From birth to death, Dr Maria Montessori wrote her philosophy of how to live your life, and of course, this applies equally to all the employees in your school or centre as it does to educators and our wonderful children!
First Impressions Matter
Training Admin Staff in Montessori Principles
When you consider that it is your administration team who likely makes the first connection with your prospective parents and consistently with your existing parents, it makes sense to be confident that all your admin staff have been Montessori trained, too!
A simple introduction to Montessori principles and how they apply to their role in HR or at the reception desk is a useful start for our admin staff as they make that all-important first impression, which is fostered day to day. It makes their position more aligned with the leadership and educational teams, and they feel they are a valued employee who is in the loop, not an extra add-on to an amazing and sometimes bewildering Montessori world.
We all approach our work because we believe it is worthwhile; we want to feel our time and effort make a difference and that we are needed.
Prospective parents have to make an enormous leap of faith to stray from the norm and to hurl their children into an education system that is so very different from the school experience they know and .. survived. Why would they make this big move? Often, they can face opposition from families or grandparents, too. Our admin staff need to understand that their own attitudes, behaviour, and normal outlook on straightforward administrative tasks will all be reassuring to parents who are often fraught with questions and concerns. It is easy to put prospective parents off if something is not obvious or hard to understand. I claim that PR stands for Parent Reassurance!
Promoting Inclusivity and Understanding in Our Community
Our children are all taught about grace and courtesy daily, and many staff members come to our schools and centres with a naturally warm-hearted approach and courteous manners. However, sometimes they come to us after an unpleasant experience elsewhere. It is reassuring for staff when they are shown how important it is to Montessorians that everyone is seen as of equal value to everyone else – the cleaners and maintenance staff just as much as anyone else.
Montessorians always aim to look after each other, use kind words, listen to others, understand that we all have bad days sometimes, and work best as a team to solve problems, celebrate differences, and be non-judgmental. All this is common sense to us as Montessorians. Still, when a member of the admin team does not understand why our teachers have so many notes to record at the end of the day or why we don’t have detentions, etc., it can make their lives confusing. They need to develop a lot of patience before it all becomes second nature!
Empowering Admin Staff with Montessori Insights
As you begin in a new Montessori school or centre, any induction process is full of facts, details, procedures and official forms. There is generally no time for admin staff to sit in a classroom and undertake an Observation, something we as educators have done hundreds of times. How are they to know how a teacher in Cycle 1 can teach each child individually if they have not seen it in person nor had the time to have it really explained to them? How can they talk about the calm atmosphere in a classroom if they haven’t experienced it? How can they grasp how extraordinary Maria Montessori was as a doctor, psychologist, and world-renowned personality (who would have been a hit on social media if it had existed in her day) and how significant her findings were at the time and still are today?
It makes such a difference to each and every admin staff member if they know that Montessori is seen as quite normal in different places around the world and held as an outstanding education for high achievers in some places, but that, in reality, it suits every child (but not necessarily every parent!). Admin team members need the confidence to know that we deliver the most incredibly wonderful education to all our children. They need to feel confident when speaking about your school or centre that the needs of every child are being met. If they are to become a prepared adult for their role, they also need to know just how essential the prepared environment is!
How Does This Apply in Administrative Spaces?
Admin teams love to learn about:
- The amazing benefits of a Montessori education and how the children LOVE learning and love their teachers;
- How the latest neuroscience research tells us that Montessori institutions have always had what is necessary for deep learning;
- That Montessori children are prepared for the unknown future of work.
So, it is helpful for any admin staff member to have a short introduction to Maria Montessori’s life, her philosophy as it applies to their interaction with all people, and most importantly, the ins and outs of Montessori versus mainstream teaching and learning methods. If they are to convey the essence of Montessori when anxious parents ask them questions, they need to have had some time to think about the philosophy of how to live your life as she gradually unfolded it through her writings, lectures and books.
Ready to Ease Their Worries?
Join me at this upcoming workshop for all management and administrative staff.
Equip the whole team with a deeper understanding of how your school or centre works – in a Montessori way!
- Ideal for new admin staff and teams
- New perspectives for established staff
- Blend old and new staff into a cohesive team
This workshop will take admin staff along a journey that leads them to understand more fully how significant their role is. They will learn how they can help nervous parents making that leap of faith from mainstream to Montessori by recognising the main differences between the two systems. They will gain basic knowledge about Montessori education, values, and attitudes and integrate these into their daily interactions with parents, educators, and each other. And that is just the start!
Whether greeting parents or preparing marketing material, working with enrolments or parent concerns, staff will discover how the Montessori philosophy enhances understanding and communication for all and can create a more collaborative and informative workplace through their own prepared environment.
