How I Found Montessori (Or, How Montessori Found Me)
The year was 1994. Newly married, I had nothing to offer the job world but a degree in History and a winning smile. By that point, I had figured out that I liked working with kids and was pretty good at it. As I scanned the local job ads, I saw that a Montessori school in Niles, IL was advertising for an assistant.
“Hmm, Montessori,” I thought. “Isn’t that just for gifted kids?” Other than that, I knew nothing about Montessori. But I needed a job, so I called and set up an interview. When I went to the school, the director was friendly and seemed to like me.
But what really got my attention was the classrooms – I had never seen anything like it. Open shelves, rugs on the floor, kids working quietly and independently. So this was Montessori! And, the director assured me with a laugh, it was for any child, not just gifted ones.
I started work immediately in the new preschool (3-6) classroom that was just opening up. I watched the directress present the math materials, show children how to scrub a tire, and carry pink cubes to a rug one at a time. When she gave one child an eggbeater to make bubbles in a bowl, I couldn’t believe it. How was she able to think of all these creative activities? It wasn’t until later that I realized that Montessori teachers had “albums” full of “presentations”; they weren’t coming up with ideas all on their own.
In her office, the director had several shelves full of Montessori books and magazines. She told me to feel free to read anything I found interesting, so every day at my lunch hour, I went and grabbed some reading material. The first things I read were back issues of the North American Montessori Association’s Teacher Journal. It was scholarly, but I devoured every word.
Worlds opened up to me as I read – ideas I had never heard before, about respecting a child’s mind, following the child’s lead, and the teacher’s primary role as a guide, not an autocrat. It was so different from my own schooling experience, which was frequently miserable; it called out to me because I knew, just knew, that this was how children were supposed to be educated.
After working as a 3-6 assistant for several years (and soaking up every piece of knowledge I could about Montessori), I decided to take the 3-6 training. I applied to Midwest Montessori Teacher Training Center in Evanston, IL and was accepted. Just a month or two after acceptance, I found out I was pregnant. Reluctantly, I called an dropped out of the program. While I could have finished the training before having the baby, I wouldn’t have been able to complete the internship because I planned on staying home the first few years.
Then, the unthinkable happened. Our daughter, Sarah, was stillborn when I was 6 ½ months pregnant. As we dealt with our grief, I began another school year as a 3-6 assistant. The directress I worked with was very understanding and kind during that year, which was especially hard for me because she gave birth to a baby girl a few months after I had been due. Sweetly, she gave her daughter the middle name “Sarah” in honor of my daughter and of our strong friendship.
That spring, I decided to apply for the Montessori training again, but this time for elementary. During that year, I had learned about the 6-9 program and instinctively knew that age group was a better fit for me. I began the training in the summer of 1997, and everything clicked. Needing a job (my current school didn’t have an elementary program), I asked our trainer, Sister Mary, if she knew of any job openings. She said, yes, that she herself needed an intern for the coming school year.
So in the fall of 1997 I started teaching at the Midwest Montessori Training Center School under Sister Mary . We were a “model school”, a place where interns and teachers could come to see the perfect classroom setup and correct presentations. This added an extra layer of difficulty to the already challenging situation of mastering the 6-9 curriculum and presentations, but I learned an enormous amount during that year. (Photo: Sister Mary & me. I think we’re wearing corsages because it was Teacher Appreciation Day).
Think of how easily I could have missed out on a life devoted to Montessori. Think of all the “ifs”: if that school hadn’t been offering a job at that time, if they hadn’t hired me, if I had never seen that job ad – I would have never found Montessori.
Now that I can look back on my early Montessori years, I can see just how much those chance circumstances affected my life. But it really wasn’t chance at all – God was leading me, even though I had no idea what awaited when I applied for that first job – and now, my life is forever changed because of Maria Montessori and her educational method.
But enough about me – how did you find Montessori? Or, did Montessori find you?
My children brought me to Montessori. I had not idea about Montessori until I had my children. My husband teaches high school for our public schools and he wanted for us to apply to the public Montessori School. The public school only takes 17 new children with over 300 aplicants so we did not get in but my kids are still in Montessori! I love the Montessori method so much that I will be starting my Elementary Montessori Training this Fall.
Here is my blog: http://montessorispanish.blogspot.com/
Good for you! I’m so glad your kids are in Montessori, and that you’re having a chance to take the training. It’s a lot of hard work, but well worth it.
When I was about 7 years old, my nieces lived upstairs from two girls about my age who attended a Montessori school. I was always curious about Montessori from what they told me about it and because they seemed to be such independant, creative, and well rounded girls in general. When I was in the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades, I had a lot of trouble with math, and looked up a Montessori book at the library to see if if could work for me, but then I thought it was only for gifted children. I even looked up Montessori schools in the phone book and called them, but they only had programs from ages 3-6. I later ended up going to high school with the sisters I had met when I was 7 and they always seemed to do really well in everything they did. Before I got married I started looking at more books on the Montessori method, and now at 28 years old and 5 children ages 6 and under, I am attempting to learn all that I can to homeschool my children using the Montessori method of education. About a month ago I found out a Montessori teacher of 35 years was retiring and selling her private school to a charter school. I went to a sale she was having and she told me she would like to try and help me by coming to my home and helping me with what she could! I feel very blessed, and now I am trying to get my act together and set up the proper environment. I have to ask God for help every single day, but I believe in Montessori so much, and I know that with His help I can do it! I wish I had gone to Montessori school growing up! My parents were immigrants from Mexico and had never heard about (although it does exist over there!). Oh well! Thanks Lori for sharing your story!
Wow, it would be great if you could have an experienced Montessori teacher give you some advice. So much of what we do is learned through experience.
I love your description of Montessori kids as “independant, creative, and well rounded” – so true!
As I was exploring homeschooling options for my children, I accidently came across Montessori. Now, I can’t stop talking about it to anyone who will listen (my poor husband) I hope to take the elementary training next year (online). I feel it’s a worthwhile investment if I plan to homeschool all 4 boys.
Thank you, Lori, for sharing all that you do with us!
What a powerful story. What courage you have demonstrated throughout your life.
I can’t remember when I discovered Montessori.
But we’ve decided to homeschool and what I’ve learned about Montessori is influencing how we will “teach” the kids.
Hi, Nathania! I am so glad you’ve decided to homeschool. It’s a ton of work but so rewarding.
Jen, you are totally right that the training will benefit you immensely as you work with your sons. Online programs are such a great option for moms.
lori, that was so sweet to share that with us. it is lovely to here about your personal journey. what a wonderful story and gift.
lisa
My wife and I both work full time and we were looking for a better alternative to simple drop off daycare where he would go and be with other kids and two or three adults were there to make sure that the kids didn’t hurt each other too badly. Since we were already paying a good deal for full time daycare, we really wanted to find somewhere that he would be disciplined in a constructive manner and taught as opposed to simply supervised.
We had gone out to a local pizza place we had never been to and wanted to try for their variety of different topics. There was a flyer for a new Montessori school that had opened in the last few months and was recruiting students. At the time our son was not quite 2.5 years, which was the minimum age she was licensed to accept. We visited the school the very next day and paid the fees to get him enrolled. The teacher (a WONDERFUL woman) called her licensing department and got a special exception to accept our son by limiting the total number of children she could have a for a few months until he was 2.5 years old. My wife and I were so grateful and excited that she was so willing to limit herself in this manner to accept our son into her school.
Our son has grown and changed in so many positive ways since he began going to her Montessori School. Being a public school teacher, I have been curious about the Montessori method and setting and have been extremely pleased and impressed with the Montessori ways and the teachers at the school. Now, I am looking to see if there is an elementary school in the area that we can enroll our son in after he is old enough. I want to keep him in Montessori for as long as possible. I think that it has made him enjoy learning and given him the tools to be able to explore and find answers himself.