Role of montessori teacher

The Montessori teacher plays a radically different role from more well-known roles in relation to children such as parent, babysitter, friend, primary grades teacher or traditional pre-school teacher. The vision we all have of a teacher, standing before the blackboard and giving a good lesson to the whole class, is very seldom a part of what Montessori teachers do. This is because the founder of this new challenging educational system for young children below six years old, Dr. Maria Montessori believed that teachers should focus on the child as person, not on the daily lesson plan. She also believed that Montessori teacher’s ultimate objective is to help the children to learn how to learn independently, retaining the curiosity, creativity, and intelligence with which they were born. Therefore, Montessori teachers do not simply present lessons; they are facilitators, mentors, coaches, and guides for the children. To underscore the very different role played by adults in her school, Montessori used the title ‘directress’ instead of teacher. In Italian, the word ‘directress’ implies the role of the coordinator or administrator of an office or factory. Today, many Montessori schools prefer to call their teachers as ‘guides’. The Montessori teachers have four principle goals and they are as listed below:
• To awaken the child’s spirit and imagination.
• To encourage the natural desire for independence and high sense of self-esteem.
• To help children develop the kindness, courtesy, and self-discipline that will allow them to become a full member of society.
• To help children learn how to observe, question, and explore ideas independently.
The Montessori teacher recognises that her role is not so much to teach as to inspire, mentor and facilitate the learning process. “The real work of learning belongs to the individual child. Because of this, the Montessori educator remains conscious of her role in helping each child fulfil his potential as a human being and of