NOTHING GOOD COMES EASY
MENTORING
Being a mentor is its own reward. But it does take up valuable time.
If you want to mentor, read some of AFEE’s notes and tips on how to be Socratic in a 30-minute meeting. Upon reading this you’ll learn how to be more effective – and efficient – in advising and mentoring those seeking your advice.
TEACHING
Case teaching requires a big commitment of time, particularly for a beginner. A beginning teacher can easily spend ten hours preparing to lead a single ninety-minute case discussion. If your class meets twice a week, that would mean twenty-three hours of preparation and teaching. Add time for evaluating comments after class and marking assignments (if you don't have a teaching assistant), and the total will reach twenty-five to thirty hours a week. When you teach the same case in a subsequent semester, preparation time will fall by 50 percent or more.
Case teaching requires a commitment to put your students first. You are promising to teach and mentor them. The stakes are high when young people trust you to guide them. Teachers at Acton promise their students: "Apart from my own family, nothing comes ahead of you this semester." You might meet this commitment with regular office hours or a promise of prompt responses to phone or e-mail requests. Budget time for connecting with students, and let them know what to expect.
And, of course, case teaching requires the commitment to wade into discomfort for the sake of growth, to try new things in a field where you have been an expert (and where you want to look good). Competency develops outside your comfort zone. Progress often feels (and looks) awkward. Commit to sticking with it.
Does it seem daunting? It should, but the rewards far outweigh the costs.