Our response to Le Temps regarding an article - SWISS MONTESSORI ASSOCIATION

About the job

The Swiss Montessori Association was contacted on Friday 29 March 2024 by a journalist from Le Temps.

Here is her request:

Journalist for Le Temps, I am writing an article on Montessori education, with a particular interest in the Swiss context. I have a question for your association in this regard; could you send me a response by Monday?

In 2018, your association stated through Sabine Tinelli to a colleague from Le Temps that "Schools not listed by the association will soon no longer have the right to use the Montessori name, unless they meet quality criteria and pay their licence." What is the situation today? Are there Montessori schools not listed by your association?

Furthermore, how many Swiss schools are listed by your association?

To be transparent with you, here is the response sent to her on Sunday 31 March 2024:

Le Temps Journalist

Geneva, 24 March 2024

Response from the Committee of the Swiss Montessori Association

Dear Madam,

Thank you for your request on 22 March 2024. I will try to respond comprehensively despite the short deadline. To be transparent with our members and to share the available information, I inform you that we will publish this response to your inquiry on our networks.

First, I would like to remind you that Maria Montessori did not patent her pedagogy to make it accessible to all. Similarly, the Montessori name has not been registered as a trademark in the vast majority of countries worldwide, with the notable exception of Switzerland, to which I will return.

Let us start at the beginning: the fundamental principle of Montessori education is to observe each child to determine where they are in their personal development, in order to present activities most likely to "nourish" and help them progress at the moment they need it most. Contrary to a common misconception, it is not the child who does whatever they want in a Montessori classroom, but the child "guides" the adult's work.

This is clearly shown in the film "The New Woman" which has just been released: Maria Montessori explains at one point to her nurse that the children in her care do not seek her out to disturb her but to "do like her": giving them the tools to perform this imitation work is what will allow them to develop at that moment.

Of course, this respect for each child's pace does not occur outside the school reality, and in French-speaking Switzerland, it is also the responsibility of the teaching teams that each child achieves the fundamental learnings required by the Romand Curriculum Plan.

In Switzerland, and unlike the vast majority of countries worldwide as I mentioned, the Montessori name is a registered trademark for which we, the Swiss Montessori Association, have a delegation to manage in the Romand and Ticino territories by the Assoziation Montessori Schweiz, our colleagues across the Sarine being historically the holders.

But beyond managing this trademark, our goal as an association is to promote Montessori education generally and to support our members and community so that ultimately children receive the best possible education.

For this reason, since 2020 we have evolved our operating rules with an inclusivity objective, replacing the notion of "licence" with that of "membership".

Concretely, under current rules, a school must be a member of the Swiss Montessori Association to legally use the term Montessori in its name.

And its membership is accepted without delay or reservation provided it meets the fundamental criteria of Montessori education:

– mixed age groups in each class

– staff trained for the appropriate age group

– an uninterrupted period of free work for children, at least 4 days per week.

You will find the details of these fundamental criteria on this page https://www.montessori-suisse.ch/devenir-membre-ecole/.

Through their membership (and no longer the licence), our member schools obtain not only the right to use the Montessori name but also various services/benefits which you can find on this page https://www.montessori-suisse.ch/services-ams-membres-ecoles/. Additionally, our schools can use the AMS member school logo and thus be more easily identified.

This "inclusive" policy approach aims to strengthen our community while increasing our public recognition. But we also seek to enhance the educational quality offered by our member schools, ensuring that in French-speaking Switzerland, families find not only "authentic" Montessori but also "good" Montessori. This notably involves ongoing training for teams and regular exchanges on best professional practices.

That is why each year we conduct activities aimed at educators and all staff in contact with children, as well as parents, health professionals who might be interested in our pedagogy, and cantonal authorities.

Thus, among our varied activities, you will find for example:

– virtual exchange groups among professionals, allowing immediate responses to questions raised

– school visits by our Committee members, enabling us to stay attentive to our community

– physical and virtual meetings between directors of our member schools, held 5 to 6 times a year

– a personalised support programme for new teaching teams, directors or project leaders

– numerous workshops and conferences for education professionals, such as recently:

*** "How school experiences shape the pupil’s future: contributions from developmental neuroscience" with Doctors Cherine Fahim and Solange Denervaud (24 March 2024 in Neuchâtel, in person, 180 participants)

*** "What is Autism? How to support families" with Professor Marie Schaer, Assistant Physician at the Autism Pole Foundation (Geneva) (23 Nov 2023, online).

– events for parents (supporters) of our member schools, always aiming to support them in their children’s education

"Beyond homework: How to support your child’s learning between 6 and 12 years?" by Julien Lamorte, Vice-President AMSuisse and trainer of the International Montessori Association (upcoming 14 May 2024, online)

This inclusive approach pursued for 5 years is bearing fruit, since in 2019, when we recorded 32 Montessori schools in the Romand and Ticino territories, of which 22 were under the brand licence, we reached in December 2023, at our last General Assembly, 36 Montessori schools including 30 member schools which you can find on this web page https://www.montessori-suisse.ch/liste-des-ecoles-montessori-suisse-romande-tessin/, for a total of over 1200 enrolled pupils.

Note that among our member schools, some joined us naturally and voluntarily, without legal obligation as they do not use the Montessori name in their title. We are also in contact with 5 project leaders for opening new schools in Geneva, Lausanne, Fribourg or Neuchâtel.

There remain here and there some non-member structures that nevertheless use the Montessori name. We work case by case with these structures, seeking as much as possible to demonstrate the advantages they would have in joining us rather than remaining isolated.

I take this opportunity to remind families that, whatever pedagogy excites them, nothing beats a visit during open days and a meeting with the teaching team to know if the school will truly meet their child’s needs.

Hoping to have answered your questions, I invite you to contact me again if you have any uncertainties about these statements.

Thank you again for your inquiry.

For the Committee of the Swiss Montessori Association

Marie-Laure Debacker, President