Have you ever wondered what Montessori looks like at the high school level? The author interviewed 17-year-old Violet Butler, a senior at Clark Montessori High School, in Cincinnati, OH, to get a sense of a typical day in her life. Her answers were inspiring, and the way she navigates the demands of school and life offered the author a sense of…

As an assistant editor in the Photography department at the New York Times, the author manages a team of seven visual editors who assign photographers to stories all over the globe. Recently, one of her team members approached her to let her know that the amount of violence he was subjected to was having an effect on his mental state. It made the…

This article is a conversation with Juliet King, EdD, the AMS 2022 Living Legacy. Dr. King began her career in South Florida some five decades ago, teaching in Miami-Dade County when public schools were beginning to desegregate. She transferred to an inner-city school with a Title I Montessori program; this was her first introduction to the…

Dr. Derrick Gay is an internationally recognized expert on diversity, inclusion, and global citizenship, who consults with organizations around the world. In fall 2017, he engaged the American Montessori Society (AMS) Board of Directors in a full day of professional development, work that will continue at the board's spring 2019 meeting. Gay has…

This article presents an interview with Sonia Manzano, who, for 44 years (1971-2015), played the role of Maria on "Sesame Street." A range of issues were discussed--children, learning, politics, entertainment-- as well as her transition to a writing life, through her several children's books and her lyrical and captivating memoir of her…

A licensed clinical psychologist, certified group psychotherapist, and co-author of the book "Promoting Emotional Intelligence in Organizations," Dr. Adler is also the director of MindBody Intelligence (MBI) Consulting in Davis, CA. He began his career as an elementary math and science teacher at an independent school in Los Angeles. The…

Dr. Margaret "Peggy" Loeffler (1921-2016) was a true Montessori pioneer, someone who had a lasting impact on the American Montessori Society (AMS), on Montessori schools, and on teacher education programs. In this article, John Chattin-McNichols shares some of his memories of her, and, in doing so, also reflects on some of his memories…

Jennifer Rogers writes with apt and lyrical snippets from her perspective as a Montessori parent and from her long history as a primary guide. This short piece examines the word "grace" from multiple facets and serves as a meditation that uplifts and reminds us "that the life of a child is a gift."

Charles Eisenstein is a public speaker, self-described "degrowth activist," and the author of several books, including "The Ascent of Humanity," "Sacred Economics," and "The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible." In this article, Peter Piché discusses Charles Eisenstein's experience with…

Imagine going back in time and being the guiding spirit in Montessori's first "Casa dei Bambini" but with all the knowledge and skills developed as a Montessori teacher today. That is precisely the privilege this author has had as, over the past 2 years, she has worked to establish an Early Childhood Montessori program in Usa River,…

People have become accustomed to the imprecision of language, though imprecise language has a subtle way of misguiding thoughts and actions. In this article, the author argues that the term "teacher" in reference to the Montessori practitioner is a distortion of everything Maria Montessori tried to undo about traditional education. In dealing with…

This article presents edited transcripts of separate Skype conversations with Richard Ungerer, AMS executive director, in his office at AMS headquarters in New York and Andre Roberfroid, president of AMI, at his home in Vetraz-Monthoux, France. It also presents a discussion of the ways the two organizations can join forces to strengthen the…

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,…

In this article, the author discusses how institutions have not yet made significant inroads toward equipping young people to deal with the problems of the times in which they live. Montessori wrote frequently about the need to create a kind of practical education that would address this issue. The author discusses the possible dangers of using…

This article presents an excerpt from a typed manuscript of one of many lectures Maria Montessori delivered in 1915 in San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles. In this particular lecture, Montessori talked about how teachers can make a profound change in their way of teaching. Instead of doing the traditional lecture, teachers can learn how to…