Iconic practitioner of Montessori education: Memories of Emma Amoo-Gottfried (1952-2022)

In 2011, I happened to be at the Gutman Library of the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) at Cambridge, Massachusetts, to join the class of one Professor Eileen McGowan. She had graciously agreed to my request to observe a methodology she applied with her doctoral students.

While waiting, I rummaged through some books on a discard table and chanced upon one titled, “The Montessori Method by Maria Montessori.” It was an edition of a translation of the author’s work from its Italian origin, published in 1912.

Raising successful children

The introduction to the book marked that the cutting edge that resulted in any human progress resided chiefly in the individual’s “intention or plan”.

It was asserted that, “If a teacher can discern what a child is trying to do in his informational interaction with his environment, and if that teacher can have on hand materials relevant to that intention, if he can impose a relevant challenge with which the child can cope, supply a relevant model for imitation, or pose a relevant question that the child can answer, that teacher can call forth the kind of accommodative change that constitutes psychological development or growth.”

That sort of thing, he noted, was apparently “the genius of Maria Montessori”.

In brief, if a teacher could plan and guide a child properly, that child could do almost anything. And then as the child grew, large possibilities could not elude them, even including the empathy and stamina to organise large community projects to help others succeed.

That brief, I believe, supplied the emotive force that propelled Mrs Emma Gottfried, the Proprietor of the Faith Montessori School, to raise highly successful students and plan the yearly walks to raise money for good community causes.

Inclusive quality education

The theme for year 2018, “Ensuring Inclusive Quality Education For All,” evolved out of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4. The planned six-km walk would start from the SVD Residence Catholic Church (McCarthy Hill) to Royal Palm Avenue at Jayee Institute to N1 High Way Weija Junction to Top Base and end finally at Faith School, Gbawe.

The night before, Auntie Emma had driven to my residence to deliver a ticket. In our conversation, I said, “I will walk with you only down the hill to Jayee and return home ...” Before I could finish, she insisted, “Nobody is going to quit halfway. We’d start together and finish together!”

I asked, panting, “You mean walk all six kilometres?” She responded, “Why not? If children can do it, so can you! We cleared that same distance last year.”

The sponsored walk is Faith Montessori’s flagship charity event, hence the no-nonsense determination and effort put into its planning from execution to finish.

Ghana Prisons’ Brass Band

Early the next morning, we gathered at the SVD Residence Catholic Church from 6 a.m. and waited as the school buses ran from the school and other locations shuttling children to the start-off point. The numbers were large considering that the project involved the whole school and included some gallant parents too.

Waiting in the wings was the Ghana Prisons’ Brass Band preparing its instruments for the march. When asked if they could walk and play the whole stretch, the leader shrugged off my question and said, “Ah, but we do it all the time!” While chatting, he infused into the conversation the array of musical instruments readied for the task: the horn section – the trumpet, flugelhorn,

French horn, tuba and the trombone; then the bass and snare drums and the brass cymbals.
When the first trumpet sounded, with the horn section and the drums plunging in, there was no turning back; we had crossed the proverbial Rubicon in high spirits for a good cause.

Planning and execution

The success of that year’s walk smacked of the same effort the year before. The walk commenced at McCarthy Hill and ended at Faith Montessori School (Gbawe Campus). The first stop was at the Circuit Court / Oblogo Health Centre at Weija, and the second at the Zion Nursing School at Top Base.

The rest stops were manned by teachers, students and a supporting staff serving in various capacities ranging from supervisors, litter patrol, traffic coordinators and so on. The kitchen staff refreshed the walkers at the breaks and finally with coconuts and juices.

Drivers along the stretch moved logistics back and forth. A bus branded “Tired Feet” availed itself for carting any young enthusiasts who could not finish the walk.

It was impressive and gratifying that a large number of the kids completed the full distance. No doubt the exhilarating tunes from the Prisons Brass Band served their purpose.

A high premium was placed on security. Police personnel drawn from Gbawe and Mallam police stations held their roles with commitment. Their efforts were complemented by the Faith in-house security officers. An ambulance team from the Royal

Medical Diagnostic Centre drove alongside at a walking pace, on standby to support the school nurse and Red Cross team.

The event incited a joyous social intercourse with students, teachers, parents and brass band collaborating and releasing waves of energy and emotion.

All that was accomplished through the auspices of the school’s directorate, under the eagle eye of none other than Auntie Emma, one of the most committed educators Ghana has ever known. She passed away on November 16, 2022.

The writer is a trainer of teachers, leadership coach, motivational speaker and quality education advocate. E-mail: anishaffar@gmail.com