Opening A School

[confusionincan]

Hi everyone, I was hoping for some feedback from other parents out there. I have planned on homeschooling, and at this point still plan to, however, I am seriously thinking about opening up a school in the distant future, say 3 - 5 years. I would like to open a Reggio school, and am in the very very very early stages, researching reading, etc... and there is nothing Reggio based (or Sudbury based,) in this area.

So anyway, I was hoping to see what everyone thinks about credentials. I do not have any teaching credentials. I am a work-from-home mom, former small business owner, current organic farm owner, and am in university part time. I feel like taking ECE is a waste of resources (money) for me, but I was thinking that taking a Montessori course (or 4 of them for the different age groups,) would be very helpful. I am extrememly confident I could open a school sucessfully, and have everything including teachers, in place, but my credentials are minimal. So does anyone agree the Montessori will be helpful, or should I pursue my ECE just to have it on paper? (Not that I won't learn anything cause I am sure I will!) Thanks

(I also posted this in the other forum, hope thats okay, I haven't had any responses over there and it's relevant here too.)

[lach]

It's pretty common around here for retired SAHMs, or even just ones with school aged kids, to open little preschools in their living room.  They get licensed as in home daycares, so they can have up to 6 kids per teacher.  A few of the "real" preschools around here started out that way... the teacher decided she loved it so she found a few other teachers and they rent a room in a church basement or something.

[beanma]

I think it would probably be okay for a preschool depending on your area, but I think at least a bachelors in Education, preferably a Masters would be recommended for anything beyond that.

[Pamlepper]

I defeinitely think you should get training in Montessori.  I feel that as a parent that is what I would look for.  I have been thinking of opening a school someday as well.  I'm not sure where to even start!  Good luck and I hope it all works out for you!

[stik]

As a parent, I would have grave reservations about sending my child to a school whose founder thought that courses in ECE were a waste of money. 

Young children are strange beasts and understanding child development and psychology and being basically conversant with the published work on the purpose and efficacy of assorted approaches to teaching and management is a valuable foundation.  When you work with your own children, you can wing it (often with spectacular success).  When you work with other people's children and all their many quirks and variations, it's helpful to have a broader knowledge base to fall back on. 

To be fair, there are some courses in ECE that are complete trash.  This is true of every subject area, but very definitely true of higher education in education.  Sometimes you have to shop around until you find meaningful coursework.  If your particular university isn't meeting your needs, keep looking. 

[Gretchen_PDX]

I agree with Stik entirely. I am a high school teacher, and it was very important for me to find a day care/school where the teacher/mentor was highly qualified. The owner of our very small Montessori school has a MA in Montessori and Early Childhood Development. 

[Gretchen_PDX]

In the same vein, you wouldn't send a teenager to a school where the teacher was just winging it, even if they had very successfully parented their own children... sorry to make this two posts- I can't figure out how to move my cursor to the start of the post. Weird :)

[GuildJenn]

Up here to be admitted into AMI certified training you have to have either a Bachelor's degree (preferred) or a college diploma (2 year ECE) with several years' experience.

As a parent that is one reason I looked at Montessori in the first place. I wanted people educating my child who were committed to doing that enough to have taken all those courses, and whose love of teaching that exact age group lasted through years of training and practice. One of the things I did not like in other preschools and centres was the lack of commitment on the part of staff, or even owners.

If someone's goal is to make money while hanging out with kids, over having a love/vocation for it, it's not always the best. Also, I would think the practicuums would be really important for anyone thinking of opening a school, to get hands-on experience in how schools operate, the many foibles of parents, making payroll, meeting licensing guidelines and so on.

I personally would never put my child in a school opened by someone who didn't have direct experience in a school, and extensive training. I would worry about how the year was going to go. I'd be pretty unlikely to put my child in a school that was starting up in the first place, but the lack of respect for training and experience would stick out as a huge red flag to me in a school situation. Home daycares would be a bit different - but that's not a school.

Sorry to be so discouraging but better to know up front that some people will think like me, right?

[sapphire_chan]

If they're requiring an ECE degree, maybe that explains the problems people encounter with some certified teachers. Instead of being Montessori educators who got an ECE degree to qualify for Montessori training, they are regular educators who realized that they were qualified to do Montessori training. And apparently a number of ECE programs don't provide any real information on Montessori (and I've even heard of out right lies). 

So, that lends itself to a certain number of educators going into Montessori for the money.

And, likely, a certain number of people who would've been fantastic Montessori educators not even starting because it's not worth the money for an ECE degree first.

Hmm, methinks the AMI should figure out what the ECE degrees offer that they need the teachers to have and make THOSE the prereq. for entry into the program.

And I bet an apprenticeship with a really good Montessori school, with a teacher who can explain what they are observing about each child, would be an infinitely better preparation for Montessori training.

Note: The vast majority of Montessori educators who started out in ECE are going to be fantastic. But then there are people like the teacher in this thread: http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1304288/please-help-trouble-with-preschool

[GuildJenn]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan 

If they're requiring an ECE degree, maybe that explains the problems people encounter with some certified teachers. Instead of being Montessori educators who got an ECE degree to qualify for Montessori training, they are regular educators who realized that they were qualified to do Montessori training. And apparently a number of ECE programs don't provide any real information on Montessori (and I've even heard of out right lies). 

So, that lends itself to a certain number of educators going into Montessori for the money.

And, likely, a certain number of people who would've been fantastic Montessori educators not even starting because it's not worth the money for an ECE degree first.

Hmm, methinks the AMI should figure out what the ECE degrees offer that they need the teachers to have and make THOSE the prereq. for entry into the program.

And I bet an apprenticeship with a really good Montessori school, with a teacher who can explain what they are observing about each child, would be an infinitely better preparation for Montessori training.

Note: The vast majority of Montessori educators who started out in ECE are going to be fantastic. But then there are people like the teacher in this thread: http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1304288/please-help-trouble-with-preschool

I could be wrong but I don't think it has to be an ECE degree if it's 4-year - just a degree. For me that remains a good thing.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by GuildJenn 

I could be wrong but I don't think it has to be an ECE degree if it's 4-year - just a degree. For me that remains a good thing.

Are the years of experience working with children required in both cases?

[confusionincan]

Thanks all for the replies! I appreciate all perspectives :)
I am thinking of doing the teaching stream at my unveristy eventually so that I can be a teacher and then go from there even though I don't want to work in a regular school. The ECE program in Canada is a 2 yr college course, and I am more interested in the University courses I can take.
Thanks again for the food for thought. Very helpful