There’s an expression I use in reflecting about teacher education, and how adult learners engage with Montessori – “where do the beads go?”. For me, it indicates a level of concern that new teachers have with the didactics of teaching, how the manipulative materials “work”, the what-goes-where-how-do-I slide-flip-turn this bead bar, this grammar symbol, this circle inset, etc…. It’s important work for sure, and I would never diminish the drive and intention for new teachers to gain a facility and then confidence with the materials, especially those that dominate the Elementary Montessori classroom, 6 -12.
And yet, in my over 30 years of teacher-education (yes, I am THAT old), I’ve found that the truly gifted teachers must also have another quality. An understanding of the greater context, the greater tapestry upon which the curriculum and concepts are woven. This is much more difficult (I would hazard the word, “impossible”) to teach an adult learner. Also in my experience, it’s revealed fairly quickly, in a presentation, in observing the teacher practicing with fellow students, the language they use, the questions they ask, in observing them in a classroom with children, the language they choose, the respect they give, naturally, to their children. There’s a sense of humor, there’s a healthy dose (just a soupcon) of well-intentioned self-deprecation, and a strong sense of taking the work very seriously but themselves, not so much.
Follow the Child 