by Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

NNSL (Oct 24/97) - Alternative and innovative, the Montessori method of teaching continues to be a part of Yellowknife's education landscape.

In the mid-1970s the city's first Montessori school opened with 24 students.

Two decades later, enrolment remains consistent at 26.

This Saturday, from 1 to 4 p.m., the 52nd Street school will host an open house to celebrate more than 20 years in the North.

The Montessori method, founded in Italy by Maria Montessori in 1907, emphasizes a child's potential, the learning environment, independence and respect.

Students from the age of three to six receive instruction in practical life, sensory, mathematics, language and cultural skills.

Public school teacher Fred North, who played a role in the Yellowknife school's early years, traced its Northern genesis to a Christmas party he attended.

"There were no chairs left, so I sat on the floor," he said.

North was joined by two women with children. Discussion turned to education for young children and the Montessori method.

North, who is Montessori-trained himself, said the best thing he knew of for youngsters was Montessori.

He came to the NWT in 1958 as Inuvik's first principal and concluded his career in 1978 at Lac la Martre.

He did not teach at the Montessori school, but served as a consultant and president of the Yellowknife Montessori parents' organization.

North said there was resistance to the Montessori method, partly because it gives the child control over learning pace.

"In a (public) school, the teacher has control," he said. "Teachers are restricted in changing. They run a timetable."

Critics of the Montessori method also suggest children have many years of school ahead of them -- so why add more?

But Wendy Hunt, whose sons, Edward and Alexander, attend the Montessori school, said: "Their learning, but it doesn't seem like work to them."

Hunt said she believes what her sons are learning will be of life-long value.

"There is a need to constantly educate the public about Montessori," Yellowknife Montessori directress Sharmala Buell said.

Buell, from Sri Lanka, has Montessori International qualifications and has been teaching in Canada since 1983 and in Yellowknife for the last 10 years.

The school's other teachers are Paula Campbell and Foday Dumbuya.

"We believe the child is capable of doing more at an earlier age," Buell said.

For her, Montessori is a "calling."

She attended a Montessori school and her mother learned the Montessori method from none other than Dr. Montessori in Sri Lanka in the mid-1940s.