Inspire the Children!

I have a final exam on Saturday.  I seriously thought I had left final exams and tests in general behind when I graduated from university.  Apparently I was mistaken because I found myself this evening studying at Starbucks and trying to cram philosophies, goals, characteristics, and acronyms into my memory.

For the past three months (with one or two exceptions), I have spent every Saturday at school.  My Montessori training class lasts from nine in the morning until two or three in the afternoon - quite a significant time commitment!  I am grateful for this class because I feel better equipped to do my job, though I desperately miss sleeping in until ten or eleven!  The course is fifteen weeks long and this upcoming Saturday (the 30th) marks the last day and the final exam.  Topics covered in the past fourteen weeks include the philosophies of Maria Montessori, terminology (do you know what "normalization" means?), the characteristics and goals of each of the six sections of the classroom as well as individual items of work, and perhaps most importantly, how to present each piece of work. 

To be completely honest, I am not very stressed about this test.  It doesn't make or break my job contract, nor does it certify me to teach anywhere else.  But, as a perfectionist, I would feel terrible if I didn't score very, very well.  And so my neighbor and co-teacher - Miss Diana - and I went to Starbucks to study because I can't think of a more comforting, more conducive environment to study.  How thankful I am that despite being on the other side of the world I can still study in a familiar place, sip a familiar drink, and do a familiar thing - STUDY!

The title of this post comes from one of the five key philosophies of Montessori.  "Inspire the Children!" means to create an environment that invigorates and motivates them to concentrate, explore, discover, and focus.  This can be done through the playing of classical music (we play some beautiful melodies by Yiruma in our classroom) and the removal of distractions in the classroom.  To quote my instructor's phrase, "Innovation through inspiration."