Rick Karash said,
"The general idea of apprenticeship programs has had appeal to me for some
time, but it's all a bit intangible... I don't actually know of any real
programs and have no idea of the issues or practicalities involved.
"Has anyone out there been involved in an apprenticeship program in this
or a similar field? How did it would? Can anyone point me to someone who
is doing this now? Or, just help me think through how it could work... "
In education, prospective teachers serve as student teachers for around
12-15 weeks in many programs. They work directly under a regular teacher
and receive support from a college prof. They spend part of their time
observing the regular teacher and other teachers teach, they complete
support tasks for the teacher, they create and teach some small lessons,
and then usually teach for an extended amount of time. (It isn't anywhere
as universal as this description states)
Many of us would agree that student teaching should last at least one year
with the new teacher taking more and more responsiblities as time goes
along and that much support should be provided along the way. In the
past, I always encouraged student teachers, or some interns who have
worked with me, to ask why I did what I did and what was going through my
mind.
My first five years of teaching were spent team-teaching with a good
teacher with nine years of experience. I learned so much from him and I
think he learned from me also. It was an excellent way for 23 year old to
enter the profession
Good luck in your quest!
David Wilkinson
School Improvement Specialist
Des Moines Public Schools, Iowa
--Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>