A parent who recently came to observe her child in their Early Childhood (3 to 6-year-old) classroom asked, “Can you tell me more about the role of the assistant?”
What a great question!
The short answer is, we could not run the school without the fantastic assistant staff. Assistants in the classroom environment provide essential, integral support to ensure the children have a “high fidelity” Montessori experience. How is this?
Some of it is logistics: with a classroom of active, independent learners, the classroom is a hive of activity. There is always a lot going on, and so there are always materials to make or replenish; elementary trips to chaperone; shelves and materials to tidy...the “to-do’s” are never-ending. And of course there are adult-to-child ratios we must maintain for safety.
And while the head teacher has the training and experience to implement the Montessori curriculum, with the goal of giving “just the right amount, at just the right time” to spur the children’s independent activity, this would be nigh on impossible without the assistant’s support. The assistant does so much more than aiding the teacher in preparing and maintaining a beautiful, orderly, and joyful environment. They are an astute extra pair of eyes and ears, and they will have important observations about the environment and the children’s activity within it to share with the teacher.
The assistant and the teacher are the models of grace and courtesy, establishing a warm, supportive atmosphere. Both the teacher and assistant show utter respect for the children by treating them with dignity and courtesy. Every day is a clean slate. The assistant helps to model that this is an okay place to make mistakes and to learn from them, and to make amends. The broken dish calmly gets swept up; the hurt feelings get talked about and resolved; the redirection or discipline, when needed, is fair, non-punitive, and supportive. As one wise 6-year-old once told me, his classroom assistant “smiles with her eyes—even when I’ve done something wrong.” The classroom is both physically and emotionally a safe place due to the modeling and care of the teaching team.
The assistant also protects the integrity of the head teacher’s lesson. When a teacher begins a presentation with a child or small group, they bring their singular focus to that lesson in that moment. This is possible because they know that the assistant will “have the room”. The assistant ensures the teacher remains free from interruption by observing and being available to the entire classroom community, sometimes even running interference to prevent another child from intruding into the lesson (“Ah, I can see they are in a lesson; come with me, I could use your help…”). Similarly, the teacher knows not to begin a new lesson until the assistant is available. They are a dynamic team, working in tandem in support of the children.
And sometimes, in those blissful moments when everyone is working independently, the adults can sit back and simply watch what unfolds. Rare, but it happens!
“The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.’”
— Dr. Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind
コメント