In Montessori we talk a lot about becoming like a scientist as we strive for personal transformation. We know that this involves observing, analyzing, hypothesizing, testing, recording, observing again…often over and over before we make assessments or plan a response. If we are able to live and model that in our practice, I also found …
“To stimulate life, leaving it free, however, to unfold itself, that is the first duty of the educator.” Maria Montessori Source: The Discovery of the Child (1948), Ch. 8 : The Exercises, p. 141 I read a social media post about a 4-year-old who was not choosing challenging work…according to the adult who wrote it. …
How to Link “Appropriate Work Choices” to “Inspired Learning” Read More »
Student-Engagement: It’s one of the most common issues, worries, or frustrations (You can fill in the blank with whatever emotion fits for you!) posed by Montessori teachers, and which I have experienced myself, is lack of engagement. You know the ones I mean: the social butterflies who seem to flit from table to table getting …
Student-Engagement through Inspiration: How to Do It!, How to BE It! Read More »
“We can make the human race better by assisting the child in building his character and acquiring his moral freedom. One of the means to this end is a cosmic education, which gives the child an orientation and a guidance in life. For this education wants to prepare the growing child for the task awaiting …
The secret of success is found to lie in the right use of imagination in awakening interest, and the stimulation of seeds of interest already sown by attractive literary and pictorial material, but all correlated to a central idea, of greatly ennobling inspiration – the Cosmic Plan in which all, consciously or unconsciously, serve the …
All teachers want their students to be engaged in learning, inspired to go deep into a subject, and, when everything works well, filled with WONDER! Even for Montessori teachers, in today’s world of high-stakes testing, much of the focus is on drilling academic skills using beads and cards, leaving the wonder behind. Teaching to the test was …
Close your eyes. Imagine yourself floating to the top of the nearest hill or mountaintop. Scan the horizon and gaze across the landscape before you. Note the boundaries or lack of them. Now float up into the sky…so far that you see the hilltop or mountain peak as a tiny dot in the distance. …
“It should be realized that genuine interest cannot be forced. Therefore, all methods of education, based on centres of interest, which have been chosen by adults, are wrong. Moreover, these centres of interest are superfluous, for the child is interested in everything… A global vision of cosmic events fascinates the child and his interest will …
Where to start with Cosmic Education? Here’s what a 35-year Montessorian Would Do Read More »
Teacher-perspective matters, of course, but the distinctions can be subtle. Check out this example: I received a question from a teacher who had removed the math cards containing answers on the back from her shelves. Why? She said the students were “cheating” and she couldn’t get the students to change their behavior. They had talked …
Cheating or Short-cut: Why Teacher-Perspective Matters Read More »
