George Morrison

To Fulfill Montessori’s Vision: A Checklist

It is time—indeed past time—to give Montessori a new birth fitting of her vision to bring light to the children of the world.

On Jan. 6, 1907, the Feast of the Epiphany, Maria Montessori dedicated her Casa dei Bambini. At this education-changing event, she prophetically envisioned that her school would usher in a New World Order for children and families.

As preparation for her dedicatory speech, Montessori read the appointed scripture for the Feast Day, Isaiah 60:1-6. It is useful, I think for all of us, regardless of our religious beliefs or persuasions, to reflect on what she read.

Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee, for behold darkness shall cover the earth, and a mist the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall walk in thy light, and kings in the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thy eyes round about, and see; all these are gathered together, they are come to thee: thy sons shall come from afar, and thy daughters shall rise up at thy side. Then shalt thou see, and abound and thy heart shall wonder and be enlarged, when the multitude of the sea shall be converted to thee, the strength of the Gentiles shall come to thee. The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Madian and Epha; all they from Saba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense, and showing forth praise to the Lord.”
Montessori said, “Perhaps this Children’s House can become a new Jerusalem, which, if it is spread out among the abandoned people of the world, can bring a new light to education.”

This scripture set the tone and direction for Montessori’s calling and work. Montessori’s work with children changed her life and, as a result, she changed her life. She offers us an opportunity to change children’s lives, as well as our own.

I think it is instructive and enlightening to read what Montessori said about her Feast of the Epiphany dedicatory speech.

What does the future hold?

100 years later, how are we, who call ourselves Montessori believers and followers, doing?

Have we brought a new light to education?

Are we building a new Jerusalem for children?

Or are we just drifting along, caught in the rut of preserving Montessori’s legacy without really doing what Montessori called us to do?

I think we have to get out of our comfort zones and get serious about being Montessori disciples.

Here are some things I think Montessorians must do if we are to fulfill Montessori’s vision in the next century.

Take Montessori to the Poor

A theme in Montessori’s mission was to bring enlightenment and education to poor children. America certainly has a lot of children living in poverty. A visit to the website of the National Center for Children in Poverty reveals that nationwide, 17 percent of children live in poverty (12 million). The District of Columbia has the highest child poverty rate—30 percent. Across other states, child poverty rates range from 7 percent in New Hampshire to 25 percent in Arkansas. Furthermore,

• 33 percent of black children live in poor families. In the 10 most populated states, rates of child poverty among black children range from 22 percent in New Jersey to 44 percent in Illinois.
• 28 percent of Latino children live in poor families. In the 10 most populated states, rates of child poverty among Latino children range from 17 percent in Michigan to 35 percent in New York and Texas.
• 10 percent of white children live in poor families. In the 10 most populated states, rates of child poverty among white children range from 4 percent in New Jersey to 10 percent in Georgia, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
• Although black and Latino children are disproportionately likely to be poor, white children comprise the largest group of children living in poor families—35 percent of all poor children are white.

Taking Montessori to the poor and to African American and Hispanic children means starting Montessori programs in underserved areas. For example, six years ago a group of parents spearheaded an effort to start an elementary Montessori program at Prince of Peace School in Covington, KY. According to newspaper reports:

The program has proved so popular that the school will add additional grades over the next two years to create a junior high Montessori program.

The school’s efforts to nurture the program have paid off as a growing interest in Montessori education in Northern Kentucky has brought new families to Prince of Peace.

The program has stabilized the Covington parochial school’s enrollment at a time when other inner city schools have struggled with declining numbers.

Prince of Peace administrators believe they have more to offer families with both a traditional school program and the Montessori program.

“One of the things we claim is we have a lot of diversity—in ethnic groups and in religious affiliation,” said Sister Mary Suzanne Rose, the school’s principal. “Now I think we can say we have educational diversity, and that enriches both groups (traditional and Montessori.)”

The program has drawn families from five Greater Cincinnati counties who are looking for Montessori instruction for their children. Prince of Peace has the only Catholic Montessori grade school in Northern Kentucky.

“The Prince of Peace program really has attracted the support of people far outside the neighborhood,” said Lawrence Bowman, director of Catholic education for the Diocese of Covington.

As more people become familiar with Montessori instruction, supporters expect the program will continue to flourish.

Tell the World

I have repeatedly and consistently encouraged Montessorians to be more “mainstream” and present at national early childhood conferences, not only at Montessori affiliated conferences. At the 2006 National Association for the Education of Young Children National Conference (NAEYC), just completed in Atlanta, there were 874 sessions. Only two were about Montessori:

“Helping children wonder about God: A Montessori approach to teaching the Bible to young children.”

“Does Montessori math add up? Evaluating Maria Montessori’s ideas about developing the child’s ‘mathematical mind’ in light of modern brain research.”

A question that kept running through my mind was, “Where is Montessori?” Montessorians have to abandon their habit of talking only to Montessorians and engage the rest of the early childhood community.

Increase Research

We know there is not enough research about the effectiveness and benefits of a Montessori education. This has to change! Montessori leadership and organizations have to encourage leadership and, when appropriate, sponsor it! Why not a call for Montessori research proposals to be funded by AMI, AMS and others?

Research about Montessori attracts a lot of attention. Witness the latest research by Angeline Lillard and Nicole Else-Quest, “THE EARLY YEARS: Evaluating Montessori Education,” in Science (29 September, 2006). One conclusion the author made was, “a Montessori education creates solid citizens who perform at least as well academically—and sometimes better—as their public school counterparts.” Lillard went on to say that the research, “definitely suggests that Montessori should be looked at more closely when thinking of educational reform. Professors and researchers frequently come up with new programs to fix programs we have, but often these programs repeat aspects already in Montessori.”

]This study has received a lot of attention and it generates interest in Montessori. Why not capitalize on the research and, as Lillard suggested, use Montessori to reform education? After all, as I understand it, this is what Montessori wanted us to do!

Reinvigorate Montessori

I think that the touring exhibit of the North American Montessori Teachers Association is a good idea, but we need to go beyond touring exhibits! It is time—indeed past time—to give Montessori a new birth fitting of her vision to bring light to the children of the world. We can do this by getting our hands dirty in the work of Montessori, creating new Montessori programs that are accessible to all children, not just those whose parents can afford to pay.

I know somebody has to pay, but this is where we can engage other agencies, businesses and industries to help us advance our goals. So, in the second century of Montessori, let’s dedicate ourselves to enabling all children to have the benefits of a high quality Montessori education.

For More Information

What Montessori said about her Feast of the Epiphany dedicatory speech
http://montessoricentenary.org/1907-4

National Center for Children in Poverty
www.nccp.org/pub_cpt05b.html

North American Montessori Teachers’ Association Centenary Exhibit
www.montessori-namta.org/NAMTA/NAMServs/CentenaryExhibit.htm

George S. Morrison is the author of Early Childhood Education Today and is the Velma E. Schmidt Professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of North Texas.