Montessori International School of Grenoble opening September 2009 – an interview with Martine Grzelack
July 22nd, 2009 | Published in Features, Interviews, Work
Maria Montessori
Martine Grzelack runs The Montessori International School of Grenoble, opening September 2009. Grenoble Life wanted to know more about the new centre, the background of the staff and the famous Montessori method.
Grenoble Life: When does the Montessori International School of Grenoble open and what is your role?
Martine Grzelack: In September 2009, we’ll be lucky to find a bilingual Montessori School in the suburbs of Grenoble. It will be situated in Meylan. This school will enable children to study and work while developing their personality. My mission will be to look after the children and to run this school so that everything works out well to the benefit of everyone.
GL: What is the Montessori method?
MG: The Montessori International School of Grenoble is a private school, ruled by a not-for-profit association (association loi 1901).
The school curriculum follows the French national education programmes for early childhood and primary schools.
Committed to the highest education standards, the school proposes a bilingual curriculum in French and in English.
The MIG team will provide an individual learning experience for each child, which promotes physical, social, emotional and intellectual development to help them achieve their maximum potential.
Following the Montessori requirements, the children are dispatched into two age groups: 3 to 6 years old (early childhood) and 6 to 12 years old (elementary).
GL: What is your experience with using this method?
MG: I have been working for six years according to the Montessori pedagogy. First, I attended a teaching practice course at the Centre de recherche d’études de formation et de liaison des activités Montessori (CRELAM) in Rennes – a French institute which doesn’t grant an Association Montessori Internationale diploma. Then, I went to Switzerland to obtain an AMI diploma for children from 6 to 12. This method enables the children to open out in their development while being in the pleasure of learning and discovering. Children gain an autonomy and maturity which enables them to make choices.
GL: Why did you originally train to teach the Montessori method?
MG: I discovered this pedagogy while thinking about the educational system in France. Coming from a very different horizon – I graduated as a geologist – I wanted to work with children after having worked with engineers-to-be (I was in charge of professional training in my firm).
After preparing the examinations to be a school teacher, I realized that the “group pedagogy” wasn’t satisfying for me. I looked for something different. Some friends had their son in a Montessori school and that’s how this wonderful adventure started.
GL: What age groups do you teach at the Montessori International School of Grenoble?
MG: The International Montessori School is open to children from 3 to 12 years old. They are dispatched in groups of three or six years according to Maria Montessori’s method. It is important not to keep a child exclusively in his or her age group.
GL: How does the methodology differ from that used in the French state schools for these age groups?
What is different from the French school is mainly the learning approach through the senses, with the help of the adequate and attractive equipment created by Maria Montessori herself. Moreover, the work in classes with mixed ages enables each child to learn with pleasure because there are no barriers between the different learning activities.
Montessori International School of Grenoble
GL: Do you have classes in French and English? Will these classes be taught separately?
MG: In each class, there is a French teacher and an English speaking assistant who participates throughout the school day. The teachers offer help to the children that ask for it in their mother tongue, in order to encourage interest in languages. There will also be Spanish classes organized.
GL: Why has it been decided to open a school here in Grenoble?
MG: I wanted to work in a school where the pedagogy is adapted to each child and gives them what they need academically for their future studies. I want to be able to share with these families a teaching method which deeply respects the child as an individual and as a learner.
GL: What is the profile of the parents who have registered their children to come to the school?
MG: The parents who send their children to a Montessori school come from different backgrounds: managerial staff in large firms, teachers at “public” schools, professional workers, employees, people working in tertiary industries … they have varied profiles but they have the same aim: their children’s well-being.
GL: Tell us about the teaching team.
MG: The teaching team is composed of two educators with an international Montessori diploma and an English or French speaking assistant according to the class. It is a dynamic team, very motivated to help the children improve, respectful of the Montessori pedagogy.
GL: Will you have recruitment opportunities in the future? What are the advantages of working at Montessori International School of Grenoble?
MG: Yes, we hope that we’ll have to recruit next year, or in two years to open new class. Why not offer children the opportunity to learn another language like German for example … but we don’t want the school to lose its soul by recruiting too many pupils or staff. We thank you for these questions.
GL: You’re welcome, thank you!
The Montessori International School of Grenoble
Boulevard des Alpes, 38240 Meylan
+33 6 72 66 76 32
ecole@montessori-grenoble.com