by Sharlet J. McClurkin

Beijing, the capital of China and the future site of the 2008 Olympics, was the location for the first full Montessori training course in China, provided by the Montessori Teacher Preparation of Washington, Kent, WA, and sponsored by the Montessori Institute of America. Having been away from Beijing for ten years, I was amazed at the wide thoroughfares, street lights, skyscrapers, and modern look of the city. Even more surprising were the English-speaking taxi drivers and packed supermarkets. Are all of these people "techies?" Where do they get their money to buy such a variety of fruits and vegetables and anything a person might want in a modern city? They certainly are not teachers.

The 5-week course was held in the ballet classroom, across the courtyard from eight first-stage Montessori classrooms, on the grounds of the Agricultural and Scientific Academy Kindergarten of China. It was sponsored by the Beijing Montessori Education Technology Center, directed by Madame Anhua Lv and Shuquan Lu. Mr. Lu is the publisher of a Montessori magazine in China. Madame Lv and Mr. Lu provide three levels of non-accredited Montessori training to over 1,000 teachers each year: Course I, Introductory; Course II, Intermediate; and Course III, Advanced. By taking Course I, an individual may become certified by BMETC as an assistant Montessori Teacher. Through taking the additional Course II, teachers receive certification as a lead Montessori teacher. We provided Course III as a full course, approved and sponsored by the Montessori Institute of America and leading to a full certificate for the level, 2 ½ to 6 years, from the Montessori Institute of America.

Forty-five teachers/professors, or preschool directors arrived in Beijing from all over China, from west to east, from north to south, to stay in dorms on the university campus or with friends or family in the city. One retired teacher from south China rode trains for thirty-five hours to get to Beijing. Many of the teachers had borrowed money to attend the class, or quit their jobs in order to attend. One student was required by her kindergarten to pay a surety deposit to the school that would be given to her when she returned to her teaching position. Most of the teachers had received a short, non-accredited training course that provided them a basic understanding of Montessori education. When speaking to them through an interpreter, I could see the excitement in their eyes and the gratefulness to us for coming to China with the full MIA course.

To our surprise nearly all forty-five teachers came early to the optional "spiritual storytelling" lessons from 8 to 8:30 a.m. each morning. When I asked the class later, "What was your favorite part of the training?" many of the said, "The spiritual stories." We proceeded through the MIA curriculum from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30/5 p.m. each day, Monday through Saturday, with "bowl" testing, original projects, philosophy discussions, and music and movement, through which the teachers showed their quickness to learn and creativity. Many of them told our interpreters, "We are happy to finally have someone fully explain the Montessori materials to us."

Without the assistance of our interpreter and MIA graduate, John Guangli Zhang, of Richmond, B.C. and Wenru Sun, MIA graduate and trainer, from Sanya, Hainan Island, we would not have been able to accomplish setting up all of the shelves of materials, testing for the students, and preparations for the next day. We had packed four large suitcases and two carry-ons full of materials, without which we could not have conducted the course. As we were checking into the airport to fly to China, the man behind us asked, "Are you moving to China?" Necessity was the "mother of invention" as we set up beautiful shelves of sequenced materials from a basic set of wooden materials, just delivered from a factory. Several nights we visited Wal-Mart, across the street from Microsoft, or other "supermarkets" to find art and practical life materials.

The students especially loved the simple and clear math presentations of my husband, Donald, and asked for more, but we had to pack our four large bags and two carry-ons and return to Seattle after two of the most inspiring, but tiring, weeks of our lives. Jane Suchen Wang, MIA trainer from Taiwan, completed the course with large water activities, math, Chinese language, the cultural materials, and the more difficult Montessori philosophy.

The challenge now is for these students to find established Montessori classrooms or to set up classrooms for an approved internship. Mr. Lu plans to set up five to ten MIA internship schools this year within twenty kindergartens that are currently operating. With advanced technology today, such as digital cameras, DVD's, and email, the students hope to track their internship individually, or in pairs, and to receive sufficient supervision that they may receive their MIA certificate in a year. This class will provide the first indigenous MIA graduates in China.

On the first day of class I told the students of my dream that began in 1981 to provide a full Montessori training course in China. Since that year we have worked, and waited, to begin the course in China. We have provided training in Taiwan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka, but the low salaries of teachers hindered our travel to China. Although we kept "knocking" many times in China, the door did not open until this year, 2007. Why did I have to wait so long? From speaking with our Chinese students, however, I found that they think the door is now open for Montessori education in China in 2007 for the following reasons:

• Freedom of speech is greater than ever before;
• Montessori schools are blossoming across China, taught by teachers with only a minimum of training, sometimes no more than a week;
• Mixed age classes are now allowed by the Chinese government;
• The wages of teachers have risen to make it possible for them to take an economical course;
• The affluent parents of the "one-child" policy want to invest in their child's education.

Many of our students are now seeking a way that they can practice their English, get a student visa through our program, take the full summer course, and intern in the U.S. They have hope to provide to Chinese children a full Montessori early education. My husband, Donald, and I have been changed and inspired by these teachers, and we will never forget them. We still see their faces. We will be back!

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