Ghana Montessori International Teacher Training Centre holds graduation
The Deputy National Early Childhood Coordinator of Ghana Education Service, Mrs Doris Gyedu Nyako, has called on teachers and care givers to exhibit emotional qualities such as love, respect and compassion for the children in their care.
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She said this would guide young children to develop good behaviour as children were quick to emulate their teachers’ attitudes in their learning process.
Speaking at the 2014 graduation ceremony of Ghana Montessori International Teacher Training Centre, in Accra, Mrs Nyako stressed the need for trained caregivers to concentrate on whole child education by using activities and materials that will enable the child to play and learn to develop his or her physical, social and emotional being.
The centre graduated thirty-one students who had successfully completed their various courses. Twenty-eight of them completed a nine-month certificate course while the other three earned Diploma certificates.
The graduates were taught basic sanitation skills, safety, self-development, how to speak to a child, how to stimulate the brain of a child with the Montessori approach, among others.
At the ceremony, a Director of the school, Mrs Kamilla Kirpalani said the graduates were expected to handle children with care, caution and patience as they had been trained to do.
She explained that the school was established to give extra training to people who were willing to wholeheartedly support children with their knowledge to enhance the total wellbeing of children.
Accordingly, Madam Kirpalani advised the graduates to feel the weight of the responsibility ahead of them and accept to be helpers as they receive the license to work with the most vulnerable in society, especially children.
Teachers’ oath
On behalf of the students, Miss Velma Adams thanked their tutors for their guidance, patience, discipline, and hard work.
She said, as a class, they had come to understand that a Montessori teacher must be a very observant person, appreciating the level of understanding of each child and being able to develop a programme to support their progress.
Montessori Methods
The Montessori theory of education is a concept initiated by Dr Maria Montessori, which is driven by an ambitious aim: To aid the child’s development into a complete adult human being, comfortable with him/ herself, with his/her society and with humanity as a whole.
It seeks to provide the child with an environment ideally suited to his/her stage of development which allows him/her to respond to the inner call of specific ‘sensitivities’. It also offers and secures a permanent foundation on which education is based on independent activity, which constitutes about 80 per cent of work while teacher-directed activity accounts for the remaining 20 per cent.
Today, a number of educational institutions in the country use the ‘Montessori’ title, but as to whether they adopt the Montessori Method of teaching and learning, is another issue. Although the change of name might not be much of a problem as it may be a step towards rebranding a school, the concern lies with the quality of education delivery.
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