HOW DO TEACHERS LEARN TO TEACH?
U.S. teachers lack the long and carefully mentored introduction to teaching that Japanese and German teachers receive. In Germany this period of intensive training comes before being hired as a teacher. In Japan, it comes during the first year on the job. In all three countries, prospective teachers first take a mixture of courses in education and in academic subject areas leading to graduation from college. After this, however, their experiences diverge sharply. In Germany, after passing a state examination at the end of college, prospective teachers spend two years in student teaching in a program resembling a traditional apprenticeship. During the two years, prospective teachers have a reduced teaching load that begins with classroom observation, then progresses to assisted teaching, and finally to unassisted teaching under the close direction of a mentor teacher. They also attend seminars in their subjects once or twice a week, and their seminar instructor joins the mentor in obser
