Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SB)
With Inputs from Media Release

Mangaluru, Jun 16: In another boost to the ever-growing education sphere of Mangaluru, the Indian Montessori Centre (IMC) has opened its new training centre for teachers in association with Early Learning Centre (ELC Kindergarten) at Bejai-Kapikad here.

In a press meet held at the ELC/CFAL (Center for Advanced Learning) premises here on Friday June 16, director of Indian IMC Lata Rao explained about the new centre and said, "We are running 7 training centres in Karnataka and this is the first centre in Mangaluru. Beside this, we have 1 training centre in Vietnam. Indian Montessori Centre is a registered society with its headquarters in Bengaluru.

"The Indian Montessori Centre was formed to support the Indian Montessori training courses (IMTC) and propagate the Montessori philosophy and method of education. It is a national organization and admits institutional members as well as individual members. It is supported by members from all over India and abroad. Indian Montessori Centre awards certificates to successful students of the primary training courses," she said.

"The Indian Montessori Centre conducts classroom courses which provide the student with a sound understanding of the methods and philosophy of the time-tested Montessori approach to learning. In short, these courses groom the student into a complete Montessori-trained adult. A diploma is awarded on completion of this course, which is recognized by the government of Karnataka. There are large job opportunities for Montessori trained students in India and abroad. Once a student completes the course he can open his own Montessori school under the guidance given by Indian Montessori Centre.

"Admissions have started in Mangaluru and will continue up till July end. We will conduct the training classes on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The classes on Fridays and Sundays will be half-day and full-day on Saturdays. The second week of the month is off week for trainees. There is no age bar for admissions. We will provide the training for a reasonable fee," Lata Rao added.

Briefing about the Montessori in India, she said, "Dr Maria Montessori came to India in 1939 and stayed on for a considerable period of time. It was during her stay here that she founded the Indian Montessori Training Course (IMTC). She was assisted in this effort by her son Mario Montessori and Albert Max Joosten. She appointed Joosten as her personal representative to continue the conduct of the IMTC. S R Swamy, a student of Dr Maria also joined Albert Joosten They conducted the Indian Montessori Training Course in different cities of the country for several years.

"The Society for Further Propagation of the Montessori Movement in India was started in Kolkata (then Calcutta) to commemorate the sixtieth birthday of Joosten. After successfully conducting two Indian Montessori Training Courses in Bengaluru in 1980, S R Swamy set up the Bengaluru chapter of the FPMM and became its chairman. Later when the Indian Montessori Centre was formed the FPMM was merged with it and S R Swamy was appointed its first chairman," she said.

What is the Montessori method?

The early years of an individual’s life are very important. Early education lays the foundation for a child's growth and development. In the Montessori method of education, developed by Maria Montessori, the child 'self-learns' through a self-directed and self-correcting approach - this is a much more organic process, compared to traditional methods that focus on teaching.

While everyone agrees that childhood should be associated with joy, love and learning, today’s reality stands in stark contrast. An artificial environment is created where the child is expected to sit on a desk, is rarely allowed to go outside a classroom and a fear is created to enforce ‘discipline’. Children are subjected to tests, uniforms, textbooks, cursive writing and rote learning at a young age. The ability to write is considered as the most important marker of success while play, music, dance, art, stories and dramatics are sidelined. Science is ignored and libraries for young children are non-existent. Independent thinking is not a priority and instead, the emphasis is on standardization, marks and entrance exams. Classrooms are overcrowded and teachers are not adequately trained or empowered.

Indian Montessori Training Courses (IMTC) is considered to be the best in India. It began under the auspices of Maria Montessori herself. To improve the quality of early education in Mangaluru, ELC is bringing in a teacher training programme of the highest standards to thee city.

During the course, the candidate will learn how to help a child academically in the fields of language, arithmetic, science, geography etc. The training will go beyond just academics - the candidate will learn how to to follow the child and help them grow in a non-intrusive manner.

The total duration of the course is 600 hours (June 2017-May 2018) and classes will be held on weekends. The course fee is Rs 29,000.

There are two free seats for Anganawadi teachers/teachers of government schools who want to enrol.