Blogs

Aleta Ledendecker Offers A Model

Maria Montessori never addressed the subject of blogs.

The parents of many current Montessori students are immersed in them.

The online journals/scrapbooks/sounding boards/resource hubs seem to be finding a place in the Montessori world.

They come in several varieties. Some record personal journeys of a teacher or mother attempting to follow Montessori principles at home. Some are reference collections for teachers or parents. Some are related to small businesses, mixing sales and advice. Some offer thoughtful insights on the relationship between Montessori principles and American educational policy. Some are quasi-bulletin boards for students in teacher education programs.

The most easily accessible may be a teacher writing for her classroom or school.

A good example is the blog written by Aleta Ledendecker, who operates New Horizon Montessori School in Louisville, TN and Montessori Educators International teacher education center. It is intended for the 40 to 45 families who are part of her school.

“I get between 30 and 50 hits a day,” she said. “Some parents, I know, check it daily. Some a couple times a week.”

Ledendecker talks about life in her school. A sample excerpt from December, 2007:

In a previous post I mentioned that a newer student who transferred from traditional school had commented about liking this school. In conversations with another adult at school today, I learned more.

As it turns out, one of the comparisons this student has started to make is what happens at Montessori when kids act silly among their friends is… nothing. Where our student went to school before what happened was ridicule. Act out of the norm and the result was teasing instead of tolerance or acceptance.

The blog also lets her share essays, book recommendations and links to Montessori resources. She never mentions students by name, but will e-mail a parent with a suggestion that there might be a tidbit especially interesting to him or her in a current entry.

“I recommend teachers do a blog for a couple reasons,” she said. “It makes me a better observer. I’m looking for things that are happening. It reminds me I need to be watching so I can write about it.
“I sometimes get insights going through the writing process. Writing the blog helps me as a teacher and opens the doors of communication with parents.”

She estimates there may be 100 or more Montessori blogs operating now.

“A lot of Montessorians don’t consider themselves tech-savvy,” she said. “But it is not that difficult. I’d encourage all teachers to get out there—they can make it a private blog if they want.”

INFO: Including Aleta’s response to the interview for this article

http://home.earthlink.net/~aletaledendecker/index.html