What a trip. I passed the final oral exams for the Elementary Montessori diploma course this week. Graduation is on Saturday.
I have to complete the student teaching next year in order to receive my diploma, but all course work is done. I will walk on Saturday with my classmates.
This means Hilltop Montessori School has AMI-trained Montessori guides leading both of our programs: Primary and Elementary.
This is no small thing. AMI was established by Maria Montessori and her son Mario to faithfully carry on their work. It is the most rigorous and authentic Montessori training available.
Montessori, when properly done, is the only education method which eliminates the achievement gap due to family income.
This is what excellent Montessori can do, and this is why we insist on the best training at Hilltop Montessori School.
Even our assistants are trained. Our Primary assistant is also AMI-trained to be a Primary guide, and our Elementary assistant has the introductory training for the toddler and adolescent levels.
Few Montessori schools anywhere can boast such a well-qualified slate of guides and assistants. I am proud to make this life-changing education available to families in Steubenville.
What makes AMI training so rigorous?
No other method insists on such a wide-ranging and deep understanding of the underlying philosophy of the Montessori method. Other training methods will focus plenty on the mechanics of the education method, but AMI makes sure you understand the WHY and not just the WHAT of Montessori education.
Understanding the WHY makes the difference in dealing with classroom situations that break the mold.
We explore in depth the basic human tendencies and how these manifest within an educational environment We talk about the psychological and physiological characteristics of the different planes of development. We discuss how the different areas of the classroom satisfy or correspond to those characteristics and needs.
The three days of written exams at the end of April were primarily about the philosophy, and secondarily about the mechanics of the classroom.
Then during the oral exams, which are more about how to manage educational aspects of the classroom, the examiners ask question about how these particular presentations, the ones that precede them, and those that come after, fit into the needs of the child or correspond to a characteristic of the child.
This is a comprehensive education.
During this 10.5 months of training I produced 3,300 pages of “how to” albums for myself. These albums will forever be my reference for precisely how to do things, and when. They cover every single presentation in the classroom. They cover a significant amount of background information — why do we do this, what are things to consider, what are possible follow-ups, how can we get children engaged in other ways, etc.?
The nine albums are: Math, Language, Geometry, Music, Art, Biology, Geography, History, and Theory.
I am incredibly excited for what I, Noelle, Lucy, and Rebekah are prepared to offer the children of Steubenville.
These 10.5 months of hard work, missed events and opportunities, and sleepless nights have been difficult. We had some unexpected bumps along the way that delayed completion of the student teaching portion. Many other projects and duties have been set aside for the last 9 months — our podcast has been entirely on hiatus. This has been a very trying time.
But one thing has remained the same: the children are so worth it. Working with them as they discover what they are capable of. Helping them to unlock the parts of their brain that can handle large, and complex concepts. Guiding them through considerations of right and wrong, good and bad, what these terms mean and what impact that has on how we behave, how we treat each other, how we regard ourselves, and how we take care of our own environment — micro or macro. These are all amazing opportunities that this training has equipped me even more to dive into.
I am eager to bring this training to bear in the classroom, for the good of the children entrusted to Hilltop Montessori School.
