CCMS Tour

This week I had the privilege of visiting the Corpus Christi Montessori School. What an experience! I have learned about Maria Montessori’s teaching philosophy’s many times in school before, but I don’t think I really understood them very well until now. CCMS is a dual-language charter school that is funded solely by the state. It is an amazing school that has so much to offer.

As I walked through the halls I was blown away by the artwork, pictures, and learning tools that were displayed throughout. Mrs. Sylvia the director of the school was generous enough to let us walk through the classrooms, and observe the students. I observed the students during their work cycle, which was so neat to see. Each child has a work plan, which they are able to pick a task and work on it by themselves on their mat uninterrupted. CCMS classrooms are composed of the lower el classes (1-3rd), and the upper el classes (4-6th). Each classroom is a prepared environment, which Montessori strongly emphasized. The classrooms all had live animals in them, which was awe-inspiring. The students take on the responsibility to take care of these animals. The classrooms flow into each other, which makes the classrooms feel like a big home. The also have many windows that let in a lot of sunlight. In the afternoons the students take part in art, music, and physical education. Sports and other extra curricular activities are also offered. One aspect of the classroom that I notice was respect the students had for their teachers, classmates, and their principal. They have three rules at CCMS, which are 1) Respect of self, 2) Respect of others, and 3) Respect of the environment. These three rules our really taken seriously, which allows the school to run smoothly.

This experience has really made an impact on how I want to teach in the future. I do not know if I will teach in a Montessori school, but I will definitely take some aspects of it and use them in my future classroom. I couldn’t believe how happy the students looked while learning. It is reassuring to see students want to learn because most children aren’t that eager to learn and do work in school. If every child would show a bit of eagerness to learn then we as teachers would prosper even more. On a closing note one thing that I absolutely loved about CCMS was that even though they have to follow state guidelines they are not a TAKS driven school. I don’t like how TAKS is taking over the classrooms, so it was definitely nice to see CCMS not placing so much emphasis on doing TAKS worksheets all day.

I have not met with my student yet, but I hope to soon! This week I am still preparing to meet with my student. He has e-mailed his answers to my open-ended questions that I have asked him. He seems to be a really bright student, so I think this project should turn out great!