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Kirsi recalls Michael and D’Neil Duffy’s book, Love for Learning, in which they state that “Education is not a passive experience of memorizing what a teacher or a textbook tells us. It is an active experience of taking charge of one’s own intellectual and physic development, or growing internally and mentally.” That is what she believes a Montessori education is all about. Kirsi is just one of the supporters of her students’ inner development.

Kirsi has always loved learning and challenging herself. She received her Master’s Degree in Pedagogics in Finland and worked at the Department of Teacher Training at the University of Tampere. She also received both the AMI Primary and the Elementary Diplomas in the United States. Kirsi’s teaching experiences spans over 35 years in public and private school and with various age groups.

Kirsi is a mother of two college age children and one pre-professional ballerina with the Atlanta Ballet. Her free time is spent on ballet performances, guiding her daughter with her online high school assignments, and riding a bike through downtown Atlanta. She always has time for long walks in nature, which is her way of recharging the batteries. As the Chair of the Atlanta Ballet Parent Association, Kirsi gets a chance to meet beautiful dancers and a lot of people from Atlanta and all over the world. IKirsi considers herself a very lucky person whose days are never the same.