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"The real preparation for education is the study of one's self. The training of the teacher is something far more than the learning of ideas. It includes the training of character; it is a preparation of the spirit."
~Dr. Maria Montessori
Preparation of the Spirit is a 15-week guided online course that focuses on the role of the teacher in Montessori classrooms. Teachers will fulfill observation assignments which they will use to make concrete changes to improve the functioning of their classrooms, which will in turn enhance student outcomes.
Montessori philosophy and practice will be examined through readings and discussions. Engagement in reflective and experiential practices will support teacher morale, expand the teacher's capacity to connect with students, and renew the teacher's commitment to and passion for teaching in a Montessori setting. CEUs will be granted on the completion and submission of the Applied Foundations Album and the Culminating Expression.
The Preparation of the Spirit
Revisit Montessori theory and philosophy through a process inspired by the work of Cato (Nan) Hanrath and Regina Lulka.
Nan was taught by Dr. Montessori herself, and taught Andy’s first teachers and her mother, Regina, along with some very big names in the Montessori world.
Nan believed very much in the process of adult transformation, and guided her students through exercises intended to push their limits, help them confront their fears, and face their own vulnerabilities as human beings. Nan also believed deeply that the process of learning is rooted in experience.
Regina absorbed these values and experienced a deep transformation during her time with Nan.
When Regina started working, she came to understand the challenges of applying the ideals of Montessori theory when the reality of needing to adapt to one's workplace was overwhelming.
When she became a teacher educator herself, she collaborated with Dianne Dobson Murphy in the creation of a project for her student-teachers in which they would examine particular aspects of the theory in their idealistic glory, and then, through a series of guided steps, come to understand whether they could be applied fully, partially, or not at all in their own given, real-life situations.
This course is an online adaptation of these processes for teachers who already have Montessori training and experience in the classroom, and want to continue along the path of spiritual preparation.
The processes are further enriched as Pamela imbues the course with an awareness that comes from attending to human beings from the earliest stages of life through birth and the symbiotic period that follows. Her capacity to bring presence and compassion to group process work helps shape the experiential aspects of this course.
About Pamela Green and Andy Lulka
Pamela Green, Montessori parent to two grown sons, is an educator, consultant,and parenting mentor, who continues to be inspired by the children and families she serves. She is certified for 3-6, Lower Elementary and Upper Elementary age groups, and has taught and served as a Montessori Head of School for thirty years.
She is the founder of Ananda Montessori, a Parent-Infant and Child program, where she also facilitates workshops for parents and teachers. Along with her Montessori work, Pamela has served as a childbirth educator, birth doula, and assistant midwife since 1990. Throughout her adult life, Pamela has been on a deeply transformative path of self-reflection and inquiry, which has included meditation, yoga, group process work, and healing practices.
Andy Lulka has spent her whole life in and around Montessori; more formally since 2003. Andy is a certified 3-6 teacher and holds an M.Ed. in Montessori Integrative Learning. Andy also has experience in various capacities with every age group from Toddler through Middle School and is currently pursuing 12-18 certification. She has worked in the areas of parent education, school administration, teacher training and professional development.
Andy is widely known and deeply respected for her ability to articulate the nuances of Montessori practice and the inner preparation of the teacher. Countless Montessorians around the globe consider her a mentor.
According to Andy, her toughest and proudest role in the Montessori community is, by far, that of mother to a Montessori boy.
Our intention in creating this course is to integrate an understanding of Dr. Montessori’s writing in our minds and bodies by strengthening and connecting to our inner resources, which will bring us to a new embodied exploration of our selves and the child.
We will take the concepts we have learned intellectually in our training and examine ever deepening layers of these through our own histories, states of being, feelings and creative processes.
Through experiential and transformative practices, we can awaken that which drew us to this work, fulfill our longing for communion, and discover new ways of being Montessori.
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