Being an Elementary Teacher is an Experience You Have to See to Believe

When I was choosing my career after university, I never dreamed that it would be in education. It was purely by chance that I heard about an opportunity to work as a classroom assistant in a Montessori Elementary school as a maternity cover and I became intrigued. I began to read about the Montessori method and was astounded by how many of the concepts resonated with me, given my own experiences of ‘traditional’ education, and I decided to apply for the position and was successful.

When I started working as an assistant in the Montessori classroom, I was astonished at how relaxed the atmosphere was and how confident and independent the children were. I became totally passionate about the Montessori approach as I could see its impact on every child and within six months, I had decided to study on the AMI Diploma 6-12 course.

Studying for the Elementary Diploma was truly challenging in every way and a lot of work; however it was undoubtedly a life-changing and rewarding experience and I made friends for life with my fellow students and my inspirational trainers. The experience of working in a classroom to do teaching practice whilst studying was invaluable and the teachers I worked with gave me lots of freedom to practice presentations and work with a variety of children.

The overall experience of working in a Montessori environment at the Upper Elementary level is incredible. Being able to work with such a variety of subjects over the day from square root, to osmosis to the Cuban Missile Crisis all within a few minutes, with independent children who are eager to learn about the entire scope of the cosmos whilst also interacting respectfully and caring for their own environment and each other is an experience that you have to see to believe.