A Community of Teachers (CoT) is a teacher education program for prospective middle and high school teachers that is strongly supportive of individuals and is highly personalized. CoT is grounded on the premise that, if we are to change the way teachers teach, we must ensure that they experience preferred ways to learn as integral parts of their professional preparation. Three features of the program form the heart of its unusual approach: the Seminar, the Apprenticeship, and the Portfolio.
http://education.indiana.edu/comteach/
I am a proud member of the Community of Teachers program. I have always been in some way an aspiring educator. Before deciding to pursue licensure, I was a tutor for migrant children, an ESL teacher in Mexico, and a preschool Spanish teacher. Now, as my children begin preschool and kindergarten, I wish to be a part of the world of public education. Because I had already received a Bachelor's in Spanish and Latin American Studies, I decided that I needed a flexible program that would prepare me in the areas for I felt I was lacking in preparation. I was very fortunate to find Community of Teachers. It allows me the freedom to be the kind of teacher that I want to be. We are given 30 expectations to fulfill, and the responsibility is on us to prove that we meet those 30 expectations before we can be licensed in the state of Indiana. Evidence for these expectations can be taken from class, seminar, field experience, even life experience and included in a portfolio. Because this program is 'at your own pace', it also allows me the freedom to be the wife, mother, daughter, and friend that I want to be.
