Yolanda and Carmen: The first guides in the Pasto neighborhood

They were part of the first group of public school teachers to become certified in the Instituto Nueva Escuela.

Yolanda and Carmen are guides for Early Childhood and work with students from 3 to 6 years old

After several years in traditional education, Yolanda Latorre and Carmen Ortiz arrive in 2007 at the Segunda Unidad Pasto school in Aibonito, becoming a pioneer of the Montessori methodology in this school community.

The now teachers at Pasto neighborhood began their Montessori certification process while in charge of an Early Childhood environment with 25 students and parents who allowed them the opportunity to implement a new methodology, but parents who also helped in the preparation of the environment and materials.

The beginning of this journey was described as ‘’ not easy '' because they did not have all the materials, nor the full support of the administration and Department of Education (DE) and even the teachers faculty, but they clarified that it was due to ignorance of this new way of educating. 

''When we began there was nothing. It was a traditional classroom, with chairs and a blackboard. And we were like... Wow, what are we going to do? But there were so many parents interested because they had learned about the philosophy,  that along with us and the school started working for the environment,'' Carmen said, recalling the beginnings of the mission and affirming that the parents were the key.

But before starting the mission at the Segunda Unidad Pasto school, as the interviewers described the fact of arriving there, Carmen and Yolanda were educating at the Rabanal school in the same town. There Carmen worked as a second-grade teacher and Yolanda worked as a body movement teacher.

It was in 2005 while they were in that school that they decided to study the Montessori philosophy at Instituto Nueva Escuela  (INE) in search of something different that could bring values, where children could enjoy the teachings and be happy. Both indicated that they liked what they did in the traditional school, but they were looking for something else.

Currently, the courses to be certified in Montessori are given in the months of June and July at the INE.

So they began to study.  As part of the study process they needed to do an internship, which consisted of creating a Montessori environment,  and since Rabanal did not have the physical space to create it, they went in search of alternatives to the Department of Education (DE) to implement the methodology.

One of the alternatives presented to them were to go to a closed school in the Los Llano neighborhood of that municipality, were they saw the perfect opportunity to begin the project. But at that moment, a letter arrived at the DE informing that the Segunda Unidad Pasto school was interested in the Montessori project. 

''This was a community where nobody wanted to work with. When the opportunity presents itself to us because the school was in danger of being closed, Carmen and I looked at each other. What you do you think? What would Maria Montessori do? She went from missionary to a community that nobody wanted to work with. And that we did, let's go to Pasto neighborhood, '' said the teacher, Yolanda punctualizing with laughter.

Both mentioned that although their beginning was full of many questions and fears, the essential thing was to change that for great enthusiasm, courage, faith and above all love, and that surpassed everything.

Today Carmen and Yolanda are still there, between the greenery that characterizes Aibonito, the flowers and orchards worked by the same students and in a school with all its Montessori classrooms. They are no longer the only teachers in Pasto neighborhood because 92% of the faculty is certified, now they are the pioneers.

Photos of the parents' work preparing the first environment, Early Childhood, in the Second Unit Pasto school in Aibonito.