MIPA Mentors: Bringing experienced advisers together with less experienced ones!

How the Program Works:

Advising can be a lonely job, but MIPA is here to help. In 2004 the MIPA board began a mentorship program for new advisers or those with only a few years of advising experience. Since then more than 60 beginning journalism advisers have been paired with experienced advisers from around the state.

Many new advisers who have participated in this program say they and their students benefited the relationship they developed with their mentor.

If you are a new or almost new adviser and would like the services of a mentor for next school year, please send your name, e-mail address, school name and type of publication you advise (newspaper, yearbook, video production, web publication, literary magazine) to this e-mail address: satterth@dexter.k12.mi.us.

When we have a mentor for you we will send more details. This is as an excellent opportunity for beginning advisers to have a supportive and open dialogue on all aspects of advising. As a mentee, your job would simply entail contacting your mentor whenever questions arise about advising or whenever you’re looking for a sympathetic ear.

We are also looking for mentors. If you’ve advised successfully for a while, please consider lending your help to those who could benefit from it. If you’d like to be a mentor, please send your name e-mail address, school name and type of publication you’d be willing to mentor for (newspaper, yearbook, video production, web publication, literary magazine) to satterth@dexter.k12.mi.us.

When we have a mentee assigned to you, we will contact you with more details. As a mentor, you job would be to answer questions from your mentee in a timely, professional fashion, as well as lending a sympathetic ear when needed. You would also be asked to make contact with your mentee at least once per quarter during the school year to offer your support and encouragement.

Being a Good Mentor:

  • Be sure you have time to give to your mentee.The most common complaint from mentees last year was that their mentor didn’t get back to them in a timely manner. If you are too busy to respond to a new adviser’s questions quickly, you probably shouldn’t be a mentor.
  • Consider meeting your mentee face to face. Many mentors had their mentees visit them at their school to see how their program is run. This is a valuable way for new advisers to get a feel for how an experienced adviser runs a journalism classroom. If this doesn’t work, consider meeting for coffee once a month to allow your mentee time to bounce ideas off you.
  • Critique your mentee’s publication. Some mentors suggested this as a valuable learning experience for the mentor, the mentee, and the mentee’s staff. Hold high standards but be kind. Remember your mentee is just starting out and too much negative feedback could cause them to feel negative or hopeless.
  • Start a publication exchange with your mentee. Let them see your paper, yearbook, magazine or video production so they can learn from it.
  • Meet up with your mentee at MIPA or JEA conventions. Give your mentee someone they can sit with at lunch or attend a session with. Help them feel connected to MIPA and scholastic journalism.

Being a Good Mentee:

  • If you want help from your mentor, be sure to ask for it. Publications advisers are among the busiest people on earth, and the biggest complaint that mentors had last year is they felt they had to initiate too much of the mentoring. Your mentor will contact you at least once per marking period to see how things are going but are there for you whenever you need help. Use them.
  • Don’t sign up if you don’t really want the help. Some mentors were frustrated that their mentee never contacted them despite repeated efforts on their part.
  • Thank your mentor for their help. Many mentors gave up multiple hours of time to help their mentees. Be sure to recognize them for this effort.
  • Contact the MIPA office or Rod Satterthwaite, mentoring coordinator, at the first sign of a bad mentoring relationship. We have more mentors than mentees, and if something isn’t going right, we can easily pair you with someone else.

Forms:

About MIPA

Michigan Interscholastic Press Association was founded in 1921. A service organization dedicated to working with teachers and students to enhance student media, MIPA is housed in the School of Journalism at Michigan State University.

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