EL BOLETIN

News From The Regions

An invitation to all members and friends of CIM

You are welcome to send information and updates about your school, teacher education program, association, conferences, events, etc. Send reports to Rittchell Yau via email at rittch...@netzero.com any time. Or, you can snail mail them to her at 416 N. Beringer Circle, Urbana, IL 61802. Photographs are welcome.

Region I: MEXICO

Alicia Medrano, CIM Regional Representative for Mexico, provided the following update on the impact of the National Educational Initiative on Montessori in Mexico. For more information, contact Alicia Medrano at elviaamedr...@prodigy.net.mx .

We are very busy at the Montessori Schools in Mexico City because we are working hard towards the official incorporation of Montessori by the Department of Public Education. We have obtained official recognition through a new agreement (#357) that replaces the previous one approved in June 2005. A strict compliance to this agreement is required. This means that besides following our Montessori curriculum, we must go by the Department of Education mandate. This involves a lot of paper work, going here and there, spending many mornings in meetings and following all the bureaucratic steps of the public school system.

Educational authorities brush aside our Montessori work, so we have to engage in a permanent battle in order to maintain our multiage groups. Moreover, our Montessori teachers are not considered qualified to work with these groups of children. From now on, they need to get a License in Pre-school Education. Many Montessori schools have had to close. These are very hard moments for Montessori education in Mexico.

A workshop entitled "Encounter II in Education" was held September 20, 2005 at the Universidad Continental in Mexico City. Dr. P. Krishna spoke on the topics of Self-Knowledge and Human Values Education. This workshop was a follow-up event to the workshop with Dr. Krishna held last September. For more information, contact María Elena Contreras Domínguez at tocani_...@yahoo.com.mx.

Alice Renton provided this portrait of Agueda Vega, who passed away in León, Guanajuato, on November 9, 2005. We offer our deep sympathy to her family, colleagues, students, and friends who mourn her passing. We remember her work in the Montessori community with respect and thankfulness.

Agueda Vega, a dedicated Mexican Montessorian highly esteemed by all of us who knew her, passed away in León, Guanajuato, on November 9, 2005.

Agueda began her Montessori career in 1972 as a student at the Centro de Estudios de Educación Montessori Training Center in Mexico City, when looking for an alternative school for her own children. After enrolling her daughter, Veronica, in the Casa de Niños there, she asked if she could enroll as a student at the center. She continued her studies over several years and was eventually certified at the B-3, 3-6, 6-9, and 9-12 levels. She taught upper elementary for many years at the Escuela Taller María Montessori in Rancho Vergel, in the southern part of Mexico City, and became the director of the school as well.

Agueda was one of the founders of AMME (Asociación Montessori de México) as well as a longtime editor of AMME's magazine, Oquetza. She also had a long and distinguished career as a teacher trainer, working with the Mexican training programs in Mexico City, Chihuahua, Monterrey, Cancún, and Mérida. She traveled regularly to the Centro de Estudios Montessori in Santiago, Chile. Her specialty was mathematics and geometry, but she also enjoyed teaching science, geography, and language for the elementary levels. A lifelong learner, she had degrees in accounting, physics/mathematics, and human development, but her passion was mathematics. She used to say: "God speaks to us through numbers. The entire universe is in numbers and math."

Her other passion, which she inherited from her family, was education. Her grandmother was the first teacher in her hometown of Santiago Tianguistengo in the state of Mexico; her mother and three sisters were also teachers. As a person who was always looking for new ideas and new alternatives, Agueda felt that discovering Montessori through her own children had led her to her "cosmic task," which she pursued with love and dedication to her students and the children of Latin America.

It was a source of great joy to Agueda that both her daughters also became Montessori teachers and that her grandchildren could be in Montessori schools. Her first daughter, Verónica, received her Early Childhood Certification from the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies in Boulder, CO. Verónica has taught at Academia Ana Marie Sandoval, Denver's dual language public Montessori school, for five years. Her younger daughter, Sandra, completed her Montessori training in Mexico. Sandra currently teaches and coordinates the 3-6 level at Colegio Humane in León, Guanajuato.

Four years ago, Agueda and her husband moved from Mexico City to León, where she became the director of Colegio Humane, whose Montessori program spans infant/toddler through upper elementary. Her personal philosophy of Montessori was that it should be inclusive of all children, not an elitist or separatist form of education. She felt that the purpose of Montessori was to work with children so that they would always embrace and include each other, and be open to the world.

Agueda will be sorely missed by the children, parents, and teachers throughout Latin America to whom she gave so much. May her light and inspiration continue to shine through us all.

Regions IV & V: CENTRAL and SOUTH AMERICA

This report provides a brief overview of the Diploma in Montessori Pedagogy project, a collaboration between the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia and the University of Costa Rica. The full report contains a fuller discussion of the history and working relationship between the two universities and faculty as well details on the project results and authors' conclusions and recommendations. For more information about this ongoing project, or to obtain a copy of the full report, contact Ana Marcela Hío Soto at a...@cariari.ucr.ac.cr. A copy of the full report is also available through CIM.

Summary of the Diploma in Montessori Pedagogy: An Educational Experience Between the Universidad del Valle-Colombia and the University of Costa Rica

By Ana Marcela Hío Soto, María Cristina Navarrete, Mabel Ovares Gutiérrez, Montessori teachers, Costa Rica-Colombia; English translation by Alice Renton

"The Diploma in 'Montessori Pedagogy'" is an educational experience in the Latin American university environment which has been strengthened by the agreement existing between the University of Costa Rica and Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia. It is based on and developed from the basic principles of Montessori pedagogy.

The importance of agreements between public universities from different countries, such as this one between Universidad del Valle and the University of Costa Rica, should be pointed out, for it benefits a large number of students. It also results in an exchange of new and valuable educational experiences between the participating trainers and their respective educational institutions. But above all, it results in better quality education and attention to the needs of early childhood while promoting and motivating the concept of permanent teacher education.

Since October 1996, the Instituto de Educación y Pedagogía of the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia has been carrying out a research project called "Montessori Pedagogy: a Strategy for Improving Early Education" through a subcontract with the Fundación Carvajal. The main goal of this ongoing project is to support a better quality of education in Colombia.

This diploma is directed to student populations who have completed secondary education and who wish to develop themselves and support preschool education; to students in degree programs in education; to students and professionals in related disciplines; to teachers in public schools, kindergartens, and child care centers; to persons caring for children with special needs; and to directors, coordinators, and administrative personnel.

This project began in Cali, Colombia in 1996 as a proposal for a research project called "Montessori Pedagogy." It has been under the direction of Dr. María Cristina Navarrete, educational pioneer and a professor at the Instituto of Education and Pedagogy at the Universidad del Valle. With the goal of finding international support, professionals from the University of Costa Rica were invited to participate. These included Montessori educators and faculty members at the university's laboratory school, Centro Infantil Laboratorio.

For its part, the Montessori educational experience of the University of Costa Rica, began in 1991 in the university laboratory school, Centro Infantil Laboratorio (CIL), when the first Montessori environment was established with all the materials made locally.

Our specific goals are to:

(1) prepare teachers in the theory and practice of the Montessori method;

(2) provide preschool-age children with a prepared environment equipped with Montessori materials, in which they can acquire norms for living, carry out learning, and improve their intellectual development;

(3) generate the creation of prepared environments in each of the educational institutions that participates in the program;

(4) support teaching experience, and academic exchange between public universities.

In 2001 a course was offered with successful results, which gave rise to the idea of a diploma program that would provide a more in-depth study of Montessori themes and experiences. From 2002 the demand for enrollment in this program surpassed the original expectations, indicating that there was a receptive public interested in alternative educational approaches.

A review of eight years of work shows extremely positive results. It is safe to say that teachers' attitudes towards children and work have changed, in the sense of an awareness of another way of understanding education based on Montessori pedagogy. There is also a desire (implemented in many cases) to introduce changes in their own educational practices, in their daily work as teachers and in the structuring of educational environments.

As for the preschool children who have had this experience, improvements have been noted in respect for each other's work, in social relationships, and in the appropriate use of the educational materials.

These benefits are the outcomes of this agreement regarding the Diploma in Montessori Education between the University of Costa Rica and Universidad del Valle, through the offices of international affairs of these universities, which has provided a great number of students with the possibility of training in this educational approach.

This experience has been shared and enriched by participating in symposia, talks, workshops, videos, and an international diploma program. Some published articles about this project are:

Montessori: una filosofía de vida in La Nación (newspaper), Supplement Section

Montessori: educar para la vida in Prensa Libre, Abanico Supplement

El círculo como espacio para el desarrollo del lenguaje oral y escritoin the Proyecto pedagógico Montessori of la Universidad del Valle en Calí, Colombia

El área de vida práctica como centro de actividad en el jardín de niños, in Proyecto Pedagógico Montessori of la Universidad del Valle en Calí, Colombia

El Área de Vida Diaria como Centro de Actividad en el Jardín de Niños. Symposium III Latinoamericano, Programas de Desarrollo Integral para la Infancia en Contextos de Pobreza

Las ciencias como planteamiento integral en la coyuntura actual, Luisa González: mujer, maestra y luchadora, and Luisa González, un sueño hecho realidad. Special Edition of Año Internacional de la Cultura de Paz

La Educación ambiental en Montessori. EL Centro Infantil Laboratorio de la Universidad de Costa. Ciencias Ambientales, Journal of la UNA

El círculo como espacio para el desarrollo del lenguaje oral y escrito and El área de Vida Práctica como centro de actividades en el jardín de niños. Proyecto Pedagógico Montessori

De mis Conversaciones con Luisa González, Del preescolar a la conciencia social. The Costa Rican experience in Montessori International. Londres. January-March 2005.

Nora Obregon and Olivia de Jaime provide a personal description of their experience with cosmic education in Joya Grande and a report on a training session held in July 2005.

Cosmic Education in Joya Grande, El Salvador

By Nora Obregón and Olivia de Jaime (English Translation by Alice Renton)

Cosmic education is the poem of Montessori philosophy, but when the words become drawings, the magic and beauty of the universe enter your heart in a way that restores your hope in humanity and a feeling of veneration for the universe which governs us all, through a plan that excludes no one, because we are all like stars in a great constellation, no matter who we are, where we come from, or what we are like. We just are.

This is what we felt at the Escuela Montessori de Joya Grande when the elementary children, after hearing the lesson of the Big Bang, expressed their perception of the universe in drawings. These were not ordinary drawings, but the expression of a close and sensitive relationship to night -- not a dark night, but a luminous night, which they still have the daily privilege of experiencing, because the streets are unlit and because the low lights of the dwellings cannot manage to dull the brilliance and magic of the night, a time in which they can still contemplate all of the splendor of the universe.

We have witnessed this lesson with many children from different environments, but we had never seen the night drawn this way, nights created on pieces of paper, but which spoke for themselves about the infinite.

But it was not only the paper drawings, because to be able to contemplate the landscape that surrounds Escuela Montessori de Joya Grande is a real privilege, and the human qualities of all the people from the Hilda Rothschild Foundation are incomparable. We experienced the affection and dedication that we were able to observe in Dr. Lillian Moncada Davidson and Helene Salomón, who for many years have worked for this community, with the conviction that Montessori is a real help to life. The same can be said of the Foundation's team in Joya Grande, coordinated by Esperanza Tovar, who was one of the first to participate with Lillian Moncada Davidson in the Montessori program for communities in San Salvador.

During the two weeks of intense work by the women of the community, time seemed to go by too fast because there was so much to do: arranging the new materials purchased by the Hilda Rothschild Foundation for the Infant Community, Children's House, and Elementary environments; taking the intensive training; and making materials. All of this took place in a generous and very warm environment, which was the motivating force that energized us to be able to finish the program as it was designed.

At nightfall, leaving the beautiful facilities of the Foundation, we would all walk back together. They would generously accompany us to the home of María Elena López and her family, who lodged us and shared their space, their delicious food, and their tender and living words.

The good-byes were sad, as it was hard to leave that paradise, but at the same time they were full of hope in those women and children, who gave us the most valuable thing in the community of Joya Grande: its great heart.

This is a difficult time for the Joya Grande School, since the intense rains and floods have damaged the building, but Dr. Moncada Davidson and the other members of the Foundation have demonstrated that they can go on, in spite of earthquakes, floods, and the migratory situation of El Salvador, because of their faith in Montessori, in Joya Grande, and in "the new man."

The Hilda Rothschild Foundation, headed by Dr. Lillian Moncada Davidson, organized an intensive two-week Montessori training session. The course was given by Olivia de Jaime and Nora Obregón, from the Montessori School of Valle de Bravo, México, and coordinated by Inés de Cusi. They continue communicating with the Escuela Montessori de Joya Grande via Internet. The Foundation purchased new materials for the reorganization of the environments. The course was attended by several women from the Joya Grande program and one student from Guatemala. In addition, a small library was established with research books for children, textbooks on human development, and some books by María Montessori. In order to gather materials for the orientation of the teachers of Joya Grande, three Mexican Montessorians donated books: Lucía Garza Sigler of the Colegio María Antonietta Paolini in San Luis Potosí and translator of the book The Seasons of Life by Luciano Mazzeti; Rosa Barocio, well-known Mexican lecturer and author of various books and audiotapes; and Guadalupe Borbolla of the Tepoztlán, Morelos Montessori school, who edited multimedia programs and a reading program, El niño lector (The Child Who Reads).

On Saturday, July 16, 2005 a parent event was held at the Hilda Rothschild Foundation. Nora Obregón gave a talk on temperaments, based on the book Los temperamentos en las relaciones humanas (Temperaments in Human Relationships) by Rosa Barocio and Olivia de Jaime. She also spoke on discipline, based on Disciplina con amor. Cómo poner límites sin ahogarse en la culpa, (Discipline with love: How to Set Limits without Drowning in Guilt) by Rosa Barocio.

The creation of a children's library is a work in process in order to implement the reading program proposed by Guadalupe Borbolla. Two bookstores in the state of Mexico, one in Metepec, and another in Valle de Bravo, have offered to support the Joya Grande program.

After the parent talks, Nora told the children a story, after which they played a game and ended the session with chalk drawings.

For more information about the program in Joya Grande or opportunities for volunteers, please contact Lillian Moncada-Davidson at the Hilda Rothschild Foundation, 8 Campden Road, Scarsdale, New York, 10583, tele: 914-723-3069, fax: 914-472-8115, email: l...@aol.com. They also publish a newsletter.

Region VI: BRAZIL

Updated Contact Information

ABEM - Associação Brasileira de Educação Montessoriana

BMS - Brazilian Montessori Society

Information: Talita de Almeida

Rua Marquês de São Vicente 355 - Gávea

Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Brasil

22451-041

Tel.: 55 (21) 2540-5740 / Fax: 55 (21) 2274-1253

Email: montess...@abem-educ.org.br

The Brazilian Montessori Organization (OMB) and the Brazilian Montessori Society (BMS) have successfully completed the first module of their Lower Elementary Training Course, held in the cities of Recife and Rio de Janeiro. In Recife, 84 students attended, from the states of Belém, Piauí, Maranhao, Pernambuco, and Alagoas. In Río, 43 students attended, from San Pablo, Santa Catarina, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, and Pernambuco.

The second module of the Lower Elementary Training Course is scheduled for January 16-27, 2006, once again in both Recife and Rio de Janeiro. Both courses will be under the direction of Talita de Almeida and a team of experienced Brazilian Montessorians. The third module will be offered in January of 2007.

The first module of the Early Childhood (3-6) level of training will be offered in 2007. For more information, contact the Brazilian Montessori Organization by email: col.ag...@uol.com.br, website: www.omb.org.br. Or, contact the Brazilian Montessori Society by email: Montess...@colegioconstructorsui.com.br

Brazil also has a new publishing resource, La Presence Editora, whose purpose is "to maintain the model of quality and harmony instituted by Maria Montessori in her materials for development, in prepared environments, and essentially, in the relationship between educator, child, and family." La Presence is announcing new publications for elementary education, as well as manuals for teachers, both in print and on CD. Email: Montess...@presenceeditora.com.br; website: www.campusmontessori.com.br

Montessori Congress Scheduled for July 2-4, 2006

Another important event planned by OMB/BMS is a Montessori Congress to be held July 2-4, 2006 in Salvador, Bahia. Additional information about the congress is available from the Brazilian Montessori Organization (OMB), by email: col.ag...@uol.com.br, from their website: www.omb.org.br or from the Brazilian Montessori Society (BMS) by email: Montess...@colegioconstructorsui.com.br

Teacher Education Opportunity

Opera Nazionale Montessori will hold an International Montessori Course for Assistants to Infancy (0-3) at their training center in Rome starting in September 2006 and concluding in January 2007 with the Montessori International Congress January 6-7, 2007, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Casa dei Bambini in San Lorenzo. The course will be conducted in English. However, translation will be available. Additional information is available at their website, www.montessori.it. Other contact information is: Office of Opera Nazionale Montessori, Via San Gallicano 7-001153 Rome, Italy. Telephone: +39-06-58-48-65 or +39-06-58-79-59. Fax: +39-06-58-85-434. Email: i...@montessori.it.

Volunteer Opportunities

We have the following opportunities for volunteers who would like to get involved in CIM and programs throughout Latin America:

. Update the website

. Join the membership committee to help with outreach to both existing and potential members

. Assist with editing and translating the newsletter

. Participate in a school-to-school pen pal program

. Volunteer with programs in Latin America for three months to a year

Sound interesting? For information about opportunities outside the USA, contact Elena Young, CIM Coordinator, by phone at 56-2-205-1358, or by email at eyo...@vtr.net. For more information about opportunities in the United States, contact Rittchell Yau, Region II Coordinator, by phone at 217-328-1341, or by email at rittch...@netzero.com.