Role of Assistant in Montessori Class

[RomanGoddess]

I am in the process of looking for a position as a kind of English-Mother-Tongue assistant in a Montessori classroom. I was thinking that I would try being an assistant first and then, if I enjoyed it, I could pursue the formal Montessori training eventually. Can someone tell me what the assistant officially does in a class? As I understand it, there is one "directress" and one "assistant" for 30 children. Does the assistant do the same thing as the directress (i.e. observe the children closely and work with them as needed on something) or is there a nuance in the roles that I am not getting? I just want to be clear on this before I start talking details with any schools.

Caroline

[Lillianna]

Well, I went from being an assistant, to Directress and back to the assistant role after the birth of my dd. I can't wait to get back to Directress since that is where all the fun is! You get to set up the materials, do individual and small group lessons and guide the morning work cycle. It's definitely more work, but more interesting than being an assistant. The role of the assistant is basically an afterthought or an accomodation to state and federal regulations. For M, the ideal set up was one adult (Directress) in a class of up to 40 children. I totally agree with this philosophy and have seen the benefits. The Directress whom I assist and I both agree that when one is absent, the day flows more smoothly even though we both have training! When there are too many adults readily available, the children are less self-reliant and less likely to solve problems on their own. So, as an assistant, you have to work at being very unobtrusive and at not creating dependencies. Your role is basically as an aid to the Directress - maintaining stock of materials, straightening and dusting shelves, keeping an overview of the class for safety issues, this sort of thing. You have to stay out of working one on one with individual children so you can observe the group as a whole. We have a couple different forms to use to help guide the assistant in making observations. This provides an important resource for the Directress in presenting lessons. Also, the Directress will help you learn to guide children towards choosing work that is personally meaningful and motivating to them, although it should ultimately be her responsibility to guide the children in making these choices and connecting them to the environment. Being an assistant is a good way to become more familiar with the philosophy and the environment in preparation for training. It is also beneficial to have less responsibility and less take home work when you are with young children at home. The other plus is that hopefully your dd can attend with you.

[RomanGoddess]

Thanks for your response.

In this case, my role will have to involve talking to the children (who will be virtually all Italian) because the whole point is that they hear me speak to the in English (this would really be the only reason for the school hiring me - the parents want their kids to learn English and therefore want an English speaking person around). But I don't want to usurp the directress's role. Is there a way that this can be done?

[sciencemama]

My dd just started Montessori preschool and the assistant is Spanish-speaking.

I believe she is transitioning to speaking Spanish exclusively to the children, after the first month. So far, she has set-up a couple lessons with bilingual activities (colors and animals) and she works individually with children on those particular lessons. Her other duties are more general-- maintaining supplies, accompanying children to the restroom, cleaning up, etc.

[Lillianna]

You will definitely be doing lots of conversations, helping children with procedures, reading stories, singing songs, reciting poems....in any case, I'm sure the school will guide you in what is to be your contribution.