Need some serious help...

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Montessori Teachers Chatboard

Need some serious help...

by ANONymous

Sep 8, 2009

Hello all

Here's my situation...a little long but please bear with me...I keep coming on here hoping to find a post that might relate to the issues I'm having but nothing directly related.

I've been working at a Montessori school as an assistant/co teacher since last year. I've had tonnes of issues with the school, the management, the children, the parents and the head teacher.

The school is dirty...the changing mat is stained and ripped. The building itself is quite old so maybe keeping it clean is hard (benefit of the doubt) but routine hygiene is seriously lacking. We change the kids on the floor...brooms, dustpan...all dirty...I've replaced them twice but it seems no one else seems to care

Kitchen is a mess...dish rack is yellow and stained...I've washed it with bleach along with the sink on numerous occassions but it seems i'm the only one who sees the dirt. I was looking for spoons today in our utensil tray only to realize that the tray is dirt...See More

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some thoughts... First, while you don't want to 'limit' the materials, avoid placing everything out in the beginning. Just make sure you have a nice range of materials, as most of your lessons, role modeling and expectations will be geared towards grace and courtesy, getting settled in the environment and into the routine, and learning about how to treat the classr...See MoreFirst, while you don't want to 'limit' the materials, avoid placing everything out in the beginning. Just make sure you have a nice range of materials, as most of your lessons, role modeling and expectations will be geared towards grace and courtesy, getting settled in the environment and into the routine, and learning about how to treat the classroom, friends and materials.

Focus on Grace and Courtesy lessons. Slowly begin to add materials and lessons, keeping the range of abilities and readiness in mind.

Practical life activities are the ones that will help children gain focus and control, which will carry into other areas, so make sure this area, in particular, is well thought out and prepped.

My opinion...the overall aesthetics and impression of the classroom will set the tone for how it will be used and treated. The environment is one of the strongest teachers you can offer a child. If it is dirty and run down, the children will notice (even if subconsciously) and treat it with the expectations it is displaying. If clean and orderly, the children will notice that, and treat things accordingly.

What you do, how you act, how you respond to and how you treat children and other adults, and how you respond to stimuli will have a bigger impression on the children than anything you say.

If a child is hitting and pushing, have them become your 'partner' for a while as you walk around the class, help others, etc. SHOW the child the correct behavior - lecturing (or talking to him over and over about the same behavior) may not be doing any good. Children this age (22 months) are very ego centric and have very little self control - especially if they are in a classroom that is chaotic to begin with. Make sure the little one has the words to express himself...or make sure there is someone available to step in and assist with the words until he picks them up.

I do wonder if you are working in a "Montessori" school, or if it is one simply using the name? Are teachers fully trained by reputable programs? AMS, AMI, others? Are you Montessori trained or just familiar with the philosophy? (No offense meant, just curious... Some of your issues and descriptions about the school make me wonder....

Changing children on the floor, and a dirty one at that, has me concerned - Montessori school or not! General health issues - regardless of the program or philosophy - need to be adhered to.

Does admin follow through, or require specifics from teachers? Are admin familiar (trained) in Montessori? I guess I have a few questions about how the program is run in general...

Sep 8, 2009

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Sara It sounds to me like your school isn't Montessori - it may have been once but not now. It also isn't a community. Is there a school board? It's got to be very difficult to work in such an environment and Montessori wasn't supposed to exist in isolation. Your question really is - how to have a Montessori classroom in a school that's not?

Wo...See More

Sep 9, 2009

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Mary Dear Needs help, My suggestion would be to try to find an experienced mentor - first of all. Possibly contacting a well run Montessori school nearby. How about going for an observation at a similarly well run school You have alot of questions to try to answer all at once. Many of these items are addressed during the AMI training. This is something ...See More

Sep 9, 2009

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