When I was choosing my career after university, I never dreamed that it would be in education. It was purely by chance that I heard about an opportunity to work as a classroom assistant in a Montessori Elementary school as a maternity cover and I became intrigued. I began to read about the Montessori method and was astounded by how many of the concepts resonated with me, given my own experiences of ‘traditional’ education, and I decided to apply for the position and was successful.
When I started working as an assistant in the Montessori classroom, I was astonished at how relaxed the atmosphere was and how confident and independent the children were. I became totally passionate about the Montessori approach as I could see its impact on every child and within six months, I had decided to study on the AMI Diploma 6-12 course. Studying for the Elementary Diploma was truly challenging in every way and a lot of work; however, it was undoubtedly a life-changing and rewarding experience and I made friends for life with my fellow students and my inspirational trainers. The experience of working in a classroom to do teaching practice whilst studying was invaluable and the teachers I worked with gave me lots of freedom to practice presentations and work with a variety of children.
