A lot has happened (and moving forward)

Moving forward

A few weeks ago I celebrated one year of living in Massachusetts. A year ago, I drove a UHaul truck with my few belongings to a storage unit, and began living with a 92 year old woman who'd been in her town all her life. She's a lovely Christian woman, who I learned so much from in those months. One thing in particular is that it is easy to become accustomed to doing things your way. I never want to become too comfortable in that mindset. Working with children has the ability to amplify your desire to have power "over", or it can increase your flexibility to have power "with". Both ways of being require practice.

So after ten years of living in New York City, working at a total of 3 schools in 10 years, I decided that I was done in the Big Apple. I wanted to leave before I hated the place. The extremes of humanity so easily found in Gotham wore on my heart and mind. To experience it daily--homelessness, unfathomable wealth, continued partiality and segregation--without the healing balm of natural spaces, was too much. I've since moved out of the 92 year old's home and found my own apartment in a neighboring town. Across the street is the Mystic River, and all the buildings are nestled beneath ancient trees. The sound of crickets has returned to my ears, where before it was only traffic. I'm very thankful for this experience.

Moving upward

I am acutely aware of the reality that God's hand has been with me through all of my experiences. This is why, at this new school, it's important to me to intentionally walk with a worshipful gaze as I work excellently. I don't want to get too comfortable, as though worldly success is my goal. But I want to demonstrate a changed mind and heart, so that I can showcase God's power in changing our tyrannical tantrum-like ways to ones of nobility, joy, and motivating change in the world. It can't be about me. It must be about Christ.

To that end I'm taking the weekend to reflect on the gifts God has given me. Also, I'm humbly considering the reality of what is being asked of me for yet another school year, to guide children to their full potential and not get in their way. Even after ten years of teaching, I still try to take it a day at a time.

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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...

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.

Dwelling Place

The sensorial area of the Montessori curriculum has always been fascinating to me. They tend to be the more colorful materials in a Montessori classroom, standing out against the plainness of unadorned walls and shelves, making silent proclamations to the children to investigate and peruse. The red rods beckon them. The pink tower stands erect as a quiet monument towards budding curiosity. The constructive triangles seek one to dream new dreams. Children have this natural curiosity and desire to have engagements with the world around them through their senses. These days we adults don't have time for such exploration. But what is mindfulness if not a reconnection to our inherent ability to engage with the world around us in this present moment through the God given receptors we've been given, namely our senses? I'm still learning to give children (and myself) space for exploration. To do so is to lead one's heart to praise of some sort. There's just so much beauty ...

Grace and Courtesy

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