Joyce Goonesekera Montessori House of Children Principal Sanjana Selvarajah

Joyce Goonesekera Montessori House of Children Manager Kishani Silva

Joyce Goonesekera Montessori House of Children Assistant Principal Shafra

The late Selina Joyce Goonesekera or ‘Aunty Joyce’

Selina Joyce Goonesekera with Dr. Maria Montessori (left)

• Joyce Goonesekera Montessori House of Children celebrates 75th anniversary

The Montessori method of education is described as one that involves the child’s natural interests and activities as opposed to formal teaching methods. It was introduced by Italian Physician Dr. Maria Montessori. One of her students, Selina Joyce Goonesekera studied in India before returning to Sri Lanka to open her own Montessori school. This was in 1948, and this year, the Joyce Goonesekera Montessori House of Children is celebrating its 75th anniversary.

The Daily Morning Brunch had the opportunity to drop by Joyce Goonesekera Montessori House of Children down Glen Aber Place, Colombo 3 to learn more about its founder, the Montessori method of education, and the importance of early childhood education.

 About ‘Aunty Joyce’

Born in 1911, Goonesekera came from a large family. She loved children, and in 1941, at the age of 17, left for India, where she followed the third Montessori course with Dr. Maria Montessori herself. “After she followed the course, she became an asset to Dr. Montessori, so she decided to go with her to Kodaikanal and work at the training centre with Dr. Montessori. She followed the first advanced Montessori course that was held in India,” Joyce Goonesekera Montessori House of Children Principal Sanjana Selvarajah shared.

Later, Dr. Montessori received a letter from the Headmistress Association of Sri Lanka, inviting her to conduct the first Montessori course in Sri Lanka. Goonesekera came back with her, and they started the first training centre with the congregation of Good Shepherd Sisters at Good Shepherd Convent, Kotahena. This was later moved to St. Bridget’s Convent, Colombo, which is where the current training centre is.

“Dr. Montessori asked her to come back to India with her but she wanted to remain in Sri Lanka because she felt she could be more useful in Sri Lanka. She worked at the training centre thereafter, and was one of the senior lecturers for 60 years. Dr. Montessori left it with her and the Good Shepherd Order nuns, and they are still continuing the programme,” Selvarajah shared.

In 1948, Goonesekera opened her own Montessori in her hometown, Galle. Dr. Montessori, her son and her granddaughter were present at the occasion. The Colombo branch of the Montessori was opened in 1951. Goonesekera helped a lot of her trainees to open their own schools.

“There have been even three generations of the same family that have gone through at least one of her Montessori schools. She was the pioneer in Montessori education in Sri Lanka. In 1989, President Premadasa awarded her the title of Deshabandu for all the work she had done in early childhood education in Sri Lanka and in 1999, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs also gave her an award,” Selvarajah shared.

Goonesekera passed away in 2003, and the school is now owned by her son, who migrated to Australia with his family. “His wish is that it never closes. And that is what he wants, for her legacy to be carried on,” Selvarajah added.

When asked how Goonesekera could be described, she said: “She was very small-made but full of energy and a bundle of joy. Her passion was working with children, which is why she wanted to go to India and follow Dr. Montessori’s course. She had a knack for it. She was extremely kind-hearted and generous, and that’s what she’s known for.”

The Montessori method of education

Goonesekera introduced the Montessori method to Sri Lanka, and over the years, many schools have been set up. However, the Good Shepherd Maria Montessori Training Centre at St. Bridget’s Convent remains the only licensed Montessori training centre in Sri Lanka.

A sense of home is what one can find inside an authentic Montessori, Selvarajah said, explaining that teachers are trained to retain certain characteristics and maintain a certain environment, where everyone helps each other and classes benefit from each other.

“This is a scientifically proven method, invented by Dr. Montessori. Everything used in the classroom has a method for it to be used, and what children will learn out of it, which they will realise later on because they have an absorbent mind at the moment,” Joyce Goonesekera Montessori House of Children Manager Kishani Silva explained. A Montessori typically has children between ages 2-5, which are the formative years.

The material in a classroom is made with an operation or activity in mind, and Selvarajah shared that a teacher, referred to as “aunty” will give them the principles of those activities, instead of teaching them. “For instance, you give them language. You give them the principles of maths. When they go into regular school and primary education, they are reminded of these.”

Silva explained: “In the Montessori method, there are no toys. You work with the material or the apparatus. There is a method to every activity and also an indirect preparation to using the material. For instance, the first couple of activities that you use are sensorial, like knobs. The child learns to use the knob with the use of three fingers. This is a preparation for writing.”

“It is child-leading, so it is taken at every child’s pace because it’s so personalised and individualised. Most activities are done as an individual presentation,” Silva shared, adding that the activity is done at a pace comfortable to each individual child.

Distance learning and technology

Speaking about the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of distance learning, Selvarajah said the biggest setback for the children was socialising, which is important during this stage of a child’s life. 

“In terms of learning, the Montessori method had to be adapted to online learning. There were a lot of resources available online that we could use,” she added, explaining that across schools in the country, teachers had to be instructed and parents told about making Montessori-based materials at home.

“We used everything in the house. Montessori can be done at home,” Silva shared. However, in terms of online education, time was another restricting factor. While a child may spend four hours in a Montessori, online Montessori was restricted to 30 minutes due to a child’s attention span.

Sharing more about the initial stages of adapting to distance learning, Joyce Goonesekera Montessori House of Children Assistant Principal Shafra explained that at first, teachers had to be informed about using online teaching tools. Initially, it was mostly about making conversation with children, but later the teachers adapted to making videos and recording various activities and presentations.

“It was very new to us as well, because we had never done this before, so it took us a couple of weeks to get on track and figure out what was going to happen,” Shafra shared. One thing that the children missed, she said, was the connection children have with their teachers. “I must say, every Montessori teacher knows everything that goes on in a child’s life. Unfortunately, they have no filters, and the lack of that connection was what they really missed.”

The Joyce Goonesekera Montessori House of Children closed in March 2020 with the outbreak of Covid-19, before opening for a few weeks in June. They closed in August that year, and with the fuel and economic crises following, only opened properly in August 2022.

“The setback also was that there were families that didn’t believe in virtual learning at the time, and didn’t want that sort of education for the children. So numbers dropped during that time, because they didn’t want to follow that sort of programme,” Selvarajah highlighted.

Silva echoed these views, saying that even today, the numbers are not what they used to be, especially since children tend to be exposed to influenza and other illnesses in schools and because Montessori education is not mandatory by law. Selvarajah was of the opinion that many people were opting for day care facilities instead.

Beyond the Covid-19 pandemic, however, teachers have also had to adapt to technology and other changes in society. Teachers have had to learn new methods they could use in education as well as various resources available to them. “We are dealing with the new age child. We are dealing with the child who is tech savvy,” Selvarajah said, adding that one must adapt to the new age child. However, she emphasised that despite adjusting and adapting to these changes, the Montessori method remains at the core of everything they do.

“We feel children are so into gadgets now, that it is difficult sometimes. If we were to be read a story to, we would listen. But now when reading a story book to a child, you have to be animated,” Silva shared.

Impact on children

While discussing how education has changed over the years, especially as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Joyce Goonesekera Montessori House of Children team shared how this has impacted children. Selvarajah shared that a Montessori principle is that each classroom is equipped with only one set of material. “One of the things that they learn is to wait for their turn and to share. We have mixed age groups in a classroom. When they don’t have that social integration, especially for a child who may be the only child at home, they don’t learn that. They don’t know how to communicate.”

Silva explained that the Montessori is often a child’s outlet if their parents are having issues or if they have a new sibling. When teachers are informed of such changes in a child’s life, they can have a conversation about it.

A child is also exposed to other children, those with different ideas and habits, as well as different ethnicities.

“If you don’t learn to deal with that at this stage, where you learn to mingle with other children, the older you get, obviously the more set in your ways you will be, so the child may find it very hard. Going into primary school makes it that much harder because there are lots of things that they might have not learned to do, like sit in groups and work together,” Selvarajah shared.

With a significant anniversary this year, the Joyce Goonesekera Montessori House of Children is however hoping to raise awareness not only about the school but also the Montessori method of education and its importance. This will be done through infomercials and social media posts.

However, today (19), the children will be performing a skit of Aunty Joyce’s life to past teachers who have been invited to the anniversary celebrations taking place at the school.

PHOTOS Pradeep Dambarage