Job Discussion Forums

cj750 · Joined: 27 Apr 2004 Posts: 3081 Location: Beijing

Thanks again..you guys have been really helpful..and yea I would like to learn more..not to teach ..can you see ole CJ...as a Montessori maestro....

HunanForeignGuy · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 989 Location: Shanghai, PRC

Thank you, no_exit, for the wonderful post. Indeed, it's a great methodology and indeed I am really happy to read about it being expanded to children in the inner cities.

I do agree with you about Montessori Schools in China but it is my understanding, perhaps erroneously, that there are two least two Montessori-accredited schools, one in Beijing and one in Shanghai. Are you aware of this?

BTW, on a smaller note, I read somewhere that there was a terrible earthquake near Kunming recently and that it was even felt in Chengdu, miles away. I hope that you and yours are alright.

no_exit · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 565 Location: Kunming

HFG,

I too have heard of several accredited schools in China. I think Beijing has two at least. If you look at the international Montessori jobs listing on that site I gave in my last post, you'll see several openings for certified Montessori teachers.

I didn't feel an earthquake here, by the way, do you remember the city it hit? Anyhow, everyone I know is safe, thanks for asking!

vikdk · Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 1676

well HFG I think I could surprise you a wee bit with regard to my qualifications - but then again since this is the China job Forum I think we should try and concentrate on Montessori in the chinese education market and not a boasting contest with regard to qualification Laughing

I have taught in 5 Chinese kindies that claim to have so -called Montessori classes. These classes most definitely don't live up to the standards of Montessori philosophy or practice. So folks, unless anybody can state otherwise(maybe that stuff about accredited schools in beijing and elsewhere shows that real Montessori is practiced here) maybe taking the title montessori, in any Chinese context, with a wee bit of salt, could be prudent if offered any possition in a so-called Montessori school in China.

By the way HFG I wrote about western methods being influenced by Reggio Emilia method, a method which has much in common with Montessori - I do hope your teaching skills are better than your reading skills Laughing

HunanForeignGuy · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 989 Location: Shanghai, PRC

cj750 · Joined: 27 Apr 2004 Posts: 3081 Location: Beijing

An agent at Angelina's handles some of these school ..or so she sez..but the important thing is she verified what you guys said..in China ...you have to have the certification to teach in a Montessori school and it doesn't matter if you have a licence from a State Board of Education...although they do (according to her) have a training system in place ..you can work and train at the same time..but man what a dent it will put in the over all pay..From what she said ..the training is about half of your first years salary..and she wasn't sure how long the training would go on.

vikdk · Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 1676

no I'm not montessori licensed - but very much licensed in pre-school education - which rather backs up my remarks (my posts on my own experiences with so-called Montessori classes in Kindergartens) regarding, the proverbial pinch of salt when considering Chinese educational in tow with Montessori principle (you know letting the unbaptised educational heathen enter the sacred pastures of Montessori) - shizer probally according to Montesorri high-priest HFG I should have Montessori licence to make that comment Laughing

duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh HFG - china job forum here not the international Montessori forum - and your practical experiences (apart from knowing the location of some licensed schools) of Montessori in China Question

This time let's see if you can make a worthwile contribution for the those actually working in China Laughing

By the way how can we take you seriously after those scathing remarks on profiling kindergarten teachers - do you have any evidence to back up your claims - Im very much male, going grey, very highly and relevantly qualified, and date back to the fifties - must be all that money some of us earn in this field that is getting your blood to boil Laughing

cj750 · Joined: 27 Apr 2004 Posts: 3081 Location: Beijing

Turns out, one fo these places is right down the street from where I lived...and yea...it is true..you must be Montessori qualified before you can even begin to work there..there is a training program but the work training aspect is only used it they need teachers ... and I was told by one of the workers their pay.. was not bad ...

no_exit · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 565 Location: Kunming

It is pretty easy to verify whether a school is accredited or not. Any school anywhere can use the name Montessori, the name is not copyrighted. This happens in the US too. However, find out what training they require their teachers to get, and who is accrediting them. Personally, I am wary of any schools that don't require AMI certification for all their teachers. While there are some other governing bodies (in the US AMS would be the other big one), it is ultimately up to the parents to do their research and figure out which ones are the knockoffs and which ones are for real. Both kinds exist in China (and elsewhere!).

vikdk · Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 1676

no_exit · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 565 Location: Kunming

What's your point vik? If Chinese parents aren't going to research a school before they enroll their child there, then that's their problem, isn't it? If they're sold by a name, then so be it. Or is it Montessori's fault that schools use their name but aren't really adhering to Montessori's principles?

vikdk · Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 1676

well no_exit researching schools and studying educational method may come naturaly to the likes of you and me - and of course we would do it with regard to our children's well-being and the promotion of that we would regard as positive all-round development - but Chinese parents!!!!!

In a society where education is a family investment with regard to attempting to insure family prosperity and well-being (that what comes from a social system that lacks a social security safety-net) - the concepts of what an education is and what its for may slightly differ from that you and I may accept as normal. Put that together with how education is marketed here - just imagine that non-licensed Montessori advertising guff Chinese style - don't think those Montessori glossy leafets contain too much pedagogical philosophy, no educational propoganda based on the promise of hardcore didatic method, which guarantees your kid will be cleverer than others, is more the order of the day here.

So sure Chinese parents can research here - but you think they'll be looking very hard for certification of Montessori licence - even if they knew such a thing existed!!! A quaint, naive but appealingly humerous notion no_exit - you got any more good-uns up your sleeve Laughing

But since i can't do much about changing social opinion here - the point of my posts have been to warn other (prospective) FT's that Montessori here in China - in certain cases - is really not what you'd expect Montessori to be - or do you disagree with this statement no_exit Laughing

no_exit · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 565 Location: Kunming

Did I ever state that there were no fake Montessori schools in China vik? Why don't you quit being a condescending know-it-all and actually read what people are posting before you start looking for a way to tear it apart? We've long since established that there are schools running around out there that say they are Montessori, but aren't. Nowhere in my previous posts does it even imply otherwise, so you're arguing something that no one has ever even disagreed with. What do YOU propose to do about fake Montessori schools, since they seem to concern you so much? You say that Chinese parents are too naive to properly research schools, so whose responsibility should it be to make sure that parents don't get scammed by a school claiming to be "Montessori" when it isn't?

And what do you mean by "if such a thing existed." Are you questioning the legitimacy of all Montessori liscencing? Montessori training is real and it is quite rigorous, vik. AMI is recognized all over the world and they have been liscencing teachers since 1929.

And I still don't know what you're trying to prove.

vikdk · Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 1676

ohhh so your also out to warn other FT's that many so-called montessori institutions in China may well be fake (well at least fake with regard to any adherence to the application of real Montessori pedagogical method) - well done no-exit you've also come to realise that this is a China job forum that has the purpose of informing the (prospective) FT on the real situation that exists within the Chinese ESL arena Laughing

cj750 · Joined: 27 Apr 2004 Posts: 3081 Location: Beijing