My Most Challenging Montessori Student - Responsibilities

Montessori teachers help challenging students develop their confidence
by giving them responsibilities in the classroom.

From Lisha —

My most challenging Montessori student was a little boy who was not interested in doing anything. He enjoyed coming to school each day, but when it came to work time, he would happily walk around the classroom with his hands in his pockets. We encouraged him to work with all sorts of Montessori materials but nothing sparked his interest. We were very concerned that this little boy was going to not learn anything.

My Most Challenging Montessori Student - Socializing

From Dale —

Students are challenging in different ways. As a point of interest, my top five most challenging students were all boys. And nature dealt each of them a very difficult hand to play. They are certainly the children I think about most today and I often wonder how they are doing.

If I interpret the word challenging to mean the Montessori student that caused me the greatest amount of personal angst, the one I thought about the most, and the one I worked the hardest to help — that student would be “Joe.” Three-year-old Joe could not sit still, he could not stop antagonizing other children, and he had difficulty following directions. Unfortunately, most of Joe’s social experiences ended on a negative note. And Joe did not have a friend.

My Most Challenging Montessori Student - Redirecting Behavior

Challenging students can benefit greatly from the patience
and understanding of a Montessori teacher

I will never forget the first day I met him: I was a first year Montessori teacher, eagerly greeting children and parents at the open house before school started. A rather serious looking boy was walking around the Montessori classroom, clipboard and pencil in hand. I walked over to introduce myself and he looked at me and said, “You’re the new one. Last year we had a new teacher and I got her fired. You'd better watch yourself because I’m watching you. This school is run by the kids and if we don’t like you, you’re gone.” And with that, he turned and walked away. I was left standing there with a “what just happened?” look on my face.

The Most Fundamental Thing I Learned from a Montessori Mentor Teacher: Conflict Resolution

As a brand new Montessori teacher, entering the Montessori classroom for the first time felt like entering a foreign country. What was this language they were speaking? The teachers were all so quiet and soft-spoken. They used their own language to talk to students. They settled student disputes in ways that left everyone smiling at the end. It was so different from what I had experienced as a teacher in the conventional education system.

Montessori mentor teachers understand the value
in letting students resolve their own conflicts

My upper elementary team leader, who was my mentor, gave me Jane Nelsen’s book, Positive Discipline in the Classroom. My immediate reaction upon reading it was “Oh, this will never work! I can’t talk to children like this!” Nevertheless, as I observed my mentor with students, I began to realize that it did work.

The Most Important Things I Learned from My Montessori Students

Thoughts from Montessori teachers on learning from their students...

From Lisha —

Three important things I learned from my Montessori students can be summed up ….

1. 1. They are capable of much more than we think.
2. 2. That we learn something new every day…even as teachers!
3. 3. Take chances and if you don’t succeed, don’t give up! Try, try, and try again.

From Collean —

Be passionate
I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to spend so much time in the delightful presence of young children. Some of my best conversations have been with 3 year olds! Being in the Montessori classroom with young children, I quickly learned that the key to teaching is to captivate and intrigue the children. When you are sharing with your students, show genuine passion and interest! True enthusiasm is infectious and it comes back to you twofold. It is such a gift when your students can also help you to rediscover the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Important Things I Learned from My Montessori Students: Trust, Patience and Spontaneity

Trust

“The teacher, when she begins work in our schools, must have a kind of faith that the child will reveal himself through work.”  ~ Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind

Being spontaneous can lead to enriching, teachable moments in the Montessori environment

I went from being a conventional teacher with daily lesson plans for an entire collective class, to being a Montessori teacher with a 3-year curriculum to present to an entire classroom of individuals. Talk about stress! I knew exactly how to plan a year’s worth of conventional lessons, but how was I going to make sure that 30 individual students received all the lessons they needed if I followed their interests and desires rather than making them follow my plans?

What I Do So Much Better Now as an Experienced Montessori Teacher

Experienced Montessori teachers understand the value
of captivating children with an engaging story

Thoughts from other Montessori teachers on learning experience...

From Lisha —

Being an experienced Montessori teacher, I am able to recognize when a child is going through a sensitive period and how to facilitate that child’s need. This became especially valuable to me when I became a mother. For instance, when my daughter began climbing on books, boxes, and anything else that required her to step up, my experience guided me to help her rather than prevent her actions. I understood that my daughter was in a sensitive period for climbing and that she was working on an important part of her development. We were living in an apartment at the time and did not have any actual stairs for her to climb, so I had to think of other ways to help her through this period.

What I Do So Much Better as an Experienced Montessori Teacher: Follow the Child

I became a Montessori teacher after having spent several years teaching French in the American conventional education system. Although I had taught French to children from ages 2.5 to 18, I was very nervous about Montessori. I loved the philosophy, the method and the materials. What bothered me most was the idea of how to implement it in a real environment.

What I've learned about following the child...