montessori ed

The Antionette Early Learning Center, run by the Little Sisters of the Assumption, is in Malibay, Philippines, an impoverished neighborhood near the center of Metro Manila.  I would be heard pressed to find a better modern equivalent to the San Lorenzo quarter in Rome in 1907.  

These photos were taken while walking through the neighborhood.

The staff is transitioning to a Montessori curriculum and I volunteer as a consultant from time to time, answering questions and providing any other assistance they request.  These photos were taken on a Saturday when the staff gathered to make Bead materials for the classroom.  I had calculated the number of golden beads that would be required and a member of the staff had purchased the beads in bulk at an open market.

In the room above the school is a workshop were parents in the neighborhood can create items to sell as a livelihood.  A few men recycle cans and solder metal to create small Jeepney replicas.  A Jeepney is the most common means of public transport here in the Philippines.

The squares of 100 and the cube of 1000 require a strip or square of metal, vinyl, or other material to hold the bars together.  (You can see a white cardboard example in the image above).  One of the metal working Jeepney experts joined us to fashion these strips and squares from metal. 

The staff of the Antionette Early Learning Center has been very resourceful in gathering materials, but it is highly unlikely a staff member will ever be able to afford training.  Most of the people living in the neighborhood are unable to set aside the equivalent to $20 needed to open a local bank account, much less the tens of thousands of dollars to attend training.  

The future of the Antionette Early Learning Center is hopeful.  Ms Judith Gonzalez, an experienced and highly qualified Montessori Guide has begun the training of trainers, and very soon there will be an AMI trainer in the Philippines.  Living here in the Philippines and witnessing first hand the economic challenges faced by individuals in the developing world, I believe that recruiting qualified local teachers to become trainers is the best approach.

Several months ago I corresponded with an AMI staff member regarding the 2017 Draft Goals.  I feel a vested interest in looking at how AMI plans to grow in the next 10 years.

Draft 2017 Goal

• There will be 250 AMI trainers and training centres in 50 countries that ensure standards of Montessori pedagogical integrity and train 3000 teachers a year.

 My first question was “How many current AMI trainers? and at what level?”

I was told that currently there are…

• 5 trainers for 0-3
• 40 trainers for 3-6
• 8 trainers for 6-12

and

• 47 in the training of trainers program
• 15 applications being processed

 So there are currently 53 trainers with the potential to reach 115 within the next few years.

I also asked “How many current AMI training centres?”, “Currently in how many countries?” and “Current number of teachers trained each year?”

The answers were…

• “There are currently 36 International Training Centres around the world. The newest of which are New Zealand, China and Thailand. Both China and Thailand are developing with governmental assistance.”
• “Countries served are: Australia, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States” (20 countries if you’re counting).
• “approx. 900″

 I like Math, so for fun I examined the numbers, and found some interesting questions…

If there are 53 trainers and only 36 training centres, and assuming there must be at least 1 trainer per centre, I wonder how many of the other 17 are not training, or training part time, or training at a centre with other trainers (like Washington D.C).

I notice that the number of current Primary trainers is 8 times that of A to I, and 5 times greater than the number of Elementary trainers.  I wonder what factors influence this, and what can be done to balance these numbers? 

Where will the 47 (or 62) future trainers go?  Are training centers opening as quickly as trainers are graduating?  What is the job market like for a trainer?

To reach the goal of 50 countries in 2017, they need to add 30 more countries.  Which countries would be most attractive for adding a training center?  Will there finally be training centers in Africa and South America?

If 36 training centers produce approximately 900 teachers each year, that is an average of 25 teachers per training center.  At that rate, the goal of 3000 a year will only require 120 training centres, rather than the stated goal of 250 centres.  Is the goal of 3000 teachers a year intentionally lower than the current rate? 

Why are there no AMI training centers in major US cities like Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Boston?  There are training centers nearby, but none in those major population centers.  Many schools sponsor an individual through training if they agree to teach for a number of years after graduation.  I wonder if a community could sponsor a trainer if they agreed to return and establish a training center.