Mentor and Mentee

I have often written about the importance of new people reaching out to mentors, but many new people won’t do that because they may not know who the mentors are and/or are embarrassed to do so. Obviously, this should not be the case with the more experienced exhibitors in our community, and without a doubt those wishing to apply to judge a breed need to make full use of mentor opportunities.

The AKC has developed a system that requires those wishing to judge a breed to successfully complete a number of “Component Educational Units.” Attending a breed’s national specialty to participate in ringside mentoring, hands-on workshops and the breed’s judge’s educational seminar garners a good percentage of the required “CEUs.” Even more importantly, as the AKC says on its additional-breed application, “Attending a National is one of the best ways to learn a breed and develop confidence in one’s understanding of that breed.” Please note that it says LEARN A BREED, not just check a box!

Since that is the case, why are there not more people taking advantage of this opportunity? In order to get a picture of a cross-section of breeds, I requested feedback from a few significant breed representatives.

First, I want to clarify a couple of points. The mentor-mentee “relationship” is not a one-way street. The mentor should not be on his soapbox, soliloquizing. This should definitely be a give-and-take discussion, which requires the mentee to have done some preparation by speaking with breeders, reading the standard a few times, and watching entries at previous shows — whether that was ringside mentoring or not.

What should NOT happen is for the mentee to show up and EXPECT to just have “the form” signed. Mentors are not to rubber-stamp someone just because they showed up and sat ringside for a few minutes. Personally, I have refused to sign a form because I felt the person had not even paid attention to the judging, and both my wife and I have refused to sign BLANK forms. C’mon, people, if you don’t want to truly learn the breed, then please do not judge it. All you will be doing then is helping to destroy that breed — and we already have enough of that going on now.

A member of the judges-education committee for a low-entry breed believes the number of mentees attending the national has been relatively constant over the past few years, with that count being between six and 10, although their seminar in Orlando had 25 attendees. He believes the large groupings of seminars at show clusters such as Orlando, Houston and Portland have cut into attendance at nationals. He believes breed-seminar attendance could be improved by making sure the presentations are free and held at large show clusters.

Another JEC of a Sporting breed also says attendance has been relatively consistent at six to seven for their last two nationals. She agrees that multi-breed seminars are affecting those at national specialties: “I think many take advantage of the seminars/workshops where multiple Sporting breeds are offered, such as Houston and Orlando.” However, she also believes that attending a national with a seminar is most beneficial. I agree with her: Where else will you see the depth of quality that is shown at a national specialty?

Another JEC of a low-entry Sporting breed said, “This year we had decent attendance, as eight attended ringside observations and our seminar. Last year we had a sole attendee, which was very disappointing since it was in an area that is close to many metro centers.” He believes that one thing that has negatively affected mentee attendance at nationals is “the low number of ‘educational credits’ needed for low-entry breeds.” 

So, I ask you: Is this further indication that getting approved to judge a breed is more important than actually learning a breed and seeing a large entry? Unfortunately, the answer is YES.

Sometimes, clubs make it difficult or self-defeating to be either a mentor or mentee. A Hound breeder recounts this situation: “If the ‘judges’ education’ sees anyone other than an ‘approved’ parent-club mentor sitting ringside and discussing the breed with a judge, they will be asked to cease the conversation. I witnessed this last year … An AKC-licensed breeder-judge, good judge, talking with another judge wanting to apply for [breed]. He was asked to allow an approved mentor step in the discussion! Mentoring is very important. It should be an eye-opening time for people who want to learn and judge that breed. You can only learn from a great teacher, and great breeders make great mentors.”

A breeder talks about how difficult it is to meet the “requirements” to be a breed mentor in her Sporting breed. Of course, there needs to be a basis to be a mentor, but going to extremes is self-defeating, and good discussions with various breeders is not a bad thing. Learning from more than one person — assuming he or she is knowledgeable — is a good thing. Listen to a few “experts,” and then make up your own mind.

A Sporting dog breed mentor has some good points when he says, “Yes, there has been a major decline at the … national from a few years ago. Expense is always a factor, and I think availability of ADSJ, DJAA and other institutes featuring Sporting breeds provides more bang for the buck to those judges just seeking to ‘check the boxes.’ The opportunity to observe different age levels, styles, strengths and weaknesses prevalent in any breed is invaluable at a national. Hands-on opportunities greater than four examples (Institute criterion) are normally available at any national specialty.”

A breeder-judge identifies some mentoring problems that may extend past our community. “It is a sign of instant gratification, rampant in our society. I see too many new exhibitors and judges who don’t really want to understand the breed and the history of the dogs behind the dogs in the ring today. Winning is the most important result, and people go to the ‘winners’ of the day instead of breeders who have been successful for years. Many in my breed don’t even know our standard. When you ask, ‘What do you want to improve in your dog?’ many look at you with a blank stare and say nothing: My dog is perfect. Really? Too many mentors are very biased to their preferences and fail to point out the good qualities in competitors’ dogs. Honesty about your dogs and competitors’ dogs is a rare trait. Judges don’t want to take the time to see dogs doing what they were bred to do. They just want to check boxes and move on.  Judges often want to learn from the winners instead of the breeders. Breeders are also hesitant to mentor because some will say they are biased and telling judges who to place. The most frustrating aspect to mentoring is judges who think they know everything because they have multiple groups and dominate the discussion with their ‘expertise.’”

Another breeder-judge (and one of my mentors) has a background in training and education and discusses this topic in some depth: “The responsible breed-judging educational system needs to be examined … of which ringside mentoring is but one component. We get a fair number of attendees for ringside mentoring at our national. As Terriers we are unique in that our major national is held in October at Montgomery County, and the entries extend throughout the shows held Thursday through Sunday. The majority of Terrier breeds have specialties at MCKC; thus, aspiring Terrier judges can accrue observations at multiple breeds. However, attendance at a breed national specialty has exceptional benefits. It is generally considered a must for conscientious judges.

“We do not have a seminar at the MCKC weekend, as with all the multiple shows and other events the schedule does not generally have space or time. We have invested in breed seminars at major judges’ association events (AKC, DJAA, ADSJ, etc.). It is here that we obtain major attendance. We also have a number of qualified mentors who will present at local groups. We have made major changes and improvements in the presentation. As JEC we have incorporated teaching/learning research, which, while being focused on the breed, we involve the learner, recognizing we don’t teach the [breed], but we teach ‘people’ about the [breed] and judging the breed.”

 As a former national training director, I agree with this JEC when she says, “… in a single session, most learners only remember about five items. What are the five we ensure they both remember and can identify? Best learning and retention utilize the most concrete examples (in our case, hands-on judging), so improve the focused hands-on judging with clear expectations and summary. Next are visuals such as video and photos. (Can these be improved on your [presentation]?) Can your presentation utilize visuals to have attendees participate in judging? The lowest retention is just the lecture, where the speaker does all the talking or even reads to participants … we have all attended these.”

This educator takes it a step further — identifying the mentee as not just being a passive participant, but rather “another point in the judging education process … the learner themselves. It’s always the I, Thou and It. The teacher, the learner and the subject. There is so much on us as learners and what we need to do to ‘get it.’”

This person was one of my Terrier mentors, and after judging her breed the first couple of times, I reached out to her to discuss what I had seen and done. She says, “Your use of mentors after becoming permit to clarify the breed vision is what we all should do.”

Regarding mentoring others for true breed education, I have some strong beliefs:

• Attending a national specialty is very important, even in low-entry breeds, so you can see depth of an entry — hopefully, quality depth.

• Do NOT sign off on someone’s CEU form just because they have shown up, and never sign a blank one. The question is: What have they learned?

• We need to train the trainers — not everyone is good at presentations. The AKC did hold a seminar a few years ago on this topic, and more need to be held.

• JECs should not be chosen just because … how about utilizing people who have the background, experience and passion for teaching?

• It is better to have no seminar rather than have one where the presenter simply reads from the slide presentation.

• Adults learn best when they can put what they have learned into practice immediately — hence, hands-on examinations with discussions are important. I would like to see a mentee vocalizing what he or she is thinking as the dog is being examined.

• Discuss positives and trade-offs — not just faults.

What do you think?