Natasha McKenzie
The Kindergarten on the Rooftop of the World
Building Tibet’s first Montessori school
Over the last Spring Festival, Natasha McKenzie, who’s been teaching in Beijing’s Montessori schools since 2001, traveled to Lhasa to lend a hand setting up Tibet’s first Montessori kindergarten. Located in Nyetang Village, outside of Lhasa city, this combined school and orphanage is a project of the Tharjay Charitable Trust and the Shambhala Foundation. With the help of local teachers Gesan and Drolma, who traveled to Beijing to tour Montessori classrooms and observe Montessori teaching in action, the school will offer a free education to up to 100 children under the age of 8.
During her short eight-day stay in Tibet, Natasha kept a journal of her experiences, recording the thrills of discovering Lhasa, the hard work of building a school curriculum and interior from scratch, and the excitement of being involved in the early stages of such a unique project. The following is an excerpt.
