Lakshmi A. Kripalani

The Challenges a Montessori Teacher Encounters

How well are we preparing teachers for Montessori classrooms?

It is a question for teacher trainers, for school leaders and for teachers themselves. 

As I look for answers, I learn from questions I am asked. 

"Why do the children not proceed with higher concepts and keep themselves merely occupied with almost meaningless activities?" 

"In Lower Elementary, we have some children who enjoy their initial lessons but do not always choose second-period work after some of these lessons. These are intelligent and capable children, but they consistently choose lessons that are easy or 'fun.' They do not challenge themselves to do the second-period work they need to do to develop mastery. Any suggestions to encourage wiser choices?" 

These from smart, caring teachers, still struggling to be the best teachers they can be. 

It reminds me of my training. 

Some 60 years ago, when Mario Montessori trained, he did not start with the presentation of exercises. He first challenged participants to come forward and act like a child of two and a half. 

All those who took the training in English were in responsible positions and refused to be embarrassed on the stage. I volunteered. 

He blindfolded me without any explanation and presented me with the whole set of Baric tablets. I did 29 correctly. By the time I did the last one I was tired and I got it wrong. I was aware that it may be wrong, but did not have the patience to try to correct it. 

When he removed the blindfold, I smiled because I noticed that last one was wrong as I suspected. 

Mario asked me if I did it purposely. 

I just smiled. 

He made a point that when you give something to the child to repeat beyond a certain limit, he would do it purposely wrong. The child is conveying to the teacher that if she is not satisfied with what I have done correctly, then maybe I should do it wrong. 

This behavior is an indication that demanding or expecting unnecessary repetition leads to useless activity or inattention. 

Furthermore, he pointed out that before presenting an activity, the teacher should know how it matches the capacities of the child. 

If you automatically start from the first activity, the child may be bored and will not respond. 

If you give material too advanced, the child may not be ready to understand it. 

This was the reason that he started with Baric tablets: to keep the interest of the adults alive and active, rather than starting with the pink tower. 

I have continued to think about what I learned that day. My preparation did not end that day, or at the end of that course. 

Maria Montessori did not expect an individual to be fully prepared to lead a classroom by merely attending her lectures and material demonstrations. 

Nothing shows that more clearly than the fact that she granted only a Certificate of Attendance for those who attended her lectures. Only after the teacher demonstrated success with children would she endorse that certificate as a diploma. Often that took years. 

I fear we have forgotten the work necessary to fully prepare a teacher. It is a difficult, shared responsibility that does not end with training. 

First, however, the training must prepare a teacher to continue to develop as a teacher. 

Teachers may expect to be certified quickly. In our impatient era, we forget that it takes time and effort to develop one's potential as a teacher. In granting certification too quickly, teacher educators may be meeting the expectations of a trainee or a school district, but in the end if they have not positioned teachers to continue their learning, they are short-changing both the teacher and her students. 

Teacher trainers have a serious duty to make sure teachers have cleared a first hurdle before they enter the classroom. 

I fear some teacher trainers may misread history and suggest that, from the beginning, Montessori put minimally prepared individuals in charge of her classrooms. But these individuals were not teachers. They were merely custodians. Their responsibility was to observe and record in detail whatever the children did. It was Dr. Montessori, who interpreted these observations and provided material and activities for the children 

Most of the early teacher trainers of Association Montessori Internationale had only high school diplomas and lacked the skill to understand the nuances of Montessori's principles and its application. 

But even after the first hurdle, teachers need to continue to learn. Amid dizzying social change, we all struggle to understand and meet the needs of today's child. 

After initial training, teachers too often are left on their own or under a principal or  supervisor who has only the vaguest idea how to help new Montessori teachers. 

These supervisors do know the consequences of test scores and the demands of testing. They tend to push new teachers toward mechanical teaching or over dependency on the material. 

For instance, they don't understand that the Montessori material is a great asset only when the rest of the environment is continuously enriched, when some of the children are working on their own with advanced activities. Only then can the rest of the children fully explore the environment. 

The prepared environment does not mean merely the didactic material arranged in a special order. It means that there are enriching activities which are carried on by different individuals. The teacher can achieve this by presenting different activities to different children and let the rest of the children follow. 

One cannot imagine one teacher presenting every presentation to every child individually. The classroom must be a learning community. 

So, inadequately prepared teachers without guidance may fall into the trap of mechanically presenting the material, expecting children to progress on their own. They need to realize that the material is merely a part of the prepared environment. What is needed is to help a few children in different areas to be able to function on their own. This creates an environment in which the rest of the children can proceed by observing them at work.

Every Montessori teacher deserves good preparation, preparing her to observe, critically analyze and offer the activities that will help a child overcome any barrier. 

But I fear too many teachers are not provided that quality of preparation. The emphasis instead is on presentation of the material and its mechanical sequence. 

Unfortunately, the training centers emphasize the sequence to the point that in most classes, the work is carried on but there is no excitement or spontaneous progress. The children are conditioned to carry on sequential activities and we are happy to see the mechanical process. 

Teachers may get good information and inspiration from their training, but they need to commit themselves to continue to learn and grow. 

Each teacher needs to: 

1. Enhance continuously her own knowledge in every subject. 

2. Enhance her power of observation not only in the classroom but wherever she finds children-in the shopping centers, in the garden, on the road, or while waiting for the plane. She needs to develop the habit of observing children from birth onwards. 

3 Engage in activities to further develop skills. Observation technique can be enhanced by playing simple games such as having one individual collect a number of objects and participants look at them for a moment and then they recall what they saw. Or one individual acts out certain activities. Then the others write and compare notes on what each saw and what was missed. 

4. Build support communities. Teachers generally are isolated. They need to visit each other's classes within the building and also in other schools. Just viewing how each individual handle different situations helps one to find solutions to one's own approach. 

But a crucial responsibility also lies with the leadership of each school. 

Every school needs to have at least one experienced individual available on the premises to guide the teachers. If the school is too small to afford a full-time individual then the services of such an individual need to be available part-time on a regular basis. 

We must settle for no less than the best from teacher education centers, supervisors and teachers themselves. It takes all three to create the best possible opportunities for children. Not only that but the parents need to be guided, informed and involved in the process of helping their own children and the environment at home.

We need to have open meetings for the general public with educators in responsible positions and politicians to spread the knowledge of helping the children in every walk of life.

Creating the next generation of great Montessori teachers will not be easy. But our commitment to it will pay great dividends for the teachers, the children and our world. 

Copyright 2008.

Lakshmi Kripalani  was trained by and has worked with Dr. Maria Montessori and Mario Montessori. She is an AMI Montessori teacher trainer and consultant. Dr. Montessori's 1946 Lectures-Karachi, India, transcribed and edited by Lakshmi Kripalani is available. Ms. Kripalani is available for lectures, workshops or consultations.

She can be reached at  lkripal...@comcast.net.