Mentorship: Why Every New Instructor Needs One

Formal training teaches a new instructor how to run a course to standard, but the countless smaller judgment calls - how to handle a nervous student, how to read a group's energy, how to manage an awkward equipment issue mid-dive - are learned far faster with a mentor than alone. The most valuable mentorships tend to be informal and ongoing rather than a single scheduled session: a more experienced instructor who is genuinely available to answer a quick question after a difficult course, or who proactively offers feedback after observing a session, rather than only stepping in when something goes wrong. New instructors who have this kind of relationship tend to build confidence and good habits noticeably faster than those left to figure everything out through trial and error alone. For experienced instructors, mentoring is also worth taking seriously as part of the job, not just a favour. The standard a centre or a Course Director sets for how new instructors are supported directly shapes the quality of instructors that centre produces for years afterward - mentorship is quality control with a long memory.