"Montessori People"

Today, I am preparing to leave to attend the American Montessori Society (AMS) Conference in San Francisco.  The agenda for the conference has many sessions focused on the place of Montessori educators in the educational reform conversation.  I am often heard to say, “when people describe the classroom of the future, they are describing a Montessori education.”  Even more importantly, Montessori educators can point time and again to adults who were educated in Montessori Schools who represent the outcomes of innovation, creativity and collaboration that educational reformers are seeking.

Last spring, Wall Street Journal published an article titled "The Montessori Mafia," in which author Peter Sims shared the concept that Montessori education has for years produced the outcomes that educational reformers seek to produce.

Sims, stated that: "The Montessori educational approach might be the surest route to joining the creative elite, which are so overrepresented by the school’s alumni that one might suspect a Montessori Mafia: Google’s founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, videogame pioneer Will Wright, and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, not to mention Julia Child and rapper Sean 'P.Diddy' Combs."

AMS expands upon this concept, presenting a list of "Montessori People" - famous and non-famous, Montessori parents, alumni, students and teachers - who have been touched by Montessori education.

These "Montessori People" include writer and world-renowned humanitarian Maya Angelou (a Montessori mom), a world traveler/nurse, a neuroscientist, authors, a high-school student, computer programmers, teachers, a corporate executive and many more. Check out the full list to learn more.
What do these "Montessori People," a diverse group from all walks of life, have in common? They're creative thinkers, confident individuals, critical thinkers and people who always ask "Why?" and "How can we do this differently?"

Do you know any amazing Montessorians who are missing from this list? I look forward to hearing from you!

Recommended Reading Material

One of my favorite things about the internet is the way it allows me access a wide array of articles and ideas, along with sharing my own.  I’m constantly bookmarking and sharing the treasures I dig up during my web wanderings.  With this in mind, I’ve created a “Recommended Reading” section on the right side of this blog, which I’ll be updating regularly with blog posts and articles related to Montessori education.  

The articles I refer to here are just a few examples of the great ideas being shared about Montessori education. Each holds an important message that I encourage you to pass on to your friends, family and colleagues to aid in their understanding of the Montessori philosophy. 

Do you have any recommendations?  Please post them in the comments section.  

• “Montessori: The Missing Voice in the Education Reform Debate” by Laura Flores Shaw
  This blog post, written by a fellow Montessori head of school, refers to the ongoing conversation about school reform in the United States, how the solutions being sought are right in front of our noses – rather than in other countries or in digital models of education.
• “Clara Lazen, 10, may be the youngest in history to discover a new molecule” published in Belle News
  This article offers a perfect example of what happens when you are in a school that allows you to follow your interests, imagine, think innovatively and gives you the time and freedom to concentrate.  Ten-year-old Clara Lazen was piecing together over-sized atoms from an educational model in her Montessori classroom when she composed something her teacher had never seen before.  The teacher reached out to a chemistry professor who determined that the formation looked real, just previously unheard of. Now, Clara is a co-author on a major scientific journal article, and scientists are working to synthetically create “her” molecules.  Children enter school with limitless imaginations, believing that anything is possible.  Montessori schools encourage children to explore what others might deem “impossible” ideas, which results in amazing discoveries like this one.
  
• Steve Denning’s blog on Forbes.com
  Steve Denning, whose blog “Radical Management” focuses on innovative and creative leadership and management, has had a lot to say about Montessori education and how it prepares children to be the leaders of the future.  Here is just one of many posts I particularly enjoyed:
  
  Is Montessori the Origin of Google & Amazon? In this post, Denning refers to the Montessori Mafia – i.e., the creative elite spawned by a Montessori education – including Google’s founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, videogame pioneer Will Wright, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, cook Julia Child and rapper Sean “P.Diddy” Combs, and the ways in which Montessori education creates lifelong learners who lead their organizations in creative and innovative ways from those with a more traditional educational background. 

Happy reading!