(Newswire.net — August 14, 2013) BOZEMAN, MT — Education reform is constantly in the news. Every time you turn on the TV, some politician is going on about how broken our educational system is, or how we need “reform.” Its no secret that the public school system has been declining. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has rated the United States 18th among a comparison of education levels of 36 developed nations. Literacy levels are dismally low. OECD data places the adult literacy levels at a depressing 49%. This means that more than half of adults cannot read.
This is absurd when you think about how much money the United States spends on education each year. 5.7% of annual GDP is spent on education. This may not seem like much when expressed as a percentage, until you realize that GDP is 14.7 trillion dollars.
Modern public school systems have become breeding grounds for violence, drugs, gangs, underage sex and pregnancy and a host of other challenges. American children face these difficulties on a daily basis all for the chance at an education. With no answers coming from Washington, many parents and teachers are turning to alternative methods for education.
With the rapid expansion of the internet, online education and Montessori teacher training have become very popular. Modern online education can provide opportunities for advanced training that, a few years ago, could only be obtained in-person. Advances in technology and the media rich delivery methods now available have made it possible to provide robust and interactive online training experiences that were previously unheard of.
Students and teachers alike are now able to further their education from the comfort of their homes. One such organization that is using the power of the internet to reach people all over the world is Age of Montessori.
Age of Montessori’s website boasts the slogan “Training Parents and Teachers to Awaken the Child’s Potential.” Montessori training is not new. It has been around for a long time. Maria Montessori began developing the philosophy in 1897 and opened her first classroom in 1907. The Casa dei Bambini (Children’s House), as it was called. More modern teacher training developed around her philosophy allows individuals to get their own Montessori certification online.
Since the methods are more than 100 years old, some might consider Montessori training “old hat.” However, the modern methods Age of Montessori uses are anything but. It is unlikely that Maria Montessori ever dreamed her material would be presented via webinar and online interactive training to over a dozen different countries simultaneously. Participants from Russia, Germany, Latvia, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, and elsewhere all log on to the “Montessori teacher training” website to engage in the online community.
An interview with the school director Tani Kingston reveals just how passionate they are about making their online Montessori teacher training course available to anyone interested in improving their education and ability to teach. “We truly believe that Montessori is meant for everyone” Mrs. Kingston said. “The Age of Montessori and this information is now available all over the world.”
Following that motto, AOM (as it is affectionately known by those close to the organization) currently trains teachers and parents alike, in countries around the globe. Age of Montessori believes that they have been able to fine-tune the last 100 years of knowledge and present it in a modern format that is accessible to everyone taking advantage of the power of the internet.
When asked about Age of Montessori, the local community appears to have a positive outlook on it. One local parent, Suzi Rose, commented: “I think it’s great that there are schools offering things like this. I’ve taken some of their online Montessori teacher training myself,” said Suzi. “It’s really done some amazing things for my understanding of my own children. It’s also good to have options and I like being able to do it online.”
So does “Montessori teacher training” really hold the keys to fixing our broken education system? The answer is unclear, but online teacher training could be the wave of the future.
Sources:
oecd.org/statistics
wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori_education
nationmaster.com/graph/eco_gdp-economy-gdp
worldwidelearn.com/elearning-industry/trends.htm
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Age of Montessori
1103 Reeves Road West, Suite D
Bozeman, Montana 59718
Media Contact: Tani Kingston
Email: takingston@ageofmontessori.org
Phone: 406-284-2160
Site: www.ageofmontessori.org
Author: Brian Stevens Google+