TEACHER TESTIMONIALS

Terri Hughes, (Tri-Cities):  “I can remember the first time I walked into the Montessori classroom (at St. Joseph’s in Kennewick).  I thought to myself, “What is all of this equip¬ment, and what kind of class is this?”  Little did I know that two years later I would be able to use all of this won¬derful apparatus that Maria Montes¬sori discovered through her observa¬tions.

Having the confidence of walking into any Montessori classroom and presenting the “work”, I realize that I have accomplished so much this year!  I have learned much besides just pre¬senting lessons:  organizational, man¬agement and social skills, patience, love of learning and much more.  It’s been a wonderful experience.”

Jimin Kim (Federal Way): “When I finished my academic course and received an internship at Compass Montessori School, I was very excited to start my new career as a Montes¬sori teacher.  I was very eager to put my knowledge to use with the children.  The first thing that I learned was that the conditions in the class¬room and in the training can be quite different.  I learned that, in order to teach the children, the material had to become second nature to me.  At first it was overwhelming, but I had a strong belief in the Montessori method and a deep love for children, along with my faith in God.  As time went by, I needed every bit of that. At first I made many mistakes, but I was learning every day.  I was start¬ing to learn that all of the children respond to love and the classroom.  I was learning how important I was to these little children as a leader and observe.

The two most important things I learned from my internship were what I could never learn in school.  The first one was how to guide a child throughout the day in an atmosphere of self-directed learning.  The second important process that I learned was how to guide children when they are out of control:

• Interrupt their disruptive behavior

• Restrain them only if necessary

• Speak to them in a quiet, gentle and loving voice

• Assure them of the correct behavior and that they are in a loving environment

This process is described in our Lord’s second commandment of loving those around us as we love ourselves.

Wendy Hane (Tri-Cities): Prior to taking Montessori training, I worked as a Montessori aide for 12 years.  I didn’t know much about Montessori when I started, but I became confi¬dent about teaching except for the academic materials.

Taking the training has been absolutely the best thing I have ever done.  I know now why work is put in sequence on a shelf, and why it is important to have a new child start at the beginning.  Most importantly, I have learned to use a quiet voice and what Montessori language is: feeling words, I-statements, and avoiding roadblocks.

Now I can become the teacher that I want to be.

Lin-Wen Hui (Taiwan): I have found that Montessori education is a unique way of guiding small chil¬dren to learn, and to help each child reach his full potential in all areas of life.  The Montessori method not only encourages children to become a life-long learner, but also inspired me to love to learn.

Xiaomeng Shao (China): Through Montessori training I have learned what love is.  I feel the chil¬dren’s love when I teach them and that the world is full of meaning.

Sheri Crosby (Tri-Cities): Since I was a teenager, I have always loved children.  After working in home child care for 11 years, I began working at St. Joseph’s Montessori school.  I was amazed at the difference between traditional preschool and Montes¬sori education.   I have learned so much in the training, and there is so much more to learn.  Now I have the resources to assist the children and to help the staff and children to do things “the Montessori way.”

George Pagulayan (Dixon, CA): There is nothing that can equal touching and seeing the actual materials being shown to the child, and then later used by the child. Not its name, or its picture, can tell of its exact value.  The actual surpasses thousands of theories of any child psychology.   I have gained teaching strategies and techniques which I can use successfully in the classroom. Diligently preparing for an orderly environment, calming a restless child, convincing an uninterested tiny hand to come to work, presenting the lesson with simplicity and grace, and dialoguing with parents and co-teachers are but a few of the experi¬ences that have equipped me as a Montessori teacher.  

I am confident that wherever I am called to teach, and no matter how challenging the classroom will be, I can depend upon a calm spirit to make the difference. I did not acquire this spirit through my Master’s de¬gree.  I discovered childhood through my internship at Montessori Plus School where I gained inner peace and happiness to work with children.

Christine Banko (Renton, WA): My training with MTP of WA has given me a fresh and exciting way to view all children.  I have always appreciated how young children are receptive, eager and thoughtful.  With my newfound knowledge I can take better advantage of these qualities in my teaching.

Montessori training is liberating both for me and for the child.  There is a deep, yet simple, logic to the pro¬cess of “work.”  When I demonstrate a work for the first time to a child, the process demands no short-cuts, attention to detail, and enjoyment of the moment.  As a newly-minted teacher, what I appreciate most is the cycle of an activity.  A child learns to gather, bit by bit, the material needed for her work, do the work, and return it to the shelf.  That, in itself, is a pro¬cess that many adults need to grasp!

When I am in a Montessori class¬room, my senses crackle with an¬ticipation for the children.  Is there order?  Is there workspace? Is their relative peace?  Is there joy in the room?  Beauty? Trained facilitators?  I want a child to enter his classroom every day, filled with happiness to come into an environment created just for him.

My training has made me view ideas and materials as “Montessori” or “Non-Montessori.  For ideas that don’t fall into either category, I wrestle with the idea until it can possibly be adapted so that it can be presented to young children.  My dream is that, someday, I may establish my own school!