My American Dream: Becoming a Preschool Teacher
Nina just finished her training for Montessori Early Childhood Education and got the credential.
She said, “When I first came to the U.S., I didn’t want to use my mom’s money. I became a waitress at the restaurant for several years.
Not only that I didn’t learn anything there, but my health condition was also getting worse. I thought to become a nurse, bartender, or a casino dealer. I studied different programs, but I couldn’t finish any one of them. In fact, I didn’t really like those jobs.
My mom was a preschool teacher in China. She always wanted me to become a professional and get a good full time job. She recommended me to study for Montessori Early Childhood Education.”
Nina said, “I was afraid that my English was too poor to learn. However, from the teachers and classmates’ help, I soon discovered that I started to like Montessori teaching method. I wish I was growing up in a Montessori school.”
She emphasized that, “Montessori provided excellent environment for children. Children learned to be independent; they were encouraged to think and become a self-learner.
I enjoyed working during my internship at the preschool. My students gave me a lot of joy and they inspired me to improve myself. My English was getting better, too!
Fortunately, I was hired to work as a full time teacher after I finished my internship. I was happy that they paid me pretty good salary.
I really appreciated Capital Education Institute Montessori Teacher Education Center that gave me the opportunity to learn, so I could get this great job”.
Once Was Lost But Now Am Found
Ever since I came to the U.S., I was working as a waitress at a restaurant. Although I saved some money over the years, I missed being who I was before and I felt lost. I was an elementary school teacher in China. Even though I still had my teaching skill, I couldn’t use it. My English was very poor and I didn’t have confidence to communicate.
However, when I found a Montessori training program offered by Capital Education Institute, I started to feel hope. I registered for the program and worked really hard to learn the Montessori Method. In addition, I used my knowledge into my work as an intern student at the preschool. My English had improved a lot during the months I worked there.
At the beginning, I couldn’t even use a full sentence to communicate, but now, I understand most conversations with others and can express what I want to say. Other teachers were surprised by my improvement as well.
A director of a preschool hired me to work as a full time teacher. She valued the teaching credential I got from this Montessori program.
I deeply appreciate all the help I got from teachers at Capital Education Institute. Not only did they provide a solid foundation on early childhood education, but they also taught me to gain experience with using Montessori material. I finally found myself teaching again.
Retire Means Re-tire
My friend Xu came to LA to visit me. Xu had several bilingual schools in China. She asked me to co-found a Montessori preschool in China. Xu admired the Montessori teaching method, and predicted that Montessori preschool had great potential in the child education market. She believed that Montessori preschool would attract many parents and Montessori teachers who held accredited credentials.
Immediately, I discovered Capital Education Institute, which was close to where I lived. I learned that I could finish the program in just one year. I was about to retire at the time because my age and health condition did not allow me to take too much time in studying. My goal was to get an accredited credential that I could use in different countries (other than the U.S.) for a short time.
This program fulfilled my goal so I began studying.
I only needed to take one day a week to attend academic classes at Capital Education Institute. I also did my internship at a preschool. I talked to the teachers and learned from their experiences of how to manage a school and different types of preschools.
I applied the knowledge I learned from the academic classes.
I started a new career when I was about to retire. Now I am about to graduate, I am full of hope. In the near future, I will bring my accredited credential to meet Xu and start a high quality Montessori preschool in China.
The studying changed my life. I deeply appreciate my instructors and classmates who gave me support to help me finish studying.