Summary

Sally Connellan and Andrea O’Halloran travelled to Bhutan in September and October 2004 to deliver an Introductory Montessori course Introduction to Montessori Theory and Practice  as part one of the Children’s House Assistants to the Classroom course.

Sally had visited the Little Dragon Montessori School in Thinpu, the capital of Bhutan when on a holiday in 2000. At that time she observed that the school might need some help as it was Montessori in approach but had no Montessori trained teachers. She left her card and was contacted two years later.

The two-week introductory course ran every day for two hours after the school day ended.  It included observations, visits to schools, material making, resourcing materials, course preparation and lectures. 

24 teachers from five private schools attended the course.  Two schools had some Montessori material and knowledge, the remaining three schools were traditional primary schools. The teachers particularly wanted practical demonstrations of materials; however it was explained that this had to be preceded with theory, so they would understand the WHY of the Montessori approach.  The emphasis was on understanding the child.

The course was successful in guiding these teachers to an understanding of the development of the child and empowering them to put into practice the concepts around the prepared environment, cleanliness, order, completeness, accessibility of the equipment with special emphasis on grace and courtesy.  Changes were made in their classrooms, which had follow-on in the home. The teachers' attitude towards the 'naughty' child changed to 'how can I meet his needs'.

The Director of Education visited and invited Sally and Andrea to speak at the National Institute of Education on their return visit the following year, when the second part of the course will be delivered by Pamela Nunn, the trainer. The Montessori goals of independence and self reliance are in accord with Bhutan’s own approach to the education of children.