The Montessori Message

The Montessori Message

Monthly Archives: March 2017

Independence

30 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning, making a difference, Montessori Education, Wilmington Montessori School

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independence, independent schools, learning, schools, Wilmington Montessori, Wilmington Montessori School

 

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If you are reading this blog, my guess is that you have gone to school. No matter where that school was located, or who your favorite and least favorite teachers were, my guess is also that the school you attended looked very much like the schools most children attend in 2017. Your classroom was most likely filled with desks, chalkboards or dry erase boards, books, pencils, notebooks and perhaps some art materials. There was probably one teacher who talked more than he or she listened, and even your enrichment classes were probably similar to the ones most schools offer today: physical education, music, art and foreign language. Why, you might ask, is this so? Do the cars we drove 20 or 30 years ago look and act in the same ways? Do our banks, stores and other businesses function as they did when you were a child? Chances are the answer is no.

Why is it so hard to create change in schools? Reading blog after blog and book after book, attending conferences, and learning from other educators leads me to understand it is the way of education. Change happens slowly – and it happens even more slowly in schools. You might be fortunate enough to have experienced a teacher or classroom that is at the cutting edge of what it means to create a vital teaching and learning environment. Typically, it takes decades for those changes to become what one might consider “best practice” in education and part of every child’s school experience. .

The advantage of an independent school (like Wilmington Montessori School) is that the changes we know need to happen in education are happening in classrooms on a daily basis. Independent schools are able to make changes more quickly. We are able to be more experimental, trying things, seeing if they work and incorporating change from one classroom to the next in a more responsive way than can occur in the public school system. Independent schools have thrived and continue to contribute to the education of children by doing just that.

We know the children in our schools. We understand them and work each day to build the experience those children will benefit from the most. The result is students and graduates who are themselves more independent. These young people are not only capable of upholding and exceeding the standards that are critical to ensure an educated populace; they are also able to think independently, synthesize information and effect change in our world.

An Untapped Resource

16 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by Lisa Lalama in making a difference, Montessori Education

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American Montessori Society, AMS, Maria Montessori, Nicholas Kristof, to educate the human potential

 

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The greatest untapped resource in the world is human potential. It’s not oil or gas. This untapped resource exists because our children aren’t getting an education from an early age.
– Nicholas Kristof

While attending the American Montessori Society’s annual conference last week, I had the pleasure of hearing New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof speak to more than 3,500 Montessori educators. With lots to share and a responsive audience, he spoke of the many injustices that he has revealed over the years through his writing and the humanitarian efforts on behalf of those world problems. Speaking to educators provides a welcoming audience, an audience who has the potential to make an impact through their work with children.

One of Maria Montessori’s most important messages is that the future of the world is in the hands of our children; we must develop their human potential. They must be presented the world in order to work to make sense of it and create the change that is needed to ensure the future of our planet and its people. This is the central purpose of a Montessori education. Children are our future. They need the opportunity to learn, to develop an understanding of the world and to begin to create solutions to the world’s problems. The way we care for our world is to care for the children who inhabit our planet and ensure the future of both through education. I can think of no better way to do this than through Montessori education.

Shhh… Quiet

09 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning

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creativity, introverts, learning, NAIS, quiet, susan cain

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The last place you might expect to find a person who identifies strongly as an introvert is on a stage in front of more than 5,000 people. Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, often finds herself in this position as she shares her message about life as an introvert. Listening to her speak to a large group, 80% of whom raised their hands when asked if they think they are introverts, was fascinating. Cain blends personal stories with research and strategies for introverts and extroverts alike.

One of the things that is of particular interest is her connection between the need for solitude and creativity. Schools and workplaces have worked to provide spaces for collaboration and teamwork; they also need to provide space for us to work quietly, to think and to let our minds wander. We keep hearing that the world of the future will require us to be able to get along well with others, work on a team and manage well in groups. It is also believed that we need to innovate and look for solutions to problems other than those that are obvious. How does this happen? Where will those ideas come from? How will we add meaning to a group or a creative process? How many of your good ideas have come to you while in the shower or driving? Perhaps it is the quiet that allows these ideas to percolate to the surface.

A Community of Learners

02 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning, Teachers, Wilmington Montessori School

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community, community of learners, community of learning, relationships, sir ken robinson, teachers

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What is school? According to Sir Ken Robinson, “School is a community of learners. That’s it.” Simple isn’t it? School does not depend on the building, the curriculum or the materials housed within. It is the community that makes it a school and that prompts learning to occur. School is about relationships.

Perhaps you recall a favorite teacher, one who inspired you to learn try harder or learn things you thought impossible. Or maybe you recall an accomplishment in school or outside of it that surprised even you. Who inspired you? Who helped you along the way? Did you learn it from a mandated text or did you find another way to learn what was needed to succeed?

By mandating what school is we are depriving children of what is possible. Yes, we need outcomes. We want a literate and educated populace. What we don’t need is the same path for each child. Children are capable of so much. They can guide us as they learn and we join together to create a community of learners.

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