Montessori Training for East Pokot Teachers

Maureen, Linet and Evelyne are in the third training model of their training at St. Ann’s Montessori college and they are doing well. They will soon sit for their national certificate examination to complete the theoretical part of their training. They will also have completed a full set of Montessori materials and they cannot wait to go and prepare Montessori environments in their communities. From the training they have gained values and skills that will help them to work in any environment, under any circumstance. They now feel ready for their new role as Montessori Guide and will still be supported through frequent mentoring visits as they start their practice.

With a lot of patience, precision, and attention, all three trainees completed their set of handmade materials which have been packed nicely, ready for use in the schools in East Pokot where they will do their teaching practice. Evelyne recalls how at first it was difficult to use a saw and cut out the materials. Now she can measure and cut the wood neatly, without help. Linet says she became a great painter after learning how to paint small objects with precision. She says that Montessori helps one to be organised and patient, especially during the practical and presentation lessons. They are very excited to begin the next phase of their training, guiding the children in the Montessori environments to use the materials they made.

Evelyne, Maureen and Linet recently completed a week of practice at the Corner of Hope Montessori school. Maureen shares that it was an amazing experience for her to work with the children and present different activities to them. It touched and amazed her to see the children’s concentration while working on the different activities. After that experience, she has a lot of confidence to work with children during the teaching practice. She feels ready to guide the children with what she learnt. During their practice they observed the children and wrote down their findings, guided by their trainers. It takes time to master which areas to observe and how to follow up but with practice and mentorship, they believe it will become a second nature.

“Montessori training has given us the principles on how to live with people in society. We feel we have re-learned to live with people and how to treat them with respect, especially the children” says Maureen. The three trainees feel that they are ready to serve the children with a lot of love and with the principles they have learned. Montessori training has given them a new perspective on how to approach and work with people in their environments. They believe that it is the type of education that is highly needed in their community, given the challenges they faced when they went to school. The trainees are very excited to go back and serve in their community. Linet has expressed her plan to look for children who do not attend school and take them to school, with the support of local leaders. She acknowledges that one of the biggest challenges in her community is that there are few schools, and many children cannot attend school because of the distance. One day she hopes to assist in setting up schools that are close to the children so that they do not have to walk so far every day.

Maureen, Linet and Evelyne will start their attachment year in January 2022 at two schools in East Pokot. The schools were very happy to have them and agreed to offer them employment after they finish their training. The trainees look forward to work with the school leaders and teachers to demonstrate Montessori principles and practice. They believe that Montessori education is unique and prepares children to reach their potential. When children can solve problems on their own with little guidance, they are able to achieve a lot, especially in their community where there is little hope of completing education successfully. They believe that there is a thirst for education in the community. Another value they hope to instill is courtesy, which is not very prevalent in their culture. They rarely encountered it as they grew up, but they learned a lot about it during their training. They think that it is an important virtue to have in life.

After completing their certificate training, the trainees intend to continue at the Diploma level to advance their studies and continue learning about the Montessori philosophy. They also hope that more teachers will be trained from their community so that they can bring quality education to all children.

Interviews for a new group of trainees are planned for December 2021. The new group will start their training at St. Ann’s Montessori college in January 2022. We would like to sincerely thank you for your support for the training of Montessori teachers from East Pokot. With your support, we will continue to support the training of Montessori teachers and the establishment of Montessori environments, ultimately increasing access to quality education for the Pokot children.