Cynthia Blessman has thirty years of Montessori teaching experience under her belt and has been teaching at Post Oak since 2016. She believes that her main role as a primary teacher is to guide the children and connect them to the materials on the shelf.
“I think the greatest part of my job that I really love is when I make the right connection,” she said.
For example, her students pull something off of the shelf involving numbers. At that point, the children have been working with the materials, preparing their mathematical minds, and building muscle memory through sensory experience. “All of a sudden,” Cynthia shared, “it comes to this point when we tell them what it all means—the materials, quantity, symbols. They put it together and get so excited!”
Learning about the Montessori teaching style through their children is transformative for many parents and has inspired some, including Cynthia, to become teachers themselves. Cynthia encourages new families joining the Post Oak community to get involved in their children’s education as much as they can.
“Montessori is alternative education, so the more you learn about it, the better the experience will be!” she said.
However, parents can’t count on their children to tell them everything about school, which is why Cynthia always makes sure to keep families in the loop by sending them pictures straight from the classroom. She has been updating parents this way all throughout her teaching career—before emails, parents received Polaroids!
In Cynthia’s class and all spaces in the Post Oak school, the children are taught to view the world with compassion, kindness, and curiosity. When they are done using materials, the children are in the habit of asking themselves, “Is it ready for the next person?” This practice teaches them to be responsible, act with integrity, and keep others in mind throughout their lives.