Perhaps one of the biggest challenges has to do with the training of new Montessori teachers. For understandable reasons, many people often look for the fastest and cheapest teacher training course.  Montessori does not teach teachers how to teach, we focus on the study of human development, the specially designed materials that have stood the “test of time”, and how to introduce children to the use of materials to teach themselves.  Adults are there to link the children to the materials, offer support as needed, and model human characteristics.

Globally there is a shortage of Montessori teachers—the same shortage that applies to more traditionally trained teachers—and this most likely has to do with the amount of time and dedication it takes to become a teacher in a not-so-lucrative profession. In spite of entering a not-so-lucrative profession, many people are pulled toward the profession. If the system in which a teacher works is not supportive and is so complicated that there is no joy in the profession, teachers drop out. Teaching is a vocation, not a job but needs to be in a supportive environment to maintain the joy and enthusiasm initially expressed.