The Prepared Adult as Literacy Guide: Rethinking Our Role in the Reading Journey

Montessori told us the child’s work is to build the adult — but in literacy, the reverse is often true. The adult must rebuild herself.

In classrooms shaped by both Montessori principles and the Science of Reading, guides are more than instructors — they’re literacy models. They carry their own reading histories, biases, and beliefs into the environment. Whether we realize it or not, children absorb how we feel about words, stories, and mistakes. They watch how we respond to challenge, how we name what we don’t know, and how we celebrate the journey from confusion to clarity.

To prepare the environment for literacy, we must first prepare ourselves.

What We Bring to the Reading Table

Every guide has a reading story. Some of us devoured books as children; others struggled to decode or felt left out of the “reader” identity. Many of us were taught to see reading as performance — speed, accuracy, or compliance — rather than meaning, connection, or liberation.

Those early experiences don’t disappear when we enter the classroom. They quietly shape how we teach, what we emphasize, and how we interpret a child’s struggle. A child who “doesn’t like reading” might stir our frustration or empathy depending on how closely their story mirrors our own.

Montessori asked us to remove our ego from the environment — but literacy teaching often tempts it back in. The work of the prepared adult is to notice when that happens, and to choose humility over habit.

From Mechanics to Meaning

In the Science of Reading, we learn how the brain learns to read — through explicit instruction, decoding, and practice. In Montessori, we learn how the human learns to love learning — through autonomy, discovery, and joy.

A truly prepared literacy guide bridges both. We teach phonemes and graphemes because they unlock comprehension and confidence. We guide structured lessons while protecting each child’s intrinsic curiosity. And we remember that fluent reading is not the end of the journey — it’s the foundation for thinking, questioning, and creating.

Preparing ourselves as literacy guides means being fluent in both the science and the spirit of reading. It’s not either/or. It’s both/and.

Examining Our Biases About Reading

Preparation isn’t just intellectual; it’s moral.

Whose stories do we center in our classrooms? What accents, dialects, or literacies are subtly dismissed? How do we talk about “good readers”? Do we equate quiet compliance with comprehension?

The prepared adult understands that literacy is inseparable from justice. Reading is not neutral — it’s shaped by access, identity, and power. When we examine our own biases about language, pronunciation, or “correctness,” we model for children what it means to be open learners.

Every book we choose, every word we celebrate, and every correction we offer can either affirm or diminish a child’s voice. Preparing ourselves means committing to awareness — and accountability.

What Children Learn From Our Literacy Lives

When children see us reading — not just instructing — they see literacy as living.

A prepared guide reads aloud with joy, writes notes with intention, and models curiosity when encountering unfamiliar words. They show children that reading isn’t about perfection — it’s about participation.

And they create a classroom culture where reading is collective, not competitive. Where mistakes are data, not shame. Where fluency is just one kind of beauty, and comprehension includes compassion.

Reflection for the Prepared Adult

Pause for a moment and ask yourself:

• What have you learned about yourself as a reader this year?

• What emotions surface when a child struggles to read aloud?

• When do you feel most connected — or disconnected — from the act of reading?

• How might your classroom environment reflect your own reading history?

Preparation is an ongoing practice. The more we understand our own literacy journey, the more authentically we can accompany others on theirs.

Next Step: Literacy as Liberation

Our 7-hour asynchronous course, Montessori Meets the Science of Reading: Literacy as Liberation, explores how Montessori’s timeless principles meet modern literacy research. You’ll learn how to blend evidence-based practice with human-centered teaching — all while rethinking your role as the prepared adult.

Because literacy isn’t just about decoding words.It’s about decoding the world — together.

→ Enroll at montessorimakerslearning.org