When Maria Montessori addressed two wildly enthusiastic American audiences at Carnegie Hall in December 1913, she thrilled the parents in attendance, but sent a shock wave through the educational establishment. Instead of accommodating skeptics from the teacher-training institutions seated there that night, she appealed directly to parents who…

In this article, the author explains how administrators who have feelings about isolation and disconnection from other Montessori schools may find support and networking through a variety of ways. Administrators may connect with others through the AMS (American Montessori Society) Heads of Schools ListServer, a forum for discussion of topics…

In their unique approach to education, Montessorians are challenged to create an academic forum that engages the mind and the hand, and most importantly, the heart. It is in essence the heart of the adolescent that gives birth to the adult, and the mind and the hand follow along. However, there can be barriers to accessing the engagement of the…

Recent literature debates the effectiveness of the senior year, stating that it is an unproductive and unrealistic time for many students--either because they are, by that point in their school careers, disengaged and waiting to graduate, or because they are so stressed from taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams and writing college essays that they…

Though Montessorians have existed in the United States for nearly a century, a distinctly American version of the system did not begin to take hold until the late 1950s. What was referred to at the time as the "second spring" was actually a remarkable moment not just for Montessori education, but also for American culture at large. For…

The Alpha point of the authors' life as a Montessori educator began in 1959, when he was a graduate student studying philosophy at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York. While studying the works of the great American philosopher William James, the author came across the writings of Maria Montessori and immediately became captivated by her…

Public Montessori elementary schools have two challenges: They strive to achieve a child-centered Montessori environment and must also address the demands of state and federal requirements developed for more traditional educational settings. This study analyzes how schools were operating on both fronts. On the one hand, the study measured the…

This article discusses the formation of the Youth Visits the United Nations (YVUN) program. The program began in 2003 with funds provided by the Ursula Thrush Peace Seed Grant. Its purpose is to bring middle school students to New York to attend sessions of the United Nations, allowing these adolescents the opportunity to learn about global issues…

This article describes how second- and third-grade students joined their teacher, Mary Ann McTiernan, a marathon runner from Cape Town, South Africa, in a one-mile run every Thursday morning while she was training. Mary Ann's students had been asking, "Where do you run?" "How far do you go?" "How fast can you run?"…

The act of collaboration is important when improving communication between administration and teachers, guiding school personnel to collectively clarify teaching and learning outcomes, and facilitating school stakeholders to engage in strategic institutional planning. As necessary as collaboration is, adults often do not know how to collaborate…

This article describes the Language Center Montessori School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where students are learning in a language-immersion Montessori environment. The school offers a choice to parents--Spanish immersion or French immersion--but Montessori comes with both. The school's motivation for promoting bilingualism is to improve…

In this article, the author discusses how the JUCONI Foundation in Puebla, Mexico is helping children. (JUCONI is an acronym for "Junto con los Ninos", or "Together with the Children)." This Mexican nongovernmental organization (NGO) has been successfully working with distressed families and children in Puebla since 1989. For…

In this article, the authors describe the Reading Buddies program. In this program, children of varied ages experience cooperation and mutual respect, have fun together, and share themselves with others. When Reading Buddies meet, reading and learning to read are the activities, yet another real benefit appears to be the enhancement of the…

Most educators are familiar with the principles of one of the founding mothers of peace education, Maria Montessori. Bringing an utterly fresh vision to notions of childhood and education, she re-imagined the classroom as one in which children would explore and discover their own interests and passions. With regard to conflict resolution, she…

This article discusses the importance of thinking about and identifying what one wants in a school--and deciding whether or not these are realistic expectations. One might want to consider the core values that attracts one to Montessori, and observe, when visiting a school, to see how these are expressed in the school day. The author points out…