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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]23:03-it depends on the person.  A teacher needs much more than a diploma or student teaching.  Plus, this is preschool!   Do you have a diploma in being a mom?[/quote]

Well.... I'm not a Montessori trained, but I'm a Director and had teachers with degrees and without them.  While both types of teachers can be great, in general, there is something different about someone who has pursued and received a BA degree over someone who never has.  However, I'll also say that you HAVE TO, simply MUST, have a good way of working with children that doesn't come from education.  It must start with a love of children, a deep sense of their importance, that they matter, and a teacher must thrive on the relationship she has with children (whether infants, toddlers, preschoolers or older).  So you can have all the degrees in the world, but if you don't know how to work with children in the real world (vs on paper, in text books) you aren't going to be a good teacher.  BUT for those who have that ability to work with children, education, workshops and more knowledge can only make that teacher better, give her more information, allow her to expand her knowledge of different techniques, learning styles, etc.

For Montessori, there is a specific methodology that must be taught so they know how to lead the classroom properly.  Whether you like it or not - that's the truth - there is a particular system, methodology, etc. and if it's not done that way then it's not Montessori - might be a great program with some great materials, but not Montessori.

Now, whether we're talking about Montessori or non-Montessori, I wonder about online programs that don't require student teaching or in-class experience at all.  Experience with children can be done by working with children in a school as an Assistant Teacher, Aide, etc. so it's not the be-all, end-all, but the truth is, guiding a group of children is difficult to do if you don't have experience doing it.  And if you've only ever read about it, doing it in real life is very different!  Ask a new teacher...s/he will tell you.

Being a parent and being a teacher are very different things, both needing similar and yet different skills.  Getting 1 child dressed - or 3 children dressed of different ages - and ready to go in the morning is not the same as getting 16-20 children dressed and out the door to the playground.  Both are hard but also different.  You have to create systems for both, but they are different systems.  Even reading to a child is different at home vs. at school - have you ever had 10 or more children crowding around you all jostling to see the book and upset they can't?  So without managing their behavior every 3 sentences, how do you plan ahead, create an environment, etc. such that reading a book to a group is enjoyable, a learning moment, and not fraught with upset?

And, frankly, sometimes I think everyone could use some more training - teachers and parents!  I know I certainly learn new things every day as I'm exposed to new information, read research, speak with colleagues, etc.  And I also know that if I'd been lucky enough to have children, my ECE knowledge and my experience as a teacher and director would not have fully prepared me for motherhood.[/quote]

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