In the early years of high school I knew that I wanted to work in education. During my day to day I would tell anyone who'd listen how vital I believed the role of the educator was to the world. Literally influencing and sculpting the future of tomorrow, I couldn't envision working in a career more valuable. After college my first position in education was an assistant teacher in a regular education PreK program. I was excited to meet the kids and ready to get the semester going. I very quickly fell in love with the age range. They were highly inquisitive, fearless and full of excitement. Through personal research I found the two and a half to 5 year old age range was a huge period for their growth and development. My new goal became obtaining a teacher certification for PreK. I was definitely on the right track, but very soon I would be turning in a slightly different direction.
At the beginning of our spring semester, my lead teacher mentioned to me an advertisement for a Montessori school (The Suzuki School in Atlanta) looking for assistant teachers. I wondered "What does Montessori mean?" Having no knowledge of it prior to this, I did some research and immediately became interested in this approach to learning. I applied for the position and set up an informational tour of the facilities. I was in love: the environment, materials, the subjects and concepts they were being introduced to blew my mind. I was so compelled to learn and see more. Thankfully I was given that opportunity and offered the position.
Now with an even closer look at the kids in action inside of a Montessori room, I had no doubt in my mind what my goal would be: to become a Montessori guide. The way the children gravitated to the lessons, intrinsically created a love for learning, nature, and each other truly inspired me to gain my certification. I applied, was accepted into an MTEI Early Childhood training cohort, and the rest, as they say, is history. I can honestly say that I've learned so much from my Montessorian experiences and am continuing to learn everyday. I have grown, not just as a guide but as a human being. My journey continues to astonish me and those around me, and I am very excited to see where the path takes me next!
