A Chat With January’s Profile, Ann Killeen, General Manager of Montessori Services
Catalog Success: What are the catalog’s customer demographics?
Ann Killeen: We have a split demographic — we service Montessori teachers and schools as well as the parents of the children who attend Montessori schools.
CS: What classifies as a Montessori school?
AK: Montessori was started by Maria Montessori 100 years ago. She was the first woman physician in Italy and she observed children. From there, using sort of a scientific approach, she developed a very hands-on method for education where essentially it recognizes that children learn by doing things and repeating. One child might want to do something only once or twice, but some child might want to do it 50 times. Allowing the children to do those things repetitively, those children will be able to teach themselves. The job of the teacher is to create the right environment for the child to be able to learn. And provided with the right environment, and just a small amount of guidance, that child can learn on their own.
