Had anyone told me in 2016 that my Montessori journey would lead My husband and I to China, I would not have believed them. I remember being a nervous, homesick wreck at just the idea of moving overseas, as once proposed by my best friend in 2014 as I prepared for an interview to be an assistant in a Montessori classroom. Alas, in January 2020, we made the decision to uproot our lives from Atlanta, GA and move abroad to teach, live, and learn in Beijing, China. As we are both Montessori certified Teachers, we arrived in Beijing excited at the prospect of learning new ways to implement our knowledge of Montessori Philosophy in this new place. COVID changed those plans. We quickly realized this adventure would not be what we thought and the experience was short lived.
Living in Beijing during the pandemic was...simultaneously refreshing and stressful. Like many Teachers around the world, we were able to work virtually, which provided time to write, think, and set our intentions for the future. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to teach virtual parent infant classes and to host a few Montessori workshops on various topics. I even had the opportunity to connect with a few Teacher Education programs for the opportunity to teach. As one can imagine, being abroad can be challenging- being abroad during a pandemic proved to be even more of a conundrum.
With money dwindling and no information about returning to school in sight, we had some decisions to make. Though we searched for Montessori schools, our efforts to find a great fit for each of us were not met. We are both firm believers in life unfolding the way it should. We were determined to fulfill the mission of living and teaching abroad; therefore, we decided to step away from our Montessori school, opting to join an international school with a Play based, Reggio inspired curriculum. Boy were we in for an awakening.
Moving to Shenzhen China to join the Reggio school was such an eye opening experience for me. As an Infant Toddler trained teacher, I immediately recognized that I may be biased in my approaches, but I was open to this new perspective, especially after reading how similar Reggio and Montessori are. What most great educators know is that it's all about the implementation of the philosophy. We also learned that we would no longer be lead teachers in a single classroom, but would be “language focused” teachers leading Phonics and inquiry between two classrooms. To add to this challenge, many schools in China begin at age three, so my Infant Toddler abilities were placed in a classroom with four and five year olds.
I was determined to bring my passion for educating and understanding children to this International school. With that, I asked many questions, listened and observed classroom teachers create environments. They were different than I imagined “Reggio” to be, but as the new girl, I quietly observed and made note of what I could do. I shared my knowledge where appropriate considering space, organization, and varied interests of the children for their age. In my time in this play based classroom, I thought of my Montessori training many times and thanked the heavens for its depth, clarity, and practicality since it allowed me to share so much knowledge with others. Here are some points I constantly think about
1.Prepared Environment is an essential component of guiding children
Montessori Philosophy stresses the importance of the environment not only being prepared physically, but being an aesthetically pleasing home for the child. There are many great similarities in the Reggio approach and Montessori such as natural lighting, use of varied real materials for learning. The key difference is how the Montessori classroom is organized to scaffold the child’s independence and sense of order. The environment assists the child in being social or respecting the need to work independently. Most of all, the environment includes the Teacher that understands how she may help or hinder a child and she takes care to protect his concentration.
2. The child does not require external praise.
I have long appreciated the value Positive Discipline and the Montessori Philosophy have added to my awareness of the child as creator. One thing that has been affirmed in my time here in China is noticing how similar we as adults can be in using Praise as a system of discipline. It can be like an addictive candy for children if we are not careful. If building the esteem of the child is our true motivator, we can find ways to slowly shift focus toward encouraging them instead of praising their actions. Pairing this with the freedom to explore their environment can be so powerful in building their self efficacy skills.
3. Montessori is Universal
Though there are some concepts that are very familiar to Montessori Teachers and environments, Montessori concepts are not just for Montessori credentialed schools and classrooms. I think of how my training taught me to be inclusive of many different personalities and temperaments. How I learned to celebrate the cultures and practices of each family within the Montessori environment I set. I continually learn about the
child and family dynamics, parent teacher relationships and preparing the environment. I recognize how I may use a technique from my Montessori environment to assist a child in learning something new. I am able to balance open and closed ended tasks into the environment to help the children discover their interests and the natural ability to concentrate. I have used three period lessons more times than I can think to count and I credit part of the success of the children’s English learning to the concepts I learned during my time practicing in a Montessori classroom.
Though I miss Infant Toddler spaces, I still believe life unfolded the way it should have. I believe it is the bigger mission to bring Montessori knowledge outside the Montessori classroom into the wider fold of education. Applying philosophies we have learned and taking into context the Chinese culture, considering standard methods of child care, parent to child interaction, and everyday interaction within the environment. As I continue to learn, I will move forward with the knowledge that Montessori gave me the strong foundation to embrace varying systems of education with a strong knowledge of child development and the belief that Montessori is universal and applicable for all.
