Today we had a meeting with our school director about the Montessori philosophy and the preparation of the teacher. We reflected on our school and classrooms and realized that we were falling out of touch with what Montessori expects from her "guides". We then decided to create a "book club" where we'll read a chapter or two from books about the Montessori method and reflect upon this then meet up once a month to discuss what we've taken away from the chapter.
One thing we forget to do in our every day experiences in our classroom is to stop and focus on the child. Dr. Montessori has always been a follower of the child and always allowed the child to grow to his or her full potential academically and internally. Nowadays teachers are so caught up in altering the child and forcing them to behave or follow rules or learn this and study that. Yes that is a very important concept to learn but coercing the child to do things based on what we as teachers want is not the way Montessori wanted for the children. Letting them explore and learn on their own pace is the way Montessori always wanted for the children.
In my experience I have always tried to follow the philosophy the best way I know how and one of my goals in the future is to be able to find a balance between the Montessori philosophy and what I'm learning in grad school. I believe that being able to incorporate some, if not all, technology in the Montessori environment will benefit the children academically. I hope one day to be able to do this, if not where I'm teaching now, in another Montessori school in the future.
Signing Off
16 years ago
