ChildCare Education Institute® (CCEI), an online child care training provider dedicated exclusively to the early care and education workforce, offers ADM108: The Mentoring Process: Developing Professionalism from Within as a no-cost trial course to new CCEI users January 1-31, 2018.
The word mentor comes from Greek Mythology. Mentor was the name of a close advisor and trusted friend of Odysseus, the legendary Greek king. According to the myth, before Odysseus left for war he asked Mentor to work with his son, Telemachus. Mentor became Telemachus’s teacher and guided him to manhood. Since this time, the word mentor has come to signify the role played by a close and trusted guide. Today, the word mentor is applied in many contexts. Some mentor relationships begin informally, while some are initiated through formal mentoring programs. Mentor programs are used with great success in high−poverty areas to help disadvantaged or troubled youth, or anywhere a young person needs some guidance and support from a responsible, stable adult. There are companies and websites devoted to matching mentors to mentees and designing workplace mentoring programs.
A good center director should possess qualities of a good mentor. As the leader of a group of employees, the director often acts as a trusted guide. However, the director is certainly not the only qualified or necessary mentor in the center. There are many opportunities for other employees to step into the role of mentor, to support coworkers and help orient new employees to the center. This frees the director to focus on other aspects of the business and remain in a position of authority.
This course examines the benefits of mentoring in the development and maintenance of a high-quality early childhood program. In particular, participants will learn how to manage a formal mentoring system to aid in the professional development and retention of highly qualified teachers and a collaborative approach among staff.
“Mentoring brings benefits for mentors and mentees alike, and there are really no serious drawbacks or risks to encouraging mentoring in the workplace, whether on a formal or informal basis, as part of a serious “continuous improvement” philosophy in a high−quality early childhood program,” says Maria C. Taylor, President and CEO of CCEI.
ADM108: The Mentoring Process: Developing Professionalism from Within is a one-hour, beginner-level course and grants 0.1 IACET CEU upon successful completion. Current CCEI users with active, unlimited annual subscriptions can register for professional development courses at no additional cost when logged in to their CCEI account. Users without subscriptions can purchase child care training courses as block hours through CCEI online enrollment.
For more information, visit www.cceionline.edu or call 1.800.499.9907, prompt 3, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. EST
