I love visiting other Montessori schools whenever I can. If I’m traveling for pleasure and there’s a little extra time, I try to find a Montessori in the area to visit. I also often find myself at Montessori schools for business purposes–a regional meeting, an opportunity to present, an accreditation visit, and so on. A few years ago when visiting my parents I observed in a Wildflower School in Cambridge, Ma. The Wildflower Schools are located in storefronts in urban areas across the county. Wildflower Montessori started as a lab school for MIT and some of the Wildflower Schools rely on innovative, unobtrusive technology for data collection. It was fascinating. Twice, I’ve visited a large Montessori Charter School in New Orleans. Half of the school was Montessori and half of it was a traditional French school. It was so interesting to walk into a bustling Montessori classroom, then pop across the hall and peek in on children sitting in rows reciting all their lessons in French. Last year around this time I did an accreditation visit at a Montessori school in The Bay Area. It is a huge school with over 300 students and the entire model is based on year-long schooling. The school is open for 270 days a year, but students only need to attend for 180. The system is intricate and successful!
My point is that there are so many ways to offer students a high-quality Montessori education and not every school needs to do that in the same way. However, all authentic Montessori schools must have some things in common. You have probably heard us talk about multi-age classrooms, prepared environments, hands-on materials, freedom with responsibility, learner outcomes, grace & courtesy, and the ongoing pursuit of independence. These are all essential markers of a true Montessori school. But let’s not forget the importance of highly trained teachers.
Montessori teachers go through an intensive teacher-educator certification program. We are lucky here in the Pacific Northwest to have a few high-quality Montessori teacher training programs. Additionally, there are a couple of highly rated online programs and many more excellent programs across the globe. Depending on which program a teacher or a sponsoring school chooses, new Montessori teachers may be spending every Saturday in class for nine months or may be doing an intensive multi-week course in the summer. This is on top of whatever experiences, certifications, and degrees each teacher already has.
As highly trained teachers, the HMS faculty are adept at applying the Montessori method and curriculum in their classrooms. They are pros when it comes to observing and assessing children. They are great at learning when to stand back to let the child lead (often) and when to step in and assist (not as often). Our teachers know how to engage a child in an activity they might not be eager to try and the teachers also are great at tuning into what the children are interested in. Perhaps though, the teachers’ best quality is the ability to build a genuine relationship with every child. These relationships are key to unlocking every child’s potential. Your child’s teacher knows and loves them.
While being highly trained is important, it is the connection that the teacher makes with the child that truly makes a difference. Relationship building takes some intuition, some skill, and a lot of heart. While one child might need to build a relationship through humor, another may need words of affirmation, and still another may need someone to just sit by them and be near. Our teachers spend a lot of time getting to know every child in order to meet their needs, academically and emotionally.
There are so many ways for Montessori schools to offer quality education. I’m grateful to have seen so many models and to always be able to come home to one of our three campuses in our growing and beautiful community web. I truly love Harbor Montessori School, it’s such a special place!
Kommentarer