Montessori Life back issues from January 2008:
Reflections on our Centennial Year
Jan 01, 2008; ... Recently, I was reflecting on the past year. I recalled the Montessori educators from around the world whom I had met as we celebrated 100 years of Montessori education. The intensity of the ties that bind us was especially evident during these centennial celebrations. My travels took me ...
Signs of the Times
Jan 01, 2008; ... The July 5, 2007, issue of the Wall Street Journal contained a commentary, "Blame It on Mr. Rogers: Why Young Adults Feel So Entitled." The author quotes a Louisiana State professor who describes his students' feelings of entitlement to A grades as the result of Fred Rogers preaching to them ...
21st-Century Montessorians
Jan 01, 2008; ... Some months ago, my column urged all of you to tell the story of Montessori education often, to the outside community as well to your committed constituencies. Two events that I experienced recently reinforce the importance of this practice. First, as a member of NJMAC (New Jersey ...
LETTER TO THE EDITORS
Jan 01, 2008; ... The last edition of Montessori Life arrived last week as I returned home from a Boston school consultation. I read the "Conversations with Montessorians" article with enormous gratitude for your commitment to getting my answers in the publication. I'm writing ...
Hope for Our Future
Jan 01, 2008; ... Sometimes, as heads of schools, we get bogged down in the details of the daily demands of running our schools. It helps to step back occasionally and reflect on the effect a Montessori education has on the mindset and activities of our students; I am always inspired by the number of young people ...
Listening to Language
Jan 01, 2008; ... The act of quiet observation is one of my favorite components of the Montessori environment. I am reminded of Dr. Montessori's lecture, "Spontaneous Activity in Education" (1921) in which she noted "during the period devoted to observation, the observer finds a splendid opportunity to practice ...
Celebrating Passion
Jan 01, 2008; ... As I reflect on my 2-year tenure as families representative to and treasurer of the AMS Board of Directors, and think about what motivates me to stay involved, I realize it is passion. Webster's Dictionary defines passion as an "intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction" and "a ...
Lao Tzu, Montessori, and the Watercourse Way of Peace
Jan 01, 2008; ... Twenty-five hundred years ago, an old Chinese sage, Lao Tzu, wrote down eighty-one short verses that became the Tao Te Ching-the book of how things happen. Since then, it has become a revered text of world literature. It posits a way of life based on respecting and trusting the inherent goodness ...
In Memoriam
Jan 01, 2008; ... Once a year in Montessori Life, we remember dedicated Montessorians who have died. Please send information to Carey Jones at carey_ink@yahoo.com. LYNNE MEYER CAMPBELL Dr. Lynne Meyer Campbell, of Larchmont, NY, died January 25, 2007. A trained Montessorian specializing in ...
The Montessori Model in Puebla, Mexico: How One Nonprofit Is Helping Children
Jan 01, 2008; ... As a sea of cars maneuvered through congested streets outside the Hidalgo Market in Puebla, Mexico, and buses transporting passengers spewed diesel fumes into the morning air, hundreds of people milled about under tarps, preparing for another busy day. José Rodriguez Rosales and his family were ...
Gender Play and Good Governance
Jan 01, 2008; ... Recoiling from physical proximity with another person and their belongings because they are perceived as contaminating is a powerful statement of social distance and claimed superiority. . . . Kids often act out pollution beliefs in a spirit of playful teasing, but the whimsical frame of "play" ...
Assistive Technology for Every Child
Jan 01, 2008; ... The Montessori philosophy advocates that the classroom be a reflection of the home, the community, and the world. Now, a century after Maria Montessori founded her Casa dei Bambini, the world is becoming a hightechnology society, with computers a part of everyday American lives. Computers are ...
Building a Just Adolescent Community
Jan 01, 2008; ... [Editors' note: This is part one of a two-part article. The second part, "Elements of a Just Adolescent Community," will appear in the next issue of Montessori Life.] How to Build a Just Adolescent Community In 1936, Maria Montessori gave a lecture to the Montessori Congress in ...
A Bee Movie Shtick
Jan 01, 2008; ... A Bee Movie Shtick Bee Movie Dreamworks, starring Jerry Seinfeld and Renee Zellweger Original theater release date: November 2, 2007 DVD release date: March 11, 2008 $29.99 Just because a movie is animated does not mean it is suitable for children ....
Math Magic
Jan 01, 2008; ... Math Magic Math at Their Own Pace: Child-Directed Activities for Developing Early Number Sense By Greg Nelson, PhD St. Paul MN: Redleaf Press, 2007 $29.95 Greg Nelson, a former Montessori teacher and currently a professor at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts, is the author of ...
SAVE THE DATES: Professional Development Events
Jan 01, 2008; ... AMS 2008 Annual Conference March 6-9, 2008 Marriott Wardman Park Hotel Washington, D.C. Montessori Leadership for the Next 100 Years: A Capital Idea AMS 2008 Fall Conference November 14-16, 2008 Southern California Montessori: ...
THE LAST LAUGH :)
Jan 01, 2008; ... It was a Friday afternoon, and my 3-year-old student Sydney was telling me of her plans to go to the mall the next day with her mom. "I'm going to the mall tomorrow too," I replied. An amused look crossed her face "No!" she said, giggling. "Yes, I really am-maybe I will see you there," I told ...