Becoming an Intentional Mentee
How to make your pre-service teaching experience even better
Dearest Preservice Teachers,
As you begin your time in the faculty of education, you may be thinking a lot about where you’ll be placed—what school, what grade, whose classroom.
Those details matter.
But they are not the whole story.
You are not just being placed.
You are being invited.
Invited into a profession.
Invited into relationships.
Invited into learning that extends far beyond the classroom you are assigned.
A mentor, in its simplest form, is someone who helps another learn. And while you will likely be paired with a host or associate teacher, mentorship is not confined to that one relationship. It lives in the hallway conversations, the staffroom moments, the quick exchanges between classes. It shows up in the way a student surprises you, challenges you, and teaches you.
You are there to learn—not only from the room you’re in, but from the people you encounter.
From the teacher down the hall who invites you to observe.
From the educational assistant who understands a student in ways no one else does.
From the students in any grade who let you see learning from their perspective.
From the clubs, teams, and committees that shape a school’s life.
Mentorship supports professional learning by creating personalized, relational spaces for growth. It allows educators to learn with and from each other—sharing experiences, reflecting on practice, and building confidence and capacity over time.
It turns professional learning from something we attend into something we live.
And this is where your role becomes essential.
Being a mentee is not passive. It is not about waiting to be taught. It is about how you show up.
The questions you ask.
The risks you take.
The reflections you hold onto.
The feedback you choose to act on.
All of it comes down to what I often think of as your mentorability—your willingness to be open, curious, and responsive to learning in all its forms.
You may not be able to control your placement.
But you can shape your experience.
This work asks a lot of you.
It will stretch you.
It will change you.
It will take you somewhere- but it is you who decides on your destinations.
But you are not just preparing to become a teacher.
You are already becoming one—through every interaction, every observation, every moment you choose to lean in instead of step back.
You hold on to what you brought with you. Add all these encounters to your talents, your enthusiasm, your vision.
So be present.
Be curious.
Be open to learning from anyone and everyone.
Because mentorship is not something that happens to you.
It is something that happens through you.
With you in mentorship,
Noa Daniel and Iolanda Volpe
 | A guest post by
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