Apprenticeship
Working alongside a master is a time-honored way to learn. The modeling that occurs in apprenticeships is a powerful intervention. The concept breaks down, however, when an apprentice is arbitrarily assigned to a not-so-masterful mentor. CoT mitigates this problem by empowering its students to select their own mentors. One of a student's first tasks is to visit schools, looking for a teacher in her subject area whom she respects enough to want to apprentice herself to that person throughout her preparation to become a teacher. CoT helps its students establish these field assignments in which they, through continuous service, can become valued additions to their schools rather than transients who may understandably be viewed as temporary impositions on overburdened teachers. Students essentially agree to serve as volunteer, part-time assistants whose responsibilities and latitude for action increases as their Mentor Teachers trust in their abilities and as good judgment grows. Our students also do their student teaching with their Mentor Teachers.
Mentor Teachers, in turn, freely choose whether they will work with our students. Such mutual respect engenders commitment. CoT's Mentor Teachers are critical elements of the communities we seek to build; they are always welcomed members of their Apprentices' Seminars. Throughout her preparation, a student spends approximately one day each week in her Mentor Teacher's school.
CoT Testimonial:
"I think it does take a special kind of student to want to put in that kind of time. I would think it would take the kind of student who is dedicated and realizes the time, effort, and cost of something like this. It is not just something you jump into. I think [my Apprentice] was a better student teacher because of it... and probably had better educational [job] prospects because of it."