CHARLESTOWN Nevis, January 16th, 2012 -- A cross section of children on the island of Nevis have begun to reap the benefits of the Montessori method which Denise Morgan, owner and Head of School of the Montessori Academy Nevis on Pump Road and her team of teachers are successfully and innovatively using to teach students.
A student’s grandparent, Edris Fellows, spoke highly of the Montessori approach. “Kephra is enjoying the freedom of choices available at the school. He is more confident, and finds expressing his needs more easily. The method used has allowed him to find school work fun.
We have noticed a huge change in his attitude towards learning. He is able to accept help and advice. The small classes foster confidence and freedom of expression. We are very happy and have confidence in the method used,” expressed Mrs Fellows.
Ms Webbe, a parent and a teacher at Charlestown Secondary School, said in an interview that her child’s development has benefited from the holistic approach. “Before my son was enrolled at the Montessori Academy Nevis, he was unsociable and refused to participate in academic and extra curricular activities. Also his speech was not developed for his age. I then heard about the Montessori Academy Nevis.”
“I visited the school and Ms Denise educated me about the Montessori practices. Montessori is about moving away from the traditional, “chalk and talk” method of teaching into a more discovery approach. The classes are smaller and he gets the quality individual attention that he needs. The teachers are very attentive, nurturing and loving. I am proud to say in just over a year and a half his speech, social and academic skills have improved.”
Hedda Wienpahl added “I like the Montessori Academy Nevis because I know my children are being taken care of in all matters. The teachers are filled with lots of knowledge and love. The Montessori program makes the children learn by using all their senses and I believe that if you have a child who loves school, you will have a child who wants to learn more and more.
Montessori enables children to remember information for life, not only for a test”. Another parent agreed that the Montessori Academy provides a degree of academic rigor in a disciplined yet compassionate environment. “Our children have excelled academically and they really love school which is probably the most telling aspect of effective education”.
The Jones family, who work for Four Seasons, say that the Montessori Academy has been great for their daughter Eva. “She has grown from a small girl into a small little lady. She has not only learned about schooling, but also about life, family and what is right and wrong.”
Petronella Hinds a teacher at the Montessori Academy highlighted the advantages of the open classroom concept, the manipulative learning materials and the individualized education. “This allows the children to work independently at their own pace and we can continually assess their strengths and weaknesses,” she said.
According to Mrs Morgan, the Montessori method is a step by step approach, each step leads to the next level. A child will progress from a “hands on” approach using a range of different sensory learning materials, onto abstract thinking, writing, reading, science, mathematics.
Every child is different, so the teacher is able to assesses their needs and provide every child with an individual program of learning. The child is then able to progress at their own pace, being guided and challenged at every level. It also helps a child to become independent by teaching him or her life skills, which is called practical life.
Morgan, who has a Masters Degree in Education and Montessori training, explained that the students at the Montessori Academy are exposed to an international curriculum which incorporates the standard St. Kitts and Nevis Curriculum. This enables the student to have an easy transition wherever they go once they have completed their education at the Academy.
All teachers at the Montessori Academy have been teaching for seven years or more and are fully trained teachers. The grade level teachers hold bachelors degrees.
The Academy also ensures that students appreciate the Nevis culture and as a result, all important days calendared by the St. Kitts and Nevis governments are observed and celebrated. International days are celebrated such as Martin Luther King Day, Chinese New Year, Thanksgiving Day, Diwali, Black History Month and Women’s International Day. The school also uses field trips and extra curricular activities such as swimming, ballet and piano clubs to enhance the educational process and there is an annual science fair in March.
The Montessori method is an educational approach developed by an Italian physician and educator, Maria Montessori. Montessori education is practiced in an estimated 20,000 schools worldwide, serving children from birth to eighteen years old. At the Montessori Academy Nevis, children enrolled are in pre-school to grade six. There is also a successful Montessori school in St. Kitts.
Montessori education is characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological development as well as technological advancements in society.
Morgan is greatly fulfilled to use her knowledge of the Montessori approach on the island of Nevis. She is the daughter to Reverend Verna Morgan of Butlers. She is optimistic that children who are exposed to the Montessori method will develop not just academically, but socially and morally.
She noted, “Although I was born and raised in the UK, I always wanted to make use of my skills to impart knowledge on to children in Nevis,”
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