OUR PHILOSOPHY

Amazing Grace Bilingual Montessori School’s philosophy derives from Dr. Maria Montessori’s approach to education in relation to core values found in the Bible. Presenting a worldview from a biblical perspective is an integral part of Montessori’s methodology. Montessori often referred to the Bible as she developed guiding principles to her theory in pedagogy. In her book, The Secret of Childhood, Montessori declares, “It was Christ who came to waken us and to teach us to love” (p.107). Since Montessori’s fundamental values of love and respect for the child, the classroom and the community are deeply rooted in the loving model of Jesus Christ, we aim to create an atmosphere where everyone may encounter God’s love and share it with all those around them.

The goal of a Montessori, Early Childhood Education is to activate a child’s own natural desire to learn, developing independent, confident, life-long learners growing in the body, mind, and spirit. We view each child as being competent, capable, curious and rich in potential in learning. According to Montessori, “the normal child is one who is precociously intelligent, who has learned to overcome himself and to live in peace, and who prefers a disciplined task to futile idleness… And this nature, which was given him at conception, must be recognized and allowed to grow” (Montessori, The Secret of Childhood, p. 148). From this perspective, teachers are not merely transmitters of information as in traditional classrooms. Instead, the role of Montessori teachers is to guide children in reaching their full potential by nourishing their innate, God-given gifts, talents and unique abilities. Our educators are caring, supportive and responsive to our children’s needs. They encourage each child to cultivate kindness, respect, responsibility, and an ability to see themselves as capable communicators, able to manage their emotions and behavior.
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The important task of raising a child cannot be accomplished by educators alone without the essential partnership with parents as primary caregivers and guardians. Amazing Grace Bilingual Montessori strongly values parents’ engagement to their child’s physical, social, academic and spiritual development. Montessori identifies “the most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six” (The Absorbent Mind, p. 21). We are committed to work with parents to “train up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6) as Early Childhood Education has the most impact on a child’s life. Open communication and sharing of child-rearing beliefs between parents and our educators are of utmost importance. We provide many opportunities to connect with parents through daily updates, progress reports, family events, parent/teacher meetings and school newsletters. Together with parents, we echo Montessori’s philosophy that “the education of even a small child, therefore, does not aim at preparing him for school, but for life.”