For educators who have journeyed through the mentoring program and the CTT circles and have continued in their work in South Dakota schools, the pathway of growth does not need to end. This is, in fact, a key shift in thinking as educators move from a more “Western” or linear model of growth toward a more “indigenous” or cyclical model (Stairs, 1994). Educators will help their students, native and non-native, to view learning in more holistic ways. These ways push against segmenting academic growth and move toward broader “life” connections. Teachers will begin to see professional activity as intimately connected with personal gifts, passions and lives. The CTT circle’s primary aim is to help individuals live into what Parker Palmer calls the “Hidden Wholeness” (Palmer, 2004) that is at the core of each person. In a practical sense, it is the bringing together of “soul and role” when an educator finds himself or herself finally at home teaching rather than feeling, as many new teachers do, like a “fake.” The following elements of the WoLakota project are designed to encourage an on-going commitment to growth among the participating educators.

Mentor Training Course  Mentees who have completed the CTT seasonal retreats may enroll in the Mentor Training course to begin the process of becoming a mentor .

Mentor Work (invitational). Participants who have completed the CTT seasonal retreats and successfully finished the Mentoring Course may be invited to join the pool of mentors who work with incoming new teachers or pre-service teachers.

Check out our NEW WoLakota Project Professional Development for Educators page HERE!