AMI Talks – Parent Engagement
On 31 August 2023 Eduardo Cuevas Gonzalez, Francescah Kipsoi and Lilian Wairimu Mwaura presented the AMI Talk on the importance of parent engagement. Parents play a crucial role in shaping their child's educational journey, and when equipped with deeper Montessori knowledge, children can reap the benefit of closer and more joyful collaboration between home and school. You will love hearing about experiences from various backgrounds and cultures.
Click the links to watch or listen to the recordings.
Presenters
Eduardo Cuevas Gonzalez has been an AMI trainer at the 3–6 level since 1987, and pioneered courses in Uppsala, Sweden; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Hartford, CT, and Girona, Spain. He was Director of Training at the Montessori Training Centre of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, from 1999 to 2020. Eduardo enjoys exploring the continued relevance of Montessori philosophy and practice in the modern-day context, in diverse settings, most recently completing the Montessori course on Ageing and Dementia. As part of the programme in his schools, Eduardo offered ongoing opportunities for parents to understand Montessori which evolved into a DVD series: “Because No One Was Born a Parent”. He looks forward to speaking on a Montessori perspective for Parent Engagement and sharing some practical aspects of its implementation. Eduardo holds an AMI 3–6 diploma from the first Mexican training course, led by Cato Hanrath. He holds an MEd from Loyola University, Baltimore.
Francescah Kipsoi works at Montessori for Kenya (MfK), an NGO affiliated with AMI as the Programmes Director. Her main work is linked to the aim of the organisation which is to increase access to high-quality Montessori education and support Montessori work in Kenya by offering support to the initiatives that reach out to all communities. Francescah is a trained teacher with many years of experience in education management in various institutions in Kenya and holds a diploma in Education Management, an MA in Diplomacy, and a bachelor’s degree in education (Arts). In 2022 she obtained an MA in Social Integration with a focus on the education of minority groups, ethnically diverse groups, refugees, and vulnerable groups. Her interest is to enable access to education for all children in the world and enable them to reach their highest potential by reducing the obstacles to their achievements.
Lilian Wairimu Mwaura trained as a Montessori teacher in 2006, and after some years of teaching joined the Corner of Hope Montessori school in Nakuru, Kenya in 2010, first as a mentor teacher. She currently is the deputy head teacher. In 2012 Lilian obtained her national 3–6 Montessori diploma, followed in 2017 by a 6–12 Montessori diploma from St Ann's Montessori College in Nakuru while working at Corner of Hope. In 2021 she gained her international AMI 3–6 diploma from Msimbazi College in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Lilian has extensive experience talking to parents about Montessori: At first, the community did not understand what Montessori education was, but Lilian and the Nakuru team were quick and eager to transfer to the parents their enthusiasm and appreciation of Montessori. When the parents saw the progress of their children, they fully embraced it. Lilian will share some moving stories.
