Inclusion includes who?

Many of the methods that were incorporated by Maria Montessori in her pedagogy came from her study of Friedrich Froebel and others who worked with "idiot" children--what I will henceforth call children who learn differently. Additionally, Montessori's first observations of children were those who were in an asylum. So I am thankful that including children who learn differently as well as those who have special needs are being placed back into the national equation as it pertains to Montessori programs. One could ask the question, "How were they ever subtracted from that equation?" But such an answer requires far more blog posts. And they are coming, dear friends. When I saw this Facebook post on your right...

It gave me hope for the future of Montessori education in this country. But in order to be an agent of peace for the future of our children, it is worth considering the past (and present) wounds of a nation that places a limit on whose children we consider to be "ours". That is to say, "difference" is so easily equated with division. Anything outside of sameness easily becomes other. How do we fight against this human tendency? Better still, how do we cultivate a new tendency? While we can lovingly (and vocally) disagree with one another, how do we create an environment in which we can still learn from and serve one another? May such answers come all the more quickly as we walk forward, child in one hand--who holds the hand of yet another child...and another---and the smallest pink cube in the other.

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A return

It's been a long while since I've used writing as an outlet for thinking about Montessori pedagogy. But I have been using my voice in other ways. When I was growing up, I was slow to speak and would more likely be found writing in a journal rather than talking to others. There are some tendencies (not in the Montessori sense) that stick with you, even into adulthood. But lately, even in shyness, I've been speaking more rather than writing; sometimes to my colleagues regarding the lessons I've learned about the classroom; sometimes to parents to remind them that they are doing the most difficult of jobs, and that I know they're child well. But what I'd forgotten is how the written word has a magic to it that cannot--or perhaps ought not--be forsaken. It is in the written word that the ideas of one person can be conveyed, at least in part, to a completely different person. And in that transfer, hearts can be shared as well as minds. It's how I learned about...

Riches beyond compare

Right now I am on Spring break, so it allows me the opportunity to be able to write. I'm thankful for this. But I am also thankful for the privilege of being able to teach in a lot of different spaces, to children of all ages. Teachers are an interesting breed, especially those guides of young children. They tend to have such big hearts, yet can also be prone towards wanting to control our little towns inside our classrooms, forgetting the bigger picture. Depending on the type of guide you are (in public school, or private school, Montessori or otherwise) you have such a limited time with these little ones. The mark that you have on their lives will go well beyond your own. The same is true for the families we get to serve. Usually we are with them at the beginning of their journey as parents. So it speaks to the type of impact we can have on everyone in the household. What a privilege to carry. And yet it's so exhausting. The self control and thoughtfulness is far be...

When a square is more than a square

While we've spoken of the long bead chains before, I wanted to focus on a specific point of interest. Each colored bead represents a certain number and a certain set of that number. When placed in a long chain, children are able to count them, identifying important numbers within the set. So in the Long bead chain of 5 (light blue in color) it has number tags for each set of 5 (5, 10, 15, 20, etc). There are larger tags for each square of 5 (that is, each set of 25). When a square tag is placed on each squared number, a square bead is placed as well. To think that Maria Montessori thought about the concept of squared numbers and considered a means to make it as concrete as possible! To think there are children all over the world who are learning a mathematical concept that they can feel in their hands before ever knowing how to connect it to an algebraic equation. It's quite baffling. What beautiful things God makes, both concepts and man to understand them.

Grace and Courtesy

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