Tag Archives: montessori teachers

Who are the teachers?

20 Thursday Jun 2019

Posted by in Learning, learning environment, Montessori Education, Wilmington Montessori School

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In education today, there is a common understanding that the best environments promote learning among everyone in the school. We are all learners and we all benefit from being with each other. Wisdom comes in all shapes, sizes and ages. In a Montessori classroom, you can be sure that is true.

Montessori classrooms typically have a lead teacher or guide and an assistant teacher. Both are responsible for keeping things humming along. They differ in their responsibilities, but each has the training and knowledge to help the children learn. Montessori classrooms have other teachers as well – the students. In Montessori multi-age classrooms, children learn from other students. The student helping another is learning to do more than help; he or she is learning more deeply. Teaching strengthens knowledge of the teacher, whether the teacher is a child or adult. Asking students to help others who are younger or less experienced is a surefire way to benefit both students.

We often hear that schools are filled with learners, and lifelong learning is certainly recognized as a core value in many schools. Empowering students to share their knowledge and allowing them to lead the way is the best way to promote a dynamic learning environment.

Standards

18 Thursday Apr 2019

Posted by in Montessori Education, Teachers

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Standards. We all have them, whether we name them as such or not. We have a standard for everything from the clothes we wear, to the food we eat, to the work we do and the relationships we enjoy. Some of the standards we live by are established externally – the FDA determines the health and safety of the food we eat and the medicines we take. The regulations by the EPA determine the standard for the air we breathe and the water we drink. OSHA determines what safety standards must be in place in every workplace. These standards were established so that we could all live safely and be unharmed in our daily existence. Most of us would agree that we are better off with these standards and regulations in place than without them.

Education has standards. We hear about them all the time – No Child Left Behind, Common Core, NSTA, NCTM, NCTE, ISTE and many other governing bodies. A school’s job is to live up to these standards. Again, most people agree that we are better off with the standards than without. However, how is it determined if a school, a classroom, or a teacher is indeed meeting the standards? How do we know it to be true? Is it the curriculum that is used? Is it the training of the teachers? Is it the performance of the students?

As a Montessori school, it is clear that some schools adhere to the Montessori standards of excellence more than others. Some classrooms within a school administer the standard differently. Some schools have “Montessori” in their name, yet make no attempt to adhere to the standards set forth by the American Montessori Society, the governing body for excellence in Montessori education. Though standards can sometimes push or pull in varying directions, it is important for schools to determine the standards to which they will hold themselves and work to uphold the excellence of those standards. Educating children is the work of schools. Using standards to inform instruction holds schools accountable as they work to serve all students in the very best ways.

The Montessori Difference

21 Thursday Mar 2019

Posted by in Learning, learning environment, Montessori Education, Research, Teachers

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Heather SipleRoaming Jan 23rd028

As a Montessori parent for almost 30 years and an educator practicing in the Montessori world for more than 20 years, I sometimes forget that others do not have the advantage of the Montessori perspective. I came across a blog that fully supported Montessori education, yet tried to find a way to adapt it to other school settings. While I appreciate this thinking and am thrilled with the endorsement, it’s just not that simple.

The blog endorsed student choice, supporting independence, mixed age groupings, focusing on the whole child and individualized lessons. Yes, and… While those are all essential elements of Montessori education and, we could argue, elements of the best standards of all educational models, there is so much more. Each of these elements may be visible to outsiders. What isn’t visible is the underlying structure which is the essence of Montessori education.

The Montessori philosophy and pedagogy are based on Dr. Maria Montessori’s study of children, specifically noting the planes of development: infancy/preschool, elementary, early/late adolescence and maturity/adulthood. Every decision about what materials are on the shelves, which lessons are introduced and what expectations are established is a result of a strong understanding of the students’ development at those ages. Nothing is happenstance. This was all established through Dr. Montessori’s scientific approach as she developed each material, each lesson, and the setting in which they occur. Continue reading →

How do you do your best work?

01 Thursday Nov 2018

Posted by in Montessori Education, Teachers

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I do my best work in collaboration with others. Yes, some tasks, like writing this blog post, are easier done when working alone in a quiet space. Others require undivided attention or concentration. But, I am happiest, energized and motivated to push my thinking and outcomes further and further when working with others.

I realized this several years ago when working on a teaching team. It was a great team. We had the opportunity to share ideas, reject some, modify others and try new things. That process provided great instructional opportunities for us, but more importantly it served students in the best possible ways. Yes, most classrooms are one teacher’s domain. Not so in Montessori classrooms. Some have a lead teacher and an assistant or two, and others are fortunate enough to have two lead teachers. Teachers working together are bound to have more or better ideas than a person working alone. Everyone needs a sounding board. In the best partnerships that is what happens. Ideas are molded and created in direct response to student needs.

I am quite sure I could not have remained in the field of education if it were not for those who have worked with me in various capacities. I have benefited from the wisdom, humor, honesty, thoughtfulness and imaginations of more people than I could count. How do you do your best work?

Food, Architecture and Montessori Education

08 Thursday Feb 2018

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One of the last places one might expect to find an article about Alice Waters, the owner and chef at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., is in an issue of Architectural Digest. She may be best known for urging us to eat local and healthy foods, but she is also dedicated to education, helping children learn where their food comes from and how to prepare it. She is a Montessori teacher.

Alice WatersI was awakened around design when I went to France when I was 19. I was living in a culture that really cared about food in a big way. They valued how it was served in all aspects, in terms of what was on the plate, what that plate looked like, and what that napkin looked like, and what things were in the room that reinforced what was on the plate. I just absorbed that sense of beauty connected to food and the aliveness of food. I also see this as a Montessori teacher. Dr. Montessori really believed that the senses need to be educated, that they are the pathways into our minds, and so the idea of something looking right and being able to touch, to be able to smell, to be able to taste, to hear, to listen, these are all ways that we can reach people and we can awaken them. I had that real experience when I was in France, and then I thought about the restaurant in that way, using that subtlety of reaching people through aroma and through their actually touching the food, engaging them and sort of winning them over.

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Montessori and Structure

04 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by in Learning, Montessori Education, Teachers, Wilmington Montessori School

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Math - Bead ChainMontessori education is unfamiliar to many. Some think they know what it means, but when the topic comes up, they often say that Montessori schools are loosely structured environments in which children can do whatever they like. The teachers are in the background, and kids move freely through the environment. Where is the truth in these statements?

Dr. Maria Montessori developed this innovative educational method by carefully observing children. She created materials that allow learning to occur through students’ use of their hands to manipulate materials in ways that demonstrate a certain concept, following the children’s path. What she did not do was allow children to do whatever they liked whenever they chose to do it. She did not have a loosely structured environment. Quite the contrary.

In order for children to be free to explore, the classroom environment must be organized, and a schedule must be firmly established. Children must understand the ways in which materials are used. They need to understand the expectations and know the rules. When I first encountered Montessori classrooms, I was amazed at how tightly run they were. I did not understand this before I saw them in action. I, too, was under the misconception of the loosely run environment.

Children feel safest when they know what to expect. Being safe and cared for are foundations for learning. Learning cannot take place in an environment that is disorganized and unpredictable. Though it may be difficult to view the environment as essential to learning, upon deeper reflection it is clear that, in order to build relationships, entertain new and challenging ideas, explore and risk failure, the structure has to be there to support and encourage each child to learn. Dr. Montessori made sure that those employing this educational method partnered with their surroundings to make it the best experience possible. Take a look around a Wilmington Montessori School classroom, and it’s easy to see this concept in action!

A Teacher’s Influence

01 Thursday Dec 2016

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Teachers are an essential part of schools. Although current educational thought focuses on the learning, rather than the curriculum, it is the teacher who sets the tone, models the behavior she wants students to exemplify and works to establish the relationships that allow learning to flourish. We can each remember a teacher we loved and perhaps one who was best forgotten. Teachers have a huge influence and impact on the students they see each day.

In Montessori classrooms, the role of the teacher is carefully defined. The teacher prepares the environment for learning to occur. She makes certain that children are able to act independently within the classroom and that they know where materials are kept, how to remove them and the procedures for returning each item to its proper place. The Montessori teacher carefully and thoughtfully observes the children in her care, noting how they move throughout the space and which materials they are drawn to, which they may avoid and how they use them. She knows which lessons will ignite the curiosity and wonder within each child, giving the lessons when the child is ready… not when the curriculum demands.

Perhaps best of all, the Montessori teacher has three years to spend with the children in the classroom. Multi-age classrooms allow the children and the teacher to know and understand one another more fully than can occur in a single-age classroom. Relationships are formed. Though the teacher plays a huge role, influencing children today and well into the future, the wonder of a Montessori classroom is multi-faceted.

The Power of Observation

22 Thursday Sep 2016

Posted by in Montessori Education, Parenting, Teachers, Wilmington Montessori School

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observing-blogObservation is a key component of Montessori education. As part of a Montessori teacher’s training, she is taught how to be a thoughtful observer. Teachers are given lessons on how to allow the space for observing students during the school day, and in those observations, much is revealed. Watching children go about their work, play, interactions and lessons helps a teacher more fully understand the students in her classroom. Through these regular periods of observation, teachers are able to determine which lessons need to be reinforced and the next steps in each child’s path of academic and social growth. Continue reading →