Teachers
The role of a Montessori teacher in the Montessori environment is unlike that of a traditional teacher. Maria Montessori considered the teacher’s role to be a dynamic link between the prepared environment and the child. Montessori teachers do not teach. Instead, the Montessori teacher prepares a learning environment full of purposeful activities designed to meet the developmental characteristics of the children in it. Then she guides, she observes and she directs the children as they learn from the activities and from other children in the social community. Her presence facilitates a calm, orderly, joyful atmosphere where children grow in their own individual abilities and in their ability to participate and contribute to the social group. She knows when to intervene, and above all, she knows when to step back. This knowledge isn’t something most people are born with, but it is something developed during Montessori teacher training.
At the heart of the AMI Montessori classroom is the teacher, referred to as the guide or the directress/director. Montessori teachers are referred to as guides because they are experts at assisting children discover their own strengths, capabilities and interests through the use of practical, self-correcting materials. An AMI Montessori teacher is adept at leading from behind; it is an art, a skill, an ability.
Those who have completed AMI teacher training understand and see what it means to “believe in the child,” and how to best help all children discover the joys of learning.
- 15 mos – 2 ½/3 years (Guidelines for the Infant Community)
- 3 – 6 years (Guidelines for the Primary Level)
- 6 – 12 years (Guidelines for the Elementary Level)
Teacher Resources
Articles
Articles and publications from AMI (Canada), AMI Holland and other AMI Affiliated Societies may be found on the Publications page. AMI (Canada) members receive a password to access these publications.AMI Digital
AMI digital is an online site and store for Montessori teachers, offering card material (classified cards and elementary charts), AMI membership and access to publications from AMI and its Affiliated Societies. AMI members (including AMI (Canada) members) receive a 10% discount on purchases made on the site. Members will receive a discount code.
Recommended Links for teachers
www.montessoriguide.orgwww.montessoridigital.org
Reading List
- The Absorbent Mind by Maria Montessori
- The Advanced Montessori Method (Vol. 1: Spontaneous Activity in Education; Vol. 2: The Montessori Elementary Material) by Maria Montessori
- The Secret of Childhood by Maria Montessori
- The Discovery of the Child by Maria Montessori
- From Childhood to Adolescence by Maria Montessori
- Education and Peace by Maria Montessori
- Education for a New World by Maria Montessori
- The Formation of Man by Maria Montessori
- The 1946 London Lectures by Maria Montessori [Montessori-Pierson Publishing Company, Volume 17]
- Psychoarithmetic by Maria Montessori [Montessori-Pierson Publishing Company, Volume 20]
- Psychogeometry by Maria Montessori [Montessori-Pierson Publishing Company, Volume 16]
- Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work by E. M. Standing
- The Element: How Finding your Passion Changes Everything by Sir Ken Robinson
- Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution that’s Transforming Schools by Sir Ken Robinson
- Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (and You) Break the Stress Cycle and Successfully Engage with Life by Dr. Stuart Shanker
- The Big Disconnect: Protecting childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age by Catherine Steiner-Adair, EdD
- Reclaiming Conversation: the Power of Talk in a Digital Age by Sherry Turkle
- Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv
- Failure to Connect: How Computers Affect Our Children’s Minds – and What We Can Do About It by Jane M. Healy, Ph.D.
- Endangered Minds: Why Children Don’t Think and What we Can Do About It by Jane M. Healy, Ph.D
Angeline Lillard speaks about Montessori Education