Montessori Teacher?

Hello there!

I was hoping that anyone in the UK, expat or native, can tell me the best way to go about becoming a Montessori teacher in the the UK. I am currently in university pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education, and I have around 2-2.5 years left 'til I earn my degree. It is another two years to become Montessori certified, and in terms of cost, it would be best for me to go through my training here in the US. From what I understand, Montessori is generally the same world-wide, so I would hope that my US certification would be applicable to working in the UK (though taking an exra class or two at a UK institution would be no problem).

However, here is my real question: Is it worth it for me to earn my Early Childhood Ed degree from a university here in the US, when it is my Montessori certification that truly matters? Would I be essentially wasting those 2.5 years (and tuition) pursuing a useless degree?

Would my intensive Montessori training be all that's required to help me secure a job as a Montessori educator in the UK? Also, will having a bachelor's degree in addition to my certification cause a substantial, if any, increase in salary?

All I know is that while I am excelling in university, I am hating every minute of it. I am 21 years-old, and I would hate to spend 2.5 more unhappy years in school, and learn that I didn't have to.

Thank you so much for your help!

I'm not a teacher so I couldn't advise you too much really, but you might want to check out this website:

http://www.teach.gov.uk

It is the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) website and I'm expect you could find an answer there about this.

My first instinct would be to tell you to go ahead with your degree.  It won't be completely comparable here and you'll have to probably do the fast track training which I think takes about a year here, just to be qualified to teach in the UK.  Not sure about montessori teaching though.  I wonder if it's as popular here as the US? 

You'll need to worry more about a visa to work here though....which is an entirely different board. 

Good luck!

Well, I am a teacher, and I can tell you that if you wish to teach in mainstream or private schools in either the UK or the US, you will need your degree, so the advice Wishstar has given you is spot on.  The Montessori Centre International Website says that in order to qualify as a Montessori teacher, you need to "have studied to GCSE level or above, have good written and spoken English and be aged 17 years or over. All candidates are assessed for entry on individual merit. "  More info at


http://www.montessori.ac.uk/prospectus.html

However, if you choose to forego your degree and only train as a Montessori teacher, you will be limiting your options should you wish to teach in mainstream later.  Basically, you would have to go back and do your degree and teacher certification anyway.