Minds on Montessori

Becoming an AMI - trained Montessori directress or a student in an AMI-recognized Montessori school can be expensive.  Fortunately, there are an increasing number of scholarships available for trainees and students and a growing presence of Montessori in the public school sector .* For Trainees: AMI's Margaret E. Stephenson Fund  AMI's School Sponsorships (list updated yearly) Montessori Schools of Massachusetts Some AMI-recognized schools offer loan options for trainees For Students: Open Montessori Initiative Montessori For All Public Montessori schools *Keep in mind that Montessori is not a patented name, so schools can say they are Montessori but not sufficiently adhere to the tenets of the philosophy.  For a full list of the AMI-recognized Montessori schools in the U.S., click here .

I could not have been more delighted when I read recent Wall Street Journal article, " The Montessori Mafia ."  WSJ readers are some of the most educated, powerful, and wealthy individuals in our country: people who are able to leverage their cultural and economic capital to advocate for and secure the best opportunities for their children. The Montessori philosophy is a clear choice for every parent, and the parents in WSJ readership are a savvy, connected, and empowered enough bunch to recognize this value and demand the opportunity for their kids.  The Montessori philosophy should be demanded; it is a child's right.  The article, written by Peter Sims, suggests that attending a Montessori school raises a child's chances of entering the creative class.  Sims cites the overwhelming number of creatively successful alumni from Larry Page and Sergei Brin to Julia Child and Anne Frank, a study showing Montessori educated kindergarteners to be better prepared for ele...

I have long enjoyed the comprehensive, aesthetically beautiful, and philosophically on-point how we montessori blog.  Written by Kylie, mother of Caspar and Otis, the blog chronicles how this Canberra - based family implements the Montessori philosophy at home. In addition to providing home practices, the blog shares other families' Montessori stories, endorses high-quality Montessori products, and generates funds for the spread of education and the Montessori philosophy worldwide.  Sponsorship dollars received by "how we montessori" are donated to A Girl & Her World - a foundation that supports education for girls in Fiji.  Kylie also co-authored a book called Kids in the Kitchen: Simple Recipes that Build Independence and Confidence the Montessori Way , proceeds of which go to Montessori For All and their progress toward building free, public Montessori schools in Texas.  This blog is not to be missed.

This post is inspired by recounts of the AMI Montessori Refresher Course held in Tampa, FL in February.  At the conference, Montessori Teacher Trainer Ginni Sackett of Portland led a session on working at the "intersection of home, casa, community, and culture."  Sackett advised directresses to "meet the child at the door" to recognize that each child comes to school from a different family, value set, neighborhood, socioeconomic class, and the list goes on.  Children are wired to absorb the cultures that surround them.  If a child is born in Vietnam, she will learn Vietnamese; if a child is born in Ecuador, he will learn to eat rice, beans, potatoes, and corn.  If a child frequently watches cartoons or plays videogames, he will become accustomed to these activities.  We cannot begrudge a child for absorbing the cultures he experiences, but we can "meet him at the door" of the Montessori Children's House and help him apply order to the many parts ...

This is a two-part introduction I give with tremendous excitement: first to the Montessori Madmen, and second to founding members Bobby and June George . The Montessori Madmen are "an impatient, ragtag group of dads and advocates from around the world, united by a common zeal to bring the Montessori method to millions more.  [Their] mission is simple: to advocate for Montessori education so that one day it's not called Montessori school; it's just called school." I'll be using the Montessori Madmen label quite a bit to highlight events and campaigns being tackled around the country by this ambitious group. Two Montessori Madmen founding members, Bobby and June George, are making quite a splash in the Montessori field already. Together they founded The Baan Dek Montessori School , an AMI-certified school in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  You can follow The Baan Dek School on its blog . They recently created the first Montessori letter and number board books ....

For more from Anna Lee, check out the Baan Dek School's Spotlight here .

Trevor Eissler , a founding member of Montessori Madmen, is another Montessori dynamo.  Author of Montessori Madness! A Parent to Parent Argument for Montessori Education and several children's books, Eissler flies corporate airplanes and creates popular FastDraw videos in his spare time.  "Superwoman Was Already Here!" "Montessori Madness" "How Do You Hug A Child Like This?"