I am Francis, an elementary teacher at Corner of Hope. I have wanted to be an elementary teacher since I was in high school. That has been my dream. When this opportunity presented itself, I took it. I applied for the training, and luckily enough I was chosen among those who were to take the course and I was so grateful, because my dream started to come true. Before I started working at Corner of Hope, I was employed in a children’s house in Nakuru which helped me in many ways. At first, I learned how to direct the child, and then I became familiar with how to reflect the rights of the children.

I followed the 6-12 training when it was announced in 2013. I studied for four years, from 2013 to 2017. The training was quite different from what we thought it would be. Here in Kenya, we are using the government system, we call it the CBC system and Montessori is quite different from this. But I took it in a positive way, because this was something new, I never knew about it, it was the first time. With time I could actually see how beneficial it was. The government system is all about writing notes, reading and doing examinations, that is all. In Montessori, the interest of the child is the first priority and the use of materials clearly differentiates it from the government system. My favourite part during my training was when presentations were given by AMI Trainer Jean Miller. We enjoyed it, it was clear and comprehensible. This was a new thing for us, so we had to raise a lot of questions and our questions were always answered by Jean. We appreciated this a lot.

As the time went on, we graduated and the training was over. Almost two years later, in January 2019, I got the job at Corner of Hope. My first day as an elementary teacher was a surprise, because most of the children there were used to seeing me in the camp (because that is where I am living) but they never imagined I could be their teacher!

Some of my most special experiences from Corner of Hope were while doing practical presentations with the children. There are a lot of questions. The questions we asked during our training are the same questions the children are asking us.

I enjoy being an elementary teacher at Corner of Hope because this is a unique type of education. Our approach is quite specific and a little complex. Even the teachers of the lower classes in Corner of Hope come to our class to see what we are doing, because it is quite different.

Some of my most special experiences from Corner of Hope were while doing practical presentations with the children. There are a lot of questions. The questions we asked during our training are the same questions the children are asking us. They are so curious about things. This is a big and special experience that we have here at Corner of Hope. The experience we gained during our training is the same thing that we are reflecting back to these children while we are guiding them.

I can say, so far so good. Our children are happy, their needs are being met, we have no challenges and everything is running smoothly. The materials in Montessori fulfil the curiosity and the exploration of the child and the child gets satisfied when they work with the materials. We are so grateful to have this unique kind of experience and being the first graduates in Kenya, we are so proud of ourselves. Our children are proud of the Montessori method and we are very proud of it as well. Our government system has just introduced the Competency Based Curriculum type of education which relates to Montessori. They want to match it. It is my hope that one day, one way or the other, this type of education will be known by everybody and will become a curriculum on its own in this country.