IMAGINE A SCHOOL...

  IMAGINE A SCHOOL WHERE:

• Peacemaking (i.e. Social & Emotional Learning) is just as important as quality academics; taught and practised daily.

  • Children who see themselves as loveable and capable excel at learning and at life.  Children who practice empathy, compassion and ultimately love, touch others in a truly human way.  Children who come to embrace and value nature, recognize it as the home planet to us all.

• The scientifically-based and proven Montessori method is utilized with its child-centered, developmental, hands-on and experiential approach to education.

• “Striking the imagination” of the student is of the utmost importance. Learning for learning's sake is the ultimate motivation for creating lifelong learners.

• The “Habits of Mind” will be intentionally taught.  They “transcend all subject matters commonly taught in school.  They are characteristic of peak performers whether they be in homes, schools, athletic fields, organizations, the military, governments, churches or corporations.  They are what make marriages successful, learning continual, workplaces productive and democracies enduring. “ Costa & Kallick

• On-target instruction, differentiation and accountability in the academic subjects of math, language and reading in elementary is achieved by giving pre-tests to ascertain concept and skill needs.  A Personal Education Plan is then prepared for each student with an associated list of lessons that the student works through. Once completed, post-tests are given to objectively confirm mastery.

• There is freedom within responsibility.  Choice is the means by which we construct ourselves, build our relationships with others and develop our world perspective.  Responsible choice means that we are cognizant of the needs of others, the needs of the situation, as well as our own and act accordingly.

• Students work collaboratively in science teams to discover facts and critically examine theories utilizing the scientific method.  Religious, spiritual and philosophical “truths” will examined in the context of the associated culture or person and will be respected, but not necessarily believed in, as long as they are loving and constructive and not hateful and destructive.  

• The teachers are empowered and respected by giving them a real voice in the programmatic decision making processes of the school.  Instead of being at the bottom of the organizational chart, faculty is near the top as they are the ones that deal directly with the students.  The student is at the top of the chart, because meeting their needs is paramount.

• Co-Principals/Job-sharing Mary and Paul Bareis-Golumb will be the key leaders for the school.  Mary has 25+ years as a lead primary teacher, is a Love & Logic certified instructor and has been responsible for training assistants. Paul has 25+ years as a lead elementary teacher, written “The Pax Curriculum”, been a teacher trainer and the inventor of the Montessori Plus Learning System.  Both helped found Life Tree Montessori School.

Celebrating Diversity: Presenting Religion/Spirituality in Schools

Note: If you're going to read this article, please read it through to the end.

"... in the Beginning" was an Immersion Day I presented at the beginning of the school year most years of my 25 + years teaching career.  It lasted approximately three hours and involved the entire lower elementary (6 - 9 year olds) community.  The students rotated through three different presentations, with the order of no particular importance.

"God with No Hands" was one of these dramatic presentations.  This is the creation story that Dr. Mary Montessori purportedly told her son, Mario,  The essence of this fairly lengthy story is that God creates the world using the tools of physics, much like a painter uses a paint brush to create a beautiful painting.  Today we'd call this approach, "intelligent design", which is fitting for Maria as she was both a Roman Catholic and a trained doctor (i.e. scientist).  The story even includes experiments to illustrate many of the scientific principles embedded in the story.

As the teacher (aka, guide) objectively presenting this story, I would share the context of this story (i.e. who wrote it and why).  In presenting it, I neither endorsed or critiqued it.  (Personally, I also subscribe to Dr. Montessori's beliefs, but to profess this belief to my students would be proselytizing; using my position of authority to unduly influence them.  No! This would be wrong!) In a sense, the students were putting on Maria's "spectacles" and seeing the world as she saw it.

"The Big Bang" was another presentation that the students would attend.  In this dramatic presentation, a story is read with accompanying illustrations when suddenly, a large black balloon is popped, sending specks of matter (glitter or paper dots) to shower the students.  (Yes, Montessori presentations are designed to strike the child's imagination!)  As part of the debriefing discussion that follows the presentation, I explain that this is a theory that most scientists believe is how the Universe began. They came to this conclusion because they have been convinced by empirical evidence.  If new and different evidence comes to light, they may formulate a new theory. Once again, I present this theory objectively, indicating no bias for or against it.

"Creation Stories from other Cultures" takes the students on a voyage of discovery around the world.  Here the creation stories are read, acted out or even danced!  These creation stories may be from major world religions, from indigenous peoples or various cultures.  After each story, the religious or cultural context is objectively given for the story.  And once again the concept of tolerance is reiterated, as it has in all the presentations, by asking questions like these:  Do all people believe in this story? Answer: No.  Is it ok if people believe in this story?  Answer: Yes.  Can we tolerate, accept and even celebrate this difference in other people? Answer: Yes! (One caveat or basic principle in sharing these different world views is that they can all be acceptable and even celebrated as long as they are loving and constructive and not hateful and destructive.)

In all of my 25 years of teaching I never had a parent complain about these presentations, and I had parents through the years from all the major world religions and those that were also humanist or atheist  See, the parents are perfectly free to share their views at home, advocating for whatever world view they deem as "right".  

Does religion/spirituality need to be presented in public schools?  Yes, as Dr. Montessori observed, spirituality is a need of humans.  Would public schools provide in-depth religious training?  No, even if it were permitted, only a Rabbi, for example, could do justice to the Jewish tradition.  What our schools need to teach in our pluralistic society is tolerance as the standard norm, with acceptance and even the celebration of other's difference as the pinnacle of human evolution.  I personally believe that our very survival as a species depends on it!