Principal’s office: Karin Ann of IMS
Can you tell us about your background?
I am Eurasian and grew up in Hong Kong. My father is Chinese, and my mother is Swiss. I attended a local school, and spoke both English and Cantonese at home from a young age. My bilingual upbringing was my parents’ greatest gift to me and when I founded IMS 20 years ago, I wanted our students to have that same dual language environment.
How did you co-found IMS?
After 10 years working in business consulting and finance, I found myself wanting to make a greater impact. Around that time, I saw the way children were being taught in schools and it seemed to be even more traditional and rote than in my time. I strongly felt that learning should be more enjoyable for the children. I went back to university and discovered the Montessori approach. Around that time, I also met my co-founder Anne Sawyer, who raved about her own education in a Montessori school, and we decided to start IMS together. That was 20 years ago.
What is the Montessori method?
Dr. Maria Montessori created the Montessori method in Italy in the early 1900’s based on the belief that children have a natural thirst for learning, and the teacher’s job is to curate the best environment for that instinct to flourish. She was the first person to recognise that learning through all the senses – not just hearing and seeing, but using the hands to explore – is critical, and so she designed a full range of interactive materials through which the Montessori curriculum is delivered. What Montessori has been doing for over a century is exactly what education pioneers are talking about today (think Ken Robinson’s TED talk). The results are fabulous. Montessori children are interested in learning, confident, thoughtful and kind.
Can you tell us about IMS’ school facilities?
IMS has four locations on Hong Kong island, all of which offer preschool, with our primary programme being in the Stanley campus. Nature is a big thing in Montessori, and each campus is green and bright, with natural wood furnishings. Our Stanley campus has a large children’s organic garden, along with many sports and STEAM facilities. The Montessori classroom itself is our most distinctive feature, where our children learn and develop in the unique Montessori way, within a material-rich and bilingual environment all day long.
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What advice do you give to prospective parents?
‘Help Me Do It By Myself’ is the most famous of Montessori’s quotes, and setting up your home to allow your child independence is the best start to their Montessori journey. Independence brings children confidence, joy and motivation, and whether it is putting on shoes or preparing for a meal, the home is full of opportunities for our children to develop their autonomy. We may feel it is faster for us to do it for them, but in the process we are depriving them of the most important developmental journey!
Can you share what’s in store over the next school year? What are you excited about at the school?
It’s our 20th Anniversary Year! When we started IMS, we were hoping to have a small school of 150 students, and never imagined that we would grow to almost 1,000 children! It has been a very rewarding journey, and we are proud to be known all over the world as one of the best (and largest) Montessori schools. We have many celebrations planned for this year, and through the exhilaration of it all, my goal will be to constantly reflect on why we started the school – which is to do our best for the children – and keep trying to do it better.
