A more professional model of mentoring would include mentors who can model the continual struggle to keep learning on the job and to be their personal best. Not only is that approach less of a professional development opportunity for staff, but it does not promote collaboration and it risks creating the appearance of elitism and the potential of a negative backlash from staff who seek closer, more collegial relationships and less isolation. In a professional approach to mentoring the mentor's growth is as important a goal as the growth of the new employee. The mentor's development takes place in the open so that it may serve as a model that we all need to keep learning. Establishing close mentor-protege relationships creates the safety necessary for both persons to risk learning and growing along side of each other.
Training is needed to facilitate building that kind of mentoring relationship.
Mentors also need to understand that working with adults requires new skills which are not learned in most classrooms, so training and on-going support of mentors becomes even more critical. Since growth for both mentor and protege is the goal, the differences between the mentor and protege increase the opportunities to learn as well as the need to learn to value and use that diversity as a strength. Training and on-going support are crucial in this developmental process as well. Sweeny describes that mentoring in District 200 uses a combination of induction, effective instruction, AND the modeling of continual professional growth. This approach has begun to change the culture of the school because it promotes increased professional sharing and collaboration, qualities which are very appealing to teachers.