Crash Course

As I approach the end of the Montessori training session I've been leading, I wanted to share a bit with you all about what's been going on. It's been a difficult but awesome learning experience, with new and unexpected challenges around every corner.

It was up to me to determine how I wanted to structure the course—which in itself was tricky for me, as I had never done anything like this before. I received some guidance from Pam, the in-house (but currently in Canada) Montessorian who is usually the one who teaches the trainings here. I structured my plans around the topics she normally includes in an attempt to create as much consistency as possible between her training and mine. I also planned to show all of the materials in the Swahili Montessori manual The Olive Branch has created for its teachers.

I spent the first two weeks covering the handful of vital theory topics, discussing the materials and demonstrating presentations (actually it was two partial weeks as we had a national holiday and some other activities to plan around). All of this was translated into Swahili by either Daudi (the first week) or Humphrey (the remaining weeks), who The Olive Branch provided for me and who were both a lot of fun to work with.

Now in our third week, we have asked the children from Azimio-Mapula—the community where the training is taking place—to join us. Most, if not all of them came to school there under the guidance of the previous teacher, who wasn't there long and who quit unexpectedly in November. None of the children have attended any school since then.

This week we are doing “practice teaching,” Tanzania style. The children arrive anywhere between 8 and 9 and we get started whenever all (or most) of the teachers show up. Being on time is something you eventually stop worrying about here because it rarely happens. Getting from point A to point B is so trying and treacherous that there's really no telling when anyone will arrive. We all do the best we can. We stay flexible and we make do.

On our first day of practice teaching, I planned to split the 40 or so children up into groups of six or seven per teacher, and allow each teacher to work with their own group. By the time 9 o'clock rolled around, five children had showed up. Another trickled in later bringing us to a grand total of six children to work with (for the four teachers who had made it that day). We made do, and it turned out to be plenty for them to handle on day one.

The children got picked up and pushed from place to place; the teachers got constructive criticism and a reminder about our lecture on “Independence.” One tried showing a very young child the “cards and counters” and they got a re-explanation of how each lesson builds on the previous, and how yes, they do have to be given in the right order. Another dismissed all the children from her group and once, and we talked again about dismissing them one by one to chose their next lesson.

On day two, eight children came and I insisted only two teachers interact with them at a time. The rest were to sit and observe and try their darnedest not to get involved until it was their turn. The classroom began to look like it should, with many children working at their mats and a few being led in a group. I saw numerous accounts of true concentration, most of which got quickly interrupted by an eager teacher wanting to give another lesson. We talked about this, too.

I find my self repeating a lot, rephrasing a lot (and face-palming a lot). I've also been reflecting a lot on what I did well in the course of the training, and what I could have done better. Just as the children are a mirror of our actions in the classroom, these teachers are a reflection on me, and how successfully I've done my job here. It's especially interesting for me to get to see which things they absorbed from the previous two weeks, and which either got lost in translation or went in one ear and well...ya know.

It's an uphill battle, for certain, but we are making progress, and that's about all I can hope for. I feel confident that these six people will make wonderful teachers for their communities, should they have the dedication to stick with it for a while. No one comes out of training an outstanding Montessori teacher, and they will be no exception. As I've told them many times these past few weeks, being a fantastic teacher comes with time and experience. No one expects greatness right away (thank goodness!). I hope the same will prove true for me in the coming months in Thailand, as I attempt what I've begun to think of as "Montessori Crash Course 2.0".