The author could not contain herself one day at school recently when a parent of three children shared something she had heard from her eldest daughter. That morning, the eldest daughter was grumbling about the fact that she and her Lower Elementary brother had to go to school while her Preschool brother did not, and she announced to her mother, "That's not Montessori!." It got the author to think about the statement "That's not Montessori," a phrase she heard quite often in her first years as head of a Montessori school. Not having been trained as a Montessori teacher, she was at the mercy of teachers, parents, and trustees as to what was and what was not Montessori. She began to reflect on what "That's not Montessori" means. What is or is not Montessori is certainly open to individual interpretation and can be construed to make a particular point, but, undeniably, Montessori is about children. After reading about Dr. Montessori's philosophy, working with so many dedicated Montessori teachers, attending American Montessori Society (AMS) Annual Conferences, and chairing accreditation committees, the author has been immeasurably helped in her understanding that Montessori is about respecting the child and establishing an environment where the child can learn on his own, making decisions that affect his life and the lives of others.