Athena Montessori Academy

 

My name is Jeremy Broms, and I am excited to be the new Assistant Guide in the Primary 4 Quetzal class! I found my way to Athena Montessori Academy through the Soccer Shots program. I spent Thursday afternoons coaching and getting to know the school and its wonders. After such awesome interactions with the children, parents, and staff, I could not pass up the opportunity to be back in a classroom and to teach at Athena. 

 

I was born and raised in Peoria, Illinois. After high school I followed my two loves-soccer and art-to Millikin University. It is small liberal arts school not far from my home, where I earned a degree in Art Education. From there I moved like most mid-westerners do, to Chicago in hopes of putting my degree to work. I found a job as a substitute teacher at a local elementary school, and this is when I truly realized my calling was to educate. I spent the school year working in a variety of classrooms teaching multiple subjects, and my summers working on a trail crew in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. 

 

The mountains helped to mold my teaching into something that I truly stand behind. I have likened teaching children to guiding a tour up a mountain. I allow the students' curiosity to drive them to new and exciting heights while keeping them safe on the wild trail ahead, stopping to point out amazing sites and some helpful hints on their way to the peak. I have always felt that learning has a much better chance of taking place if it is earned. Spoon fed knowledge is too often found spit out on the floor. As a tour guide, there are certain things you must be cautious of and not allow to happen. The same thing is true in a classroom; there are some things you must always adhere to: be respectful, honest and, (this last one I borrowed from a brilliant teacher of my own): "You never have the right to be rude" (Prof. Marilyn Yokel). I believe using these "trail-markers" will create an unshakable safe and positive foundation for any learning environment. 

 

I now call Austin and Athena home and am so happy to have it as such.  Austin provides outlets for all that I love: children, soccer, art, the outdoors, swimming, books, and yoga.  Athena provides the beginning of a new educational journey for me in Montessori and I am eager to have the opportunity to work with Susanne, to get to know all of you, and learn alongside your children at Athena Montessori Academy. 

 

Jeremy