Montessori teacher training?
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re... : Montessori teacher training? 
27/04/2009 15:27 - Introduce Yourself
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Hi there,
Thanks for the reply, but thats not what they said. I said I would be back in late July and they said that would hardly give me enough time to organise things even if I were to get the course. I had previously rang and asked to be posted a prospectus, which I didn´t recieve either. Hence,my queries about this college. Since then I´ve heard nothing, I sent them one very brief email asking about interviews but not a peep. Given I sent fully completed application form, everything they needed I don´t know what else to say on this one. It´s been of putting really.
| re... : Montessori teacher training?
25/04/2009 00:42 - Introduce Yourself
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Delidee. I have been reading this thread and have been wondering what advice I could possibly give you, if any. Maria Montessori once said that the greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, ´ The Children are now working as if I did not exist.´
With all due respects, given that your opinions are so strong, I seriously wonder if your path in life is meant to follow the footsteps of Maria Montessori?
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25/04/2009 15:10 - Introduce Yourself
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I have almost given up on this forum yielding any fruitful advice but many thanks to Derby, Mary T, Julie and Miss G for your sound, well rounded and objective advice. (Many of these blog spots are as you´re probably aware hot-spots for spam so I am grateful for the ´sane´ feedback.)
Derby, I find myself in a very similar position to your nephew, weekly calls home etc. and I´ve been lucky enough to get home twice in the in the last 2 years and I agree the changes I have seen while back were pretty huge.
Many of my closest friends, many new home-owners have just lost jobs so I have a great network of people keeping me up to date and am an agony aunt at present to many of them!
Like yourself and everyone else I´m hoping things will keep an upturn soon but in a contemplative sense it´s good to keep a perspective on these things and as you mentioned poverty in your post also, the world recession is nothing on the third world, so I always count myself priviledged to have the gift of education available to me whenever I want or need it.
Anyhow, a bit off the point.
So yes, the decision making process is a very hard one for those of us abroad with the possible need to return and I ,too, am considering putting plans on ice (but would not want the economy to be the deciding factor). However, in all good sense, at present one cannot ignore it. Best of luck to your nephew in his plans.
In regard to the interest in Montessori Teaching I have been working as a full time children´s Art teacher for a few years now and did a short period of part time work in a AMI certified Montessori school here in HK, so this is where my interest in this particular educational field arose.
Hence my questions about the course.
I have carefully considered the primary teaching option too but don´t see a huge amount of oppurtunity in that sector at the moment in Ireland. To be honest I do not have a burning desire to return to Ireland, it doesn´t present exactly the kind of oppurtunities that enthuse me at present, but then employment soley would never be my prime reason for return, rather the re-training option seems like one to consider at the moment given the economic climate. In short there may be a real need for me to return to be closer to family and I´m trying to figure out the maze of courses before commiting myself to anything full time.
As to any dispersions in later posts...about a strong opinion holding someone back from being a good teacher - well what can I say, I adore all my students here and am a very caring and capable child educator. Whatever Maria Montessori said, I can only speak for myslef.
| Montessori teacher training?
21/04/2009 03:58 - Introduce Yourself
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Hi there,
I´m a 28 year old Irish female and I´ve been living and teaching in Hong Kong for 2 years. I´m tecahing English but this is a bad job description as I lead playgroups, phonics classes, creative writing and critical thinking classes (it´s a busy life here!)
Prior to this I was studying Art and have a Masters in Fine Art from NCAD,(I´m a practicing artist, when I have time!) and qualified to teach art at 3rd level, except jobs are reallly limited in this field.
I´m planning on coming back to Ireland in July 2009 I´m now and am really interested in training to become a Montessori teacher ,initially for the 3-6 age group.
I applied to the Montessori College Ireland (The AMI certified one in Dublin) about the course for those already holding b/a´s m/a´s and all was well until they got very snotty and unhelpful about interviewing me for their course over the phone. (I understand they like to meet people but I cannot fly back from Hong Kong when I´m moving back with my two dogs mid-summer anyway!)
So this has left me wondering if I would like to study there and I´m now looking at alternatives which are part time and more suited to me.(not sure I´m ready to go into a full on 1 year course just yet) I know aforementioned course is AMI certified- how important is this in getting a montessori post in Ireland? I´m interested in the part time course Portobello college offer, keeping in mind that I already have 2 solid years of very challenging classroom experience already.
I wonder can I apply for jobs with what I already have or get some hands on experince and train at the same time.
All and any advice and suggestions would be great!
delidee ;-)
| re... : Montessori teacher training?
28/04/2009 16:01 - Introduce Yourself
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This sounds more promising.
| re... : Montessori teacher training?
23/04/2009 20:49 - Introduce Yourself
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Before I make my post I have to qualify it by saying that in this and other fora, I have seen Julie giving very sound, valuable and down to earth advice. I don´t know her or the sky over her but she always seems to make sense and to have a great knowledge of the Irish education system. The advice she gave at the outset was the best advice anybody could have given you, as you thought about embarking on a career change to montessori teaching. While I was surprised and disappointed with the response she was given, perhaps it wasn´t what you wanted to hear. To be honest, I hesitated before responding but here goes.
If you intend working in Ireland as a montessori teacher, you would do well to find out as much info about the actual job here as you can before you invest valuable time and money in your training.
My three children were in montessori before starting in primary and I must say I was pleased with the school and their teachers. It ought to be said though that standards in montessori teaching and practice vary greatly on the ground. There was another thread on another Forum recently where all that was discussed and that was the general concensus.
If you are concerned about job prospects, you might also consider primary teaching. That takes 3 years unless you do one of the post grad courses which are 18 months long. There is also the Honours Irish requirement (which you may very well have).
It´s a big move for you and I hope you will be both happy and lucky with whatever choice you make.
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22/04/2009 03:31 - Introduce Yourself
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Hi Julie,
Thanks for your reply,
But....
Really this is all completely off the point I was asking for others advice on Montessori courses in Ireland (part time ones) opinions etc. and not why certain colleges are so unwilling to be flexible in their dealings with overseas applicants with regard to interview format.(though the are completely willing to take my money for ´course fees´ asap, interesting...)
In view of this, any advice on aforementioned would be good.
(PS - I have interviewed over the phone before, sent photos etc. and been successful upon these applications....
in fact I have another one tommorow. I´ve sent a photograph, and can even speak to individual in person with Skype, using a web cam.
Sometimes there has to be compromise,especially when someone is applying from over-seas and just can´t be present in person.
On my Masters course alone there were over 6 students who were from various parts of the world...none of them attended interview in person, but all were just as dedicated and suited to the course than those who had attended in person.
It is afterall 2009, we have internet, telephones, fax etc. available to us, in fact we really do live in a ´virtual´ world...so a phone interview in itself is a little behind the times, since now you can speak to someone face to face over the internet with the help of a simple web-cam!
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22/04/2009 20:33 - Introduce Yourself
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Delidee. In your first post you said, ´All and any advice and suggestions would be great !´ It seems that the first respondent tried to give you advice and a valuable suggestion but your response was certainly less than gracious. My sister is a montessori teacher and all of my children have been through the montessori system in Ireland but after what I have read, I would be reluctant to give advice, at the risk of having it thrown back in my face.
Lynda.
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22/04/2009 17:03 - Introduce Yourself
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The original point Julie was making was a very valid one indeed. If you are hoping to work in the area of Montessori (3-6), then you need to have the most acceptable qualification available.
It was clear to me that the ultimate point of her original post was that she was encouraging you not to be put off by what you regarded as a snotty attitude re the interview situation, if that is the area in which you wish to work.
Living in Ireland at the moment, we are all very much aware that the country is in a deep recession, with the prospect of a further decline in the next couple of years. Being removed from the situation, it may be difficult for you to fully appreciate the severity of the situation. Unfortunately, jobs in the education sector are being suppressed, across the board. For that reason, I fully understand the advice Julie was trying to give you.
In order to have the best chance of securing employment in the area and the level you are choosing, you will need the very best qualifications you can get. That in my opinion is the full time course, (AMI certified), in Dublin. You may have been annoyed by the initial intransigence of the college but that doesn´t mean you should exclude the best option available to you.
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28/04/2009 12:07 - Introduce Yourself
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The fact that an application was submitted must mean you got a prospectus as a package is sent with everything in it. I think Ms. Horgan is wise and if you have a problem you should contact the College as I am sure there will be records of all your e-mails, communications and what has been sent todate.
| re : Montessori teacher training?
21/04/2009 11:39 - Introduce Yourself
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I understand your frustration but cannot blame the college for wanting to interview you face to face. I have carried out interviews for several years and it is not until you meet somebody face to face that a fair assessment can be made. I have spoken to people over the telephone in the past, subsequently met them in person for interview and found that they presented very differently to the impressions I formed over the telephone.
I was asked to interview somebody over the telephone for a job last year - something I could not do, which I explained.
All I would say to you is that I would not take exception to what you were told and if you are interested in the course and could do the interview later, I would not exclude myself from it because you felt they were ´snooty´. Good luck.
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23/04/2009 14:53 - Introduce Yourself
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Kettle, pot etc. Good Lord in deed.
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23/04/2009 13:55 - Introduce Yourself
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Hi there,
Thanks for your post and it´s clear that the AMI certified course is worthwhile from the above posts.
As regards Ireland in deep recession, I´m Irish and all my family are living in Ireland at present so I´m as aware of anyone of that. It´s not just Ireland though, it´s global,and that is the main reason a lot of exapts are living Asia too. Things are awful here,same as home. I think the main difference is though that in parts of Asia you see really severe poverty and people are just get on with things with a hardworking ethic that I haven´t encountered elsewhere.
Ireland may be bady hit, but it was booming and really a land of plenty...I think just like the rest of the wealthy developed world in the same situatin people really have to just take stock now and get by. It´s not the end of the world and it´ll pass as it did before.
As for teacher training, well if theres a lack of jobs then it just makes good sense to retrain and see what that yields. I am not banking my bottom dollar on it.
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23/04/2009 15:03 - Introduce Yourself
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I suppose they talk about ´Once in a Blue Moon´. It must have been one of those blue Moons when Miss G decided to sign up to Schooldays, for the very first time, 20 minutes after Delidee happened to post from the Far East. There must also a blue moon about at the moment when two people express exactly the same sentiments, at exactly the same time from two different parts of the world.
Quite seriously, the point I made was that Delidee had been given advice and I was appalled by the manner in which that advice was treated, even though Delidee had invited suggestion and advice. Any advice that has been given has been followed by a lecture from Delidee/MissG . Delidee was most ungracious towards the first lady who advised her and dismissed her as being totally off the point. Her advice was not to dismiss the full-time course, which in my opinion was very important advice.
My first post was made to advise Delidee that if she was going to treat posters in the way she treated that lady, then people who would otherwise be happy to offer advice, would be reluctant to do so.
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27/04/2009 18:10 - Introduce Yourself
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Who knows? It might be worth sending one more email or making one more call. You could even say what you were told on this site as regards the July deadline. I could be very wrong but it would appear that the recent contributor seems to know about this college and may have some connection with the place.
Sometimes it´s annoying for us when we´re not at first told what we were expecting to hear or what we would like to hear. Perhaps you were unlucky with the person you first made contact. Why not write to the head of the college, email or perhaps ring. Then you can decide with the knowledge that you gave it your best shot and you gave them a fair chance too. Good Luck.
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23/04/2009 14:15 - Introduce Yourself
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I´m a qualified, working teacher and I´ve just had a look through this post and the word ´bandwagon´ pops to mind. If the above user didn´t want to give any advice for fear of it being ´thrown back in her face´ then why bother posting at all? I do agree that there is a global recession and appreciate as an Irish citizen that things are bad here, but it is global and I´m sure the person who originally posted from Asia is just as aware of it as anyone in Ireland (China being the worlds second biggest exporter?)
But the point is this blogger just wanted advice on Montessori training courses, and if she had a bad experience and was irrate at one such course, then so be it. I´m sure the advice posted was appreciated, I think it is the undertone of preachiness in some of the replies that may have caused annoyance.
Delidee, to end I am a qualified, working Montessori teacher. I will PM you how I got into it and where I studied etc. I hope you find it helpful. Good luck with whatever course you choose.
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24/04/2009 17:04 - Introduce Yourself
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Spoke to a friend since, who works in education. She said the cutbacks being spoken about in Education are outrageous. Along with Health, it´s the area where savings are being sought. It´s really a very difficult time to be making any decisions as the situation is unpredictable and volatile. A couple of years ago, there was talk of preschool/creche being provided across the board. Everything seems to be off the table now.
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23/04/2009 14:38 - Introduce Yourself
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First and last time Lynda by the looks of it!
Good lord. I am not leading a double life, just thought I´d reply to the above post. I´m just happy I´m not the one living in Asia and considering teaching in Ireland, economy being what it is!
And you´ve posted just minutes after mine..so what does that mean?!
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22/04/2009 08:15 - Introduce Yourself
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Was only trying to help/advise, as I have worked in the education sector for many many years and felt that the course you first spoke of was your best option. I can see that you have very strong opinions, so I´ll just wish you good luck and hope all work out for you with your plans.
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27/04/2009 09:35 - Introduce Yourself
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I know the Montessori College AMI accommodates people with interviews right up to August and as you are back in July I know they would have told you they would see you then.
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23/04/2009 14:29 - Introduce Yourself
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I can´t help noticing ´Miss G´ that this is your very first post. Coincidentally, it was made 20 minutes after Delidee´s last post and the vocabulary, tone and sentiments are remarkably similar. Absolutely uncanny I would have thought. We weren´t born yesterday!
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28/04/2009 16:26 - Introduce Yourself
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I agree. Things sound much better here. Hope it works out for you now if you haven´t changed your mind. Either way, good luck with your next move.
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23/04/2009 19:58 - Introduce Yourself
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Me again. I am glad you have taken on board the opinion of posters who advised about the full-time course, in view of the recession.
I really don´t want to turn this into a discussion about the recession but it is relevant to your decision. In spite of hearing from family, it is impossible to explain how different the country is in 2009, to what it was in 2007.
My nephew lives in Brussels but was home at Easter. He´s in almost daily contact with home but it wasn´t until he was here for 2 weeks, listening to the news, reading newspapers, speaking to friends and family that he realised how severe the situation has become in Ireland. He said that everyone in the EU has been commenting on Ireland but he really thought it was all exaggerated. He had been contemplating returning home in late 2009 but has now decided to defer for a year or two.
I have also watched the news channel, France 24, where they are regularly focussing on Ireland, as opposed to all the other EU countries. In spite of the U.S. situation, relatives in America are also aware that the situation here has changed dramatically, with Ireland being especially badly hit.
I travelled the slums of India and throughout Asia 20 years ago, so I know exactly what you mean about poverty. Our economy was booming until very recently, however so I felt I should share that with you. It really is incredible.
The last thing I would want to do is to affect anybody´s decision but it you really have to be here to fully appreciate it.
For what it is worth I would think that, should you decide to pursue the Montessori idea, the full time Montessori course is your best bet. I would also do as much research as possible before deciding on your next move.
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22/04/2009 03:35 - Introduce Yourself
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PPS - really , just advice on Montessori courses, pre-school teaching etc NOT why phone v´s traditional interview.
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