Wait a minute, Claudia…Why “Montessori PRACTITIONER”? Why didn’t you say Montessori teacher or Montessori guide?
That’s a great question and I’d ask you to take a look at that term: “practitioner.” By definition, a practitioner is “a person actively engaged in an art, discipline, or profession”. Well that certainly fits! As a reader of this newsletter, you are actively developing your own art and discipline of Montessori, whether you consider it professionally or not!
And that’s why I see our work as Montessorians as a practice…an art to explore and carry out; continuously striving toward “mastery” of the discipline, but an accomplishment which will never be fully achieved.
I also see it as a practice, because there will be highs and lows, joys and tears, successes and failures, confusion and confidence. Any practice, like playing an instrument, doing yoga, or growing food or flowers, requires an ongoing desire for progress and the diligence to “truly work at it.”
That’s why I started Inspired Learning through Montessori Education. In the years since I said goodbye to working in the confines of a school, I’ve turned my attention to serving the Montessori community of practitioners, a community that includes folks from every corner of the world!
I was inspired to do this work by the trainers, coaches, and mentors who helped me along my own path from Montessori “admirer” to Montessori parent to Montessori guide and beyond. With each desire to grow more deeply into Montessori, my mentors helped me investigate the new branch on the path I was already travelling.
How are you “truly working at” knowing and understanding the Universe…the universe of Montessori education? How are you preparing yourself? What help do you need? This is why I’m here…to help you along your path.
Chances are, I’ve encountered your challenges at some point in my 35+ years of Montessori practicing.
- I’ve been the Montessori parent who wanted to know how to embrace the Montessori philosophy at home but struggled to understand some of the concepts that were foreign.
- I’ve been the “specials’ teacher who didn’t understand how to manage a group of self-directed students to pay attention to me for a 45-minute class.
- I’ve been the assistant that took all the math materials off the shelf to clean and put them back in disarray, without awareness of the order.
- I’ve experienced the incredible rigor of training, the hours of environment preparation, the challenge of students who lacked focus or resisted follow-up and the slow progress of a child with one kind of difference or another.
- I’ve been the administrator faced by angry parents and frustrated staff.
- I’ve been the school founder who wondered how we’d make payroll.
Through all these roles, I’ve faced pretty much all the highs and lows, and I promise you that I look back and say I’d never change a moment! Each of the ups or downs taught me something I have been able to pass on to the new generation of teachers and administrators who’ve crossed my path in training classes, conference workshops, or in the Demystifying Cosmic Education Mastermind.
Supporting people at all stages of their personal Montessori journey allows me to touch the future in a new way: helping those who help the children; helping those who want to understand the Universe and are truly working at it.
Thank you for being here! I’m glad to join you on your journey!
