Oneonta woman bunks at convent to study Montessori

Nancy Donahue begins each weekday with morning Mass then returns to the convent at St. Anthony's Church in Schenectady for breakfast with the Religious Venerini Sisters at St. Anthony's Convent. After her shift at work, she returns to the convent for dinner and conversation with the sisters.

Mrs. Donahue is not a nun, but a lay woman who lives during the week in the convent as she prepares for a new career as a Montessori school administrator.

To complete her practicum - a kind of internship - required to earn her American Montessori Society certification, she is the classroom assistant at River Run Community Montessori, located in St. Anthony's Bianco DeFranco Center.

Weekend shift
On the weekends, Mrs. Donahue returns home to Laurens, N.Y., in Otsego County, where she is a parishioner of St. Mary's Church in Oneonta.

Living with the four Religious Venerini Sisters has been a positive experience.
"When I was little and we had the nuns I always thought they were different from everybody else," she said. "Now I know they are the same as us."

Mrs. Donahue said her faith is intertwined with her teaching. While a secular school, River Run follows the principles of Maria Montessori, an early 20th century educator who aimed at developing the whole child.

An environment free of traditional restraint would foster creativity and intellect, she believed. To this day, Montessori schools try to engage all five senses - for instance, by having students cook and share a meal together.

The method also replicates the family structure by gathering children of various ages in one classroom.

Faith fits form
"My faith helps me have a respect for the dignity of each child," she said. "It allows me to step back from my own agenda for each child and listen."

A mother of three and grandmother to eight, Mrs. Donahue sent her own children to Montessori programs for their early education. Each of her children spent nine years in Montessori classes.

Mrs. Donahue has also worked with a Montessori inspired religious education curriculum known as "Cate-chesis of the Good Shepherd." She assisted a group of home- schooling families to implement this curriculum in their homes.

"Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is used as a religious education program in many parishes as well as other Christian churches that have liturgy and sacraments," she said.

Long learning
Mrs. Donahue has spent much of her adult life involved in Montessori classrooms. "When my children were young I helped in some of the Montessori programs they attended," she said.

Mrs. Donahue attended traditional schools and discovered Montessori when her oldest child was ready for school.

"What attracted me was that children can work at their own level with hands on materials," she said. "It is a good way to allow a child to develop their potential and to become an independent learner."

Working in Montessori classrooms has enriched Mrs. Donahue's life. "I have great joy in my heart doing this," she said. "It's the joy of the Lord."

(11/06/08)