Empowering Your Team to Grow

In a previous Inspiration post for Montessori Europe, Tammy Oesting suggested that, like the child, the adult goes through a series of rebirths, “sparked again and again over a lifetime of experiences”. In a post on The Evolution of a Montessori Guide for Montessori Musings, Tammy writes that “the evolution of the Montessori guide might be viewed as a series of deaths and rebirths and knowledge of this evolution may amplify the spiritual development of the guide and all the hearts and minds they in turn impact.” In the Webinar, Evolution of a Montessori Guide, Tammy Oesting shared with participants the Stages of Development of Teachers, as set out by Sharon Dubble. This work includes characteristics of the Guide at each stage, their needs and how they might be supported.

In an introduction for the upcoming webinar “Empowering Your Team to Grow“, Diana Bradley, Executive Director for the Montessori Society AMI (UK), writes that “Every adult in a Montessori environment has the role of teacher put on them – they are required to know how to support children to follow their interests and be a model for exploration and imitation.” She writes that “It becomes apparent that guides and assistants have an obligation to regularly check in with one another, to spend time structuring and sharing their knowledge and discoveries so that the teams’ talents are evenly spread and the children enjoy an equitable learning environment at all times.”

The role of the adult in the Montessori environment is a challenging one, and Montessori likened it to the trials of the Vestals in ancient Rome, tasked with keeping the sacred fire alive (Creative Development of the Child, 2020: 403). Understanding the stages and needs of the individuals in your team and empowering them to claim ownership of their individual growth and to be responsible for each other professionally, allows you to ensure that you can support the adults in your Montessori environment to support the children in their care.