two colleagues at different stages in their careers,
sharing and learning together.

Blank's advice is sound.  If what you need is a coach
or a teacher, then try to find one of those.  Seek a
mentor when you need something more, and when you are
ready and willing to contribute to the relationship.

As I said, it's an honor when a former student thinks
of me as a mentor, because that means not only do they
value my knowledge, expertise, and counsel but also
they are willing to share their knowledge, expertise,
and experience with me.
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