Lessons on Leadership

Each year, I have several opportunities to have lunch with Wilmington Montessori School's  graduating sixth-graders, and it's always a fun and educational experience. 

A focus on service as responsible contributors to the global community is an integral part of the WMS Mission and curriculum.  Service at WMS begins in the classroom, then expands its scope to the entire school, then the community around us, and concludes at the global level with a major service project. Last fall, this group of sixth-graders began their year-long service project when they visited the United Nations as the culminating experience of our focus on service.  At the UN, the group met with a variety of nonprofits and decided to spend the year raising funds for the organization Save the Rain. For this project, they collected donations through a week of school-wide spirit activities and also held a "Rain Walk," during which children carried buckets of water to experience how it might be for people in developing countries who sometimes walk miles to get water for their homes. They had sponsors for each lap that they completed and raised $1,000!

Today at lunch, I asked the sixth-graders to share what they have learned as a result of their Save the Rain project.  There is a common phrase saying that, "All I really need to know, I learned in kindergarten."  I have often rephrased that to, "All I really need to know, I learned at Wilmington Montessori School."  These children shared their lessons of leadership with me - lessons that we hope they carry with them into their next school experiences and indeed into life. 

They shared:

• “We kept going in circles trying to get everyone’s ideas.  Sometimes there were too many voices.  We needed to make a decision and go forward.”
• “We needed to know when to be serious and when to have fun.”
• “Everyone can do some of the work.  We have to share the work and count on people to do it.”
• “Be prepared for what might go wrong and have a back-up plan.”

One of the human potentials we strive to develop in children is leadership.  This conversation reinforced for me how well the empowering environment of our classrooms allows children to learn from their mistakes and grow as leaders.  I look forward to graduation day and to hearing the stories of these leaders in the years ahead.

Montessori-Inspired Bedtime Stories

During my time as Head of Wilmington Montessori School, I’ve been happy to see Montessori education grow throughout the state of Delaware and the United States. At WMS, we’ve established the Center for Montessori Advancement to support this growth in the state of Delaware and beyond.

Despite the increasing accessibility and visibility of Montessori education, there are many people who simply don’t understand what it is and how it transforms children into creative, kind, open-minded and confident adults. A simple description can’t do it justice – one has to see it in action.

Trevor Eissler, creator of the popular Montessori Madness YouTube video, brings the essence of Montessori education to life in his new children’s book, 4,962,571.

JuneBooks.com describes 4,962,571 as “the story of a boy suddenly captivated by the idea of counting to a very large number. He sets a goal for himself, and through self-discipline, creativity, insight, and hard work, he...well, you will have to see whether he reaches it or not.”

The story demonstrates the Montessori goal of nurturing children’s natural curiosity and encouraging them to find answers through their own exploration – rather than simply asking an adult for the answer. In 4,952,571, the boy’s creativity and curiosity, as well as his joy in exploring the world around him, demonstrate Montessori learning at its best.



I encourage you to share this video or a copy of the book with friends who haven’t been introduced to Montessori education, as well as the children in your life, who will be inspired by the boy’s imagination and mathematical mind.  Visit the June Books website to see other books by Eissler, all written with the goal to “delight and inspire children, while introducing families to Montessori education.”

The best way to learn about Montessori education is to visit a Montessori classroom, and I hope this book will encourage families to do so. Eissler envisions a world in which Montessori education is the norm, and I also look forward to a day when high-quality Montessori education is accessible to all.

“One day we won’t call it Montessori school,” Eissler said. “We’ll just call it school.”

Facing the 21st Century Through Labs Without Walls

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of attending an event at which Ellen Kullman, chairwoman and CEO of E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co, gave a powerful speech with some very clear messages.

As I sat listening, I was struck by many parallels to the world of education. When she speaks about DuPont, Ms. Kullman describes a company in transformation as it moves into its third century, noting that DuPont cannot continue to function as it did 50 years ago but must respond to the changing needs and problems of the world community. One such program – and one DuPont believes it has the scientific knowledge base to address – is the need to create an adequate world-wide food supply by the year 2050.

Kullman shared personal experiences with farmers and communities with scarce access to food in an October 13 press release. “I’ve walked through fields with farmers on four continents. I now understand many of the concerns they have and their hopes for the future for their families and communities,” Kullman said.

In order to meet this lofty challenge, Ms. Kullman knows that DuPont needs to work collaboratively with others throughout the global community. She describes “labs without walls,” where we learn from each other rather than existing in competitive isolation. Ms. Kullman emphasized the need for people to think creatively and innovatively as they use science to address world problems. Collaboration, a global perspective and use of science to solve important problems were the main themes throughout the address. Ms. Kollman described the importance of this collaboration: “At the end of the day, no one country, company, government or foundation can meet the global food security challenge alone ... Together, we can accomplish what no one can do alone.”

Find out how something as small as a seed can make an enormous change in the lives of farmers, their families and communities:

So, how does this parallel the educational world?

Clearly, just as DuPont cannot function as it did 50 years ago, neither can the schools that are preparing a new generation to do the work Ms. Kullman envisions. Research shows us that schools that foster and support global thinking, cooperation and innovation are child-centered schools encouraging risk-taking and new ideas – Montessori schools fit this description perfectly. More importantly, as Montessori teachers and parents, we need to serve as “labs without walls,” sharing what works in our schools with a broader community so that more children will be prepared to solve world problems – even world hunger.

Reading Aloud: A Ritual for Children of All Ages

As I watch my school prepare for its annual book fair next week, and I prepare to co-present a workshop on the importance of reading aloud in Montessori classrooms, I've wondered why my own nightly ritual of reading aloud to my (now teenage) sons stopped.

This summer, I read The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared by Alice Ozma. Alice writes of the Reading Promise made with her father when she was nine years old. This promise, to read every night for 100 days, became the Reading Streak ending at day 3,218 which was Alice’s first day in college. Once again, I wondered why I let the ritual of reading aloud to my children fade away.

The book clearly highlights the educational benefits of reading aloud with your child even into the teen years. However, it also brings to light something equally as profound; the importance of rituals in creating strong relationships with our children. Not only was Alice developing a deep personal relationship with her father, Jim Brozina; he was demonstrating his confidence in her by supporting her growing independence.

In the forward, Brozina writes,

“If a child sees something in a parent that that child aspires to, he or she will copy that parent and be content. If children feel that a parent is living a life that shows compassion and understanding, patience and love, that child will not have to reach a stage of rebellion against that parent... A parent who has proven time and again that the growth and happiness of his or her children is priority number one does not have to worry about where those children are heading in life. They will be sensitive and productive members of society for as long as they live. This story is by and about one such girl.”

Recommended reading:

• Learn more about Alice and start a streak of your own with your child at www.makeareadingpromise.com.
• Author James Patterson tells CNN.com "How to get your kid to be a fanatic reader."

Celebrating Peace Through Montessori Education

Today, many nations and schools around the world are celebrating the U.N. International Day of Peace. Maria Montessori believed that “establishing peace is the work of education.” With this in mind, Montessori schools around the world focus on helping adults and children alike to understand the interconnectedness of all people. I especially like this quote from Maria Montessori:

“We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are part of the universe, and are connected with each other to form one whole unity.”

Each day at Wilmington Montessori School is an opportunity for the school community to experience the interconnectedness we have with each other.

Today, Jackson Politis, an 8-year-old who is my guest Head of School for the day, shared his thoughts about this with his peers at our school-wide Peace Assembly. Jackson said,

At Wilmington Montessori School, there are many ways that we are peaceful:

We help each other – especially the older children help the younger children. People can make friends easily here because we work together very well.
When we have problems we fix them using respectful words and not our actions. We help other people outside the school. We raise money and we collect shoes, coats, and canned food for others in our community.

In sixth grade, students do a project that helps people in another country. Last year, they did “Save the Rain” to help people have clean water. The sixth graders are planning now for their trip to the United Nations and their project this year.

As a part of our Peace Day celebration, each child and adult in the Wilmington Montessori School community creates chalk drawings representing our thoughts about peace as part of the Chalk4Peace project. In our all-school gathering, we are reminded about a special jar where each community member puts a paper crane to symbolize each person in our community as a whole.

Today was a very special day; however, in actuality, as Jackson pointed out, each day at WMS is peace day as we continue to celebrate our connections within both our local and global communities.

The Genius in Children

A short time ago I read Rick Ackerly’s book, The Genius in Children. His book is filled with common sense, expertise, and a deep understanding of the relationships between adults and children. What I enjoyed most about The Genius in Children is the anecdotes the author shares, which come from over 40 years of experience as a father and educator.

Reading Ackerly’s book resembled a conversation with the author himself. Illuminating each of his tales are the underlying values of the book which include self-discipline, perseverance, personal responsibility and accountability, and resilience.

Ackerly’s key message is that if parents and teachers display these characteristics and provide children with environments that offer space for self-discovery they will end up with adult children who reflect these same qualities and know their own ‘genius’. An additional point of interest is the astounding correlation between Ackerly’s key message and the guiding principles of Montessori Philosophy.

Ackerly offers perspective and guidance on a wide range of challenges faced by parents of today's school-age children. I highly recommend his book and website, The Genius in Children, for parents and teachers alike.


I also suggest this recent Wall Street Journal article which discusses the innovativeness of Montessori students! Related Links: Montessori Mafia- Wall Street Journal

Montessori Education- 21st Century Solution

At Wilmington Montessori School, we strive to change the face of education! We are bold enough to imagine a world in which schools value the development of creativity, thinking skills, innovation, leadership, flexibility, and social responsibility. Even with continual changes in our cultural and global needs, many traditional program models continue to uphold their standard practices. In contrast, Montessori Education stands at the forefront of educational reform with its paradigm of integrated, developmentally appropriate, individualized, and global education for the 21st Century. Sir Ken Robinson (a featured speaker at the upcoming American Montessori Society conference) challenges us to explore new educational paradigms. I encourage you to take a moment and view the RSA animation of Sir Ken Robinson’s lecture below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

The Mathematics of Santa

The basic premise of the Montessori Method is that children possess an innate desire to learn. Given the appropriate environment, children are able learn with no more effort than their natural curiosity.

In her book, The Absorbent Mind, Dr. Maria Montessori stated, “education is not something that the teacher does, it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being.” She also noted her observations of children as they "absorbed" culture through a large variety of classroom experiences. Montessori education intentionally designs environments that create new areas of interest for children while simultaneously capitalizing on their existing interests. Simply put, Montessori children learn because they are interested -- because they are curious! Just recently, a friend shared the following holiday narrative regarding the precious gift of curious Montessori children. Enjoy the story, and happy holidays!


The Mathematics of Santa
________________________________________

“Daddy, how does Santa get presents to all the children of the world?”

My son Rylan, a 4th grader, is very inquisitive. He asks a lot of questions and this year, because he’s learning multiplication and long division, he’s particularly curious about the mathematics of Santa.

“Daddy, how many presents does Santa have to make so all the kids around the world can have one?”

It’s one of those questions that you know you’re going to get asked, but never really formulate a great answer for.

“Daddy, how does Santa eat all those cookies and drink all that milk and not get full?”

Oh boy, another tough question.

“Daddy, is Santa magic?”

This is by far the best of the three questions. It’s also a question that poses an easy way out for me. I could say that Santa gets around the world, with all those presents, and eats all those cookies…simply because he’s magic. And it could be true and right and fit nicely into his schemata of Christmas.

But I know that because he will always be a Montessori kid, his curiosity will not be quenched. “By Magic” is simply too easy an answer and I don’t want him to be a kid who grows up to be focused on easy answers.

“I don’t know Rylan,” I hear myself say. “What do you think?”

And we’re off- like the starting bell at a race-track, the words “What do you think?” are the real magic.

“I think he has a very fast sleigh. Hang on, I’ll be right back.” Rylan scurries off. I can hear him rustling around in his bedroom, obviously trying to find something. He comes racing back, beaming and holding his prize -- a globe of the world.

“Daddy, I think he starts at the North Pole. I need something to measure with.” I go and get him a measuring tape out of the kitchen drawer.

He begins twisting the tape this way and that, muttering to himself about how many inches it is from the North Pole to California. I quietly slip away and grab him a piece of paper and something to write with.
“Daddy, do you think Santa only leaves the North Pole once, or comes back for more presents?” I’m quietly marveling at his brilliance. I can tell how far he’s come in solving the problem by the questions he’s asking. I love this kid.

“Daddy, how many kids are there in the world?” I don’t know the answer to this. I don’t even think there is an answer to this. Just then, my 9th grader Lucas walks in. Of course, Lucas knows better, but has fun entertaining his little brother. Quickly he is roped into the Mathematics of Santa as Rylan repeats to him many of the same questions; growing visibly more excited.

Lucas is completely computer literate and is discharged by our tiny Christmas General to go find out how many kids there are in the world. Soquel, my six-year old daughter, sits nearby watching and listening with a marvelous smile on her face. Her tough questions will come one day soon, but for now, as long as Santa can get her dollhouse down the chimney, none of these things matter beyond just the story itself.

For an hour, my boys work together talking, debating, measuring, calculating, and most importantly questioning. Who knows if the answers they got were remotely close to being correct. It doesn’t actually matter. We all know that Santa is magic anyway. But on this day, I realized that Montessori is magic too.
It would have been so easy to dismiss his questioning mind with something vague and ephemeral like “Santa is just magic”. But his background in Montessori has ensured that his curiosity will overcome any ignorant justifications from adults. He learned the word “Why” at 2, and I’m so glad he hasn’t forgotten it.

Over dinner, Rylan recounts to us his mental adventure into the Mathematics of Santa. We hang his pages of calculations on the fridge and the globe takes center stage on our kitchen table. I’ll tuck those things away in a few weeks for him to discover and remember one day. But for now, Christmas has come early this year and Montessori has given me the best gift of all: curious children.

Montessori Kids

“Montessori kids are good at doing things,” states Dr. Steve Hughes, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Recently, I had the opportunity to view Dr. Hughes’ screencast describing Dr. Maria Montessori’s brain-based approach to education. Dr. Hugh’s screencast smartly illustrates the parallels between Montessori education and current research on brain development. Throughout his talk, he highlights the methods by which Montessori Education cultivates advanced cognitive functions, social cognition, and higher-order competencies. These particular aptitudes are often used to describe the essence of a successful 21st Century learner, collaborator, and leader.

Speaking of ‘good at doing things’, I would like to share one of my favorite Montessori success stories captured in this video clip from a Barbara Walter’s interview:



You can also view Dr. Hughes’ entire screencast at http://goodatdoingthings.com/