150 Years: The Power of a Story, Part 2

Soul Fire Farm

This article is part of a series that we will share throughout the 2020-2021 school year to celebrate the 150th birthday of Dr. Maria Montessori. Check back often for more posts that reflect on the past, present, and future of Montessori education.

Last month we shared the story of Montessori educator Shawnaly Tabor. This month we highlight the Montessori journey from a different perspective: that of the student. Neshima (17) and Emet (15) Vitale-Penniman are adolescents that began their Montessori primary education at a public Montessori school, and during their lower elementary years transitioned to a private Montessori school. Emet currently attends The Darrow School, where Neshima graduated from this past spring as valedictorian. In addition to their schoolwork, both children work alongside their parents Leah Penniman and Jonah Vitale-Wolff, co-founders of Soul Fire Farm.

Let’s start at the beginning. What are your earliest memories of attending a Montessori school? What did you take away from your time in a primary class that you look back and are glad to have experienced as a young child?

Emet: One of my first memories that I always think about looking back is making patterns with little plastic bears, and just little simple things like that. Making patterns led to complex math equations. Being able to do hands-on learning with materials such as the multiplication board was really helpful.

Neshima: Similarly, just experiencing lots of opportunities to do work that was really formidable and fostered deep-set curiosity, and having a lot of support with finding work that met me where I was at in my academic journey. Just finding things that quenched my curiosity and my love of learning and having teachers that were really supportive of that.

You first attended a public Montessori school before moving to a private Montessori school in lower elementary. Keeping in mind the differences between the two settings, what types of support do you think public Montessori schools might benefit from?

E: With public schools, there are a lot of requirements such as tests, but when I went to private school, they were able to design their own tests that were not required by the state, and I think Montessori should be able to have that freedom so you can go at your own pace. At my public Montessori school, I was working just with kids at my own grade level, but at private Montessori if I wanted to excel in math, I could work with kids at another grade level, but for other subjects still work with kids my age. That was really valuable.

N: That was something I wanted to touch on as well; removing those requirements around testing and this very linear model of academics that public schools are required to adhere to. Also, regarding discipline, at my first Montessori school sometimes small mistakes would result in taking away recess time, in a way that didn’t give students an opportunity to grow. Alternately, at the other school, I felt more invited into a process of changing behavior and acting responsibly, and just building those skills.

How do you think Montessori schools support kids academically? What happened if a subject area or skill was hard for you, or if you felt like you needed more of a challenge?

E: I love how Montessori teaches in a way that you can excel at something and be challenged, because it’s a curriculum built around you, and you’re able to do things that you feel challenged by. But if you’re struggling with something you can get extra help from teachers because there are small classes and just the general learning style. I just love it.

N: For sure, I think the differentiation of being able to move ahead, working with teachers to find work that meets you wherever you’re at or finding a material that’s more interesting or challenging, and being able to work alongside other students that were on the same path and doing the same work, no matter what grade they were in. So, it didn’t matter if you were on a slightly different journey than the standard curriculum. That was something that was really helpful, and that I tried to bring into my high school experience as much as I could with independent studies, so that I could move at my own pace.

Academics are one small part of who we are as we grow. How did your Montessori experience support your growth as a social and emotional person?

E: Montessori helped me learn how to build authentic, deep relationships with people. I still have a lot of friendships that I built in first and second grade. You’re able to learn together, play together, do so many things together, but also take space if you need it. It lets you cultivate relationships and friendships with people. It’s a good space for that.

N: Two things come up for me: One is building strong and accountable relationships with people that are my age - not being afraid to approach someone if there’s a conflict between us, not being afraid to figure out how to resolve it, because I was given some of those tools. The other is having confidence in relationships with adults, just because I felt so close and trusting of my teachers throughout Montessori. I now feel very much able to approach adults with questions I have, or asking them about their life, or for stories, or talking about politics, even. I feel so much more comfortable with that, being able to have these really authentic and meaningful connections with people that are a lot older than me - or even younger than me - just having that range of connection and experience is really meaningful for me.

Maria Montessori thought that educating children with her methods had the potential to change the world. What do you think?

E: I agree with that and it definitely does. The whole Montessori curriculum is about being able to pursue what you want and going at your own pace, building friendships and relationships, and I think that really does have the power to change the world. If everyone were to go to a Montessori school, I think the world could be a pretty great place.

N: Yes, I definitely agree with that. I think it’s so important in these times to have people that are really empathetic and that seek to fully understand another person or situation. So often we get into these really polarized mindsets and it’s easy to just adhere to one set of beliefs or values, and so it’s really important to have people that are curious about others and curious about learning things for the sake of learning not just to pass a test or to memorize, and to apply that to a worldview, and their efforts toward social justice or whatever they’re fighting for. Fully understanding a situation, fully understanding a story is so important, and it’s something that Montessori definitely instills in its students.

Also, regarding conflict resolution: having those tools to approach a challenge with another person or a group of people in a really mature and thoughtful way instead of lashing out and being violent - either with words or physical action - is a really important tool. 

Are there life values that you feel are important that were supported during your time in Montessori schools?

E: Building off what Neshima said, just making sure to get everyone's opinion and sit down and talk about something. To really sit down and have a conversation that needs to be had after a conflict - that’s one of the values I think is so important and I definitely learned from Montessori.

N: A big one, at least in my life, is a love of learning and curiosity. I think that’s so strongly ingrained into Montessori students and applies to both the academic world and beyond. For myself and friends, we love to explore things for the sake of understanding them and just for the sake of that experience. Not to impress anyone or to make any money from it, we really just love to learn about new things. We have an understanding that we can take whatever our passion is and turn it into something that we can pursue for our lifetime - whether that be a career or not. For me that’s been really meaningful, it’s been something that’s carried me through my high school experience and now into gap year and college experiences; it has very strongly guided my path and the way I navigate my life now - that curiosity, that passion for learning.

How has your Montessori education affected who you are as a person today? What are you up to now and what are your plans for the future?

E: Montessori shaped most of who I am. It built values of being kind to people. I probably wouldn’t be at Darrow if it weren’t for Montessori, because I liked how similar they were, with close relationships to teachers, small class size. Those are things I really enjoyed in my Montessori schools; I wanted to have good relationships with my teachers and small class sizes.

Now I am working at Soul Fire Farm creating video series. I’m editing a video series right now for the farm, as well as helping my mom farm and helping my dad with carpentry.

N: Montessori very much respects students and recognizes their maturity and their ability to learn things and apply their knowledge to the world. I feel like primary students aren’t treated like little toddlers; they are treated like the full human beings that they are. This has helped me approach a lot of what I do with confidence in my skills. As a young person I’m able to work on the farm and do farming and carpentry and graphic design and cooking, and feel really dignified in my work even though I’m a young person. I feel like I deserve the pay and praise I get; I feel like I deserve the support I get. I have the sense that the things I do are valued, even though I’m a young person and haven’t gone to school to study about it.

I just graduated high school, and even though it’s very unsettling times I had already been planning to take a gap year. I graduated one year early with the intention of using that fourth year to do a lot of hands-on pursuits of things I’m curious about. I don’t know what I want to pursue career-wise. I don’t think I would have the courage or foresight to do this without Montessori. I was accepted to Brown University, so I will be attending there after my gap year. One of the main reasons I chose that school is because similarly, they allow so much space in the curriculum for curiosity and exploring the things you’re passionate about, and finding the ways they overlap. Working with other students and schools to figure out interdisciplinary solutions to global issues and engineering challenges; that felt like something that was so magnetic and important to me in my college experience.

Is there anything else you think people should know about Montessori education?

N: I love the concept of working toward making Montessori accessible for more people. It’s so important to have low income and POC communities have access to this kind of education, because it is so formidable and so transformative for a lot of people.

I think about how much my parents have been involved, and how much Montessori students are able to invite their parents into their learning...even recently having online school during my last months of high school: I would have design challenges and could ask my dad or brother to work with me. That Montessori mindset is to think of learning as not just independent, it’s something I get to invite other people into. I suppose that’s something Montessori parents can keep in mind; they are lucky and privileged to be excited to be part of their children’s learning experience.

*Interview includes minor editing for length and clarity.

150 Years: The Power of the Story, Part 1

This article is part of a series that we will share throughout the 2020-2021 school year to celebrate the 150th birthday of Dr. Maria Montessori. Check back often for more posts that reflect on the past, present, and future of Montessori education.

Every Montessori journey is a bit different. For some, it starts during childhood as a student. For others, we begin as adults, either in the role of a parent or educator. Sometimes the journey may seem brief, yet what we learn becomes woven into who we are. Other times, Montessori philosophy drives our life’s work.

Over the next several months we will be sharing interviews to highlight a few of these journeys, each from a different perspective. Today we will share that of Shawnaly Tabor, M.Ed.. Shawnaly currently teaches lower elementary at Damariscotta Montessori School in Nobleboro, Maine. She attended Kalispell Montessori School in Montana (now called Woodland Montessori School) as a child and later found herself returning to the method as an educator. We think you’ll find her story fascinating and inspiring.

You were a Montessori student as a child. What was that experience like for you? What were some of the lessons, experiences, or feelings you can recall from your time in that type of learning environment?

One of the strongest, most clear memories I have from being a young Montessori student was in a primary classroom. I had been given a lesson about the golden beads and I clearly remember holding the thousand cube after the lesson and there was sun coming in the window and it was one of those early thousand cubes - they were all the ceramic glass - and so I remember it being a little bit shiny and glittery in the sunlight, and I remember holding it and thinking, “Wow. This is a thousand.” It was so special and I can clearly remember it, and I remember the weight of it, and then looking at it because it was made of all of the individual beads. I remember kind of peering into it to see if I could if I could see beads in between the bead gaps.

Then when I was a little bit older in upper elementary, I remember the Timeline of Life. It showed from simple life-forms through dinosaurs and eventually to humans with pictures, and I remember I was amazed by the beauty of it and the complexity of it and then also how small the human section was at the end.

Are there ways in which your years as a Montessori child colored your experience in other types of educational environments?

 When I got into public school math classes I really enjoyed math and I felt like I understood it well. When the teacher was talking about different concepts, I would get pictures in my head that would help me understand it. At the time I didn’t really realize what was going on until I went to my Montessori training and I was reacquainted with the materials. I realized that through middle school, high school, and even college that I had been picturing a version of what I remembered of the Montessori materials. Working with them really formed a picture in my head that helped me understand math better.

Socially it was a tricky transition, but I realized that it was a tricky transition for everybody. In the valley that I’d lived in there were many small elementary schools and in the seventh grade everybody transitioned to this great big school. Everybody was having the same experience as I was, moving from a small environment to a big environment. I feel like the years I spent working in a Montessori school on independence, self-confidence, and academic skills helped support me through what could have been a really scary experience. Because the academics seemed a bit easier, I was able to make friends, and it helped my transition be easier. And I started to find the excitement within the transition, and I really enjoyed learning.

What led you to your Montessori training? What was training like for you? You mentioned that you had your former teachers as some of your training instructors.

Yes, I was able to come back and be an adult with my Montessori teachers. It was a very interesting experience. One of them had saved something I had written from when I was a child and brought it out during one of the lessons as an example. It was very special, and a little bit silly, and a little embarrassing, but it was wonderful to see them again and to have them as mentors in a new way.

After I received my public school certification and completed my student teaching there, I became aware that I did not want to stay in that system. I debated options, but I decided I wanted to work in the private sector. I researched different options and observed in different schools, but I found my heart was still in the Montessori realm. And that was where I wanted my son to be.

At the time I went to training my son was three and had started going to the Montessori school I went to as a child, too. It was being a parent that really led me back to Montessori. 

What has teaching in a lower elementary environment been like for you? What keeps you returning to the classroom each year?

The kids are so amazing. The way that they see the world and the way that they approach life is different from adults. They don’t have the same life experience and a lot of things are new to them. They’re excited about learning; they’re excited about life. They wear their emotions right in the front, so there’s an emotional honesty working in the lower el. Sometimes it’s really messy but it’s always really beautiful.

The kids have this amazing ability to learn to focus on solutions and they also have this amazing empathy for other people. I would say that every child I have worked with has this beautiful empathy for other people, and it’s just wonderful.

They also say really interesting things, and it’s always from this beautiful kid perspective. I just love it. It’s also the age when they start to develop their sense of humor. The way it develops from first grade to third grade is really fun to watch.

You were a Montessori parent as well. What is your advice for families who are just beginning their journey?

For me it was familiar (the Montessori realm), but for most people it isn’t. So, one of the most important things to know as a Montessori parent is that you’re going to be confronted with a lot of ideas that might be uncomfortable simply because you aren’t used to it. It can feel more abstract because there aren’t grades, and there isn’t a ‘where is my child at according to other children’ mentality. All the kids are on their own track and we treat them as individuals and try to provide what each child needs.

It can feel disconcerting because it isn’t familiar. Even though research shows that it’s really awesome for kids, it can be really uncomfortable for parents. Just be brave and know that you’ll feel that way, and that’s okay, and the teachers are there for you. In a Montessori school it’s different; the teachers are there for the parents, too. We’re all on the same team for your child. They will be there to listen and provide anything the parent needs, as well as the child.

Montessori schools tend to be beautiful, emphasize peace, nature, and social-emotional learning. From the outside, they can look like magical places where everyone is always happy. However, it's important to understand that not every day will be perfect and that the path of development is often difficult and messy. This is okay. Teachers, children, parents, and all other school personnel are humans. We have emotions, make mistakes, and aren't perfect. What Montessori schools do have is a focus on growth and seeing mistakes as part of the path toward improvement. We accept each other on our bad days, just as openly as we accept each other on our good days. The magic in Montessori is not being a perfect, happy environment, it's in seeing the messiness as an aspect of the beauty.

Can you share a bit about your work with Positive Discipline and how you feel the model fits in with Montessori education and parenting?

Yes, it isn’t in every Montessori school even though it does dovetail perfectly. Just like Montessori, Positive Discipline focuses on ways to help the children be independent, resilient, builds communication skills, and self-regulation. What Positive Discipline has is the direct tools for classroom management. We all want children to be independent and resilient, but Positive Discipline offers a how-to guide, almost. It takes the philosophical concepts we all strive for and make it more concrete, so it’s accessible to teachers and parents.

Like with Montessori, it’s focused on long-term change. We want a better society; we’re guiding human beings. Positive Discipline also has that long-term focus. We don’t want to just stop a behavior or start a behavior, we want to help the child develop to be the best human being they can be. It can help those of us who didn’t grow up with those tools, especially in times of stress.

Is there anything else you would like to discuss regarding your personal journey with Montessori education?

It’s been a really impactful thing in my life, even during the times when I didn’t realize it. Sometimes in the moment we don’t realize where we get our strength or resilience, but when I look back a lot of the times when I’ve had something challenging happen - as we all do - I can see how the social-emotional or academic skills that I learned in Montessori have bolstered me through the challenging times. It’s become a foundation and the fabric of who I am, and so even when I don’t realize it, it’s still with me, and still supporting me.

*Edited for length and clarity.

150 Years: A Legacy to Celebrate

Dr. Maria Montessori

This article is part of a series that we will share throughout the 2020-2021 school year to celebrate the 150th birthday of Dr. Maria Montessori. Check back often for more posts that reflect on the past, present, and future of Montessori education.

August 31 marks the 150th birthday of Dr. Maria Montessori. Throughout the upcoming school year we will be bringing you articles in celebration of this milestone, kicking it off with a month full of articles this September.

First off, we would like to share a little bit about the woman herself, the course this remarkable educational movement has taken, and where we are today.

Education, Service, and Drive, From the Start

In a seaside town in Italy, Maria Montessori was born in August of 1870. At the time, education was not always readily available for girls and women, and was certainly not emphasized. Her father Alessandro was a man with fairly conservative views, but Montessori’s mother Renilde was rather well educated herself. Well into her young adulthood, Maria’s father often disapproved of her life decisions, while her mother encouraged them. (He did, fortunately, seem to have a change of heart later on.)

Even as a child, a deep sense of service was instilled in Maria by her parents. She knitted for and spent time with those in her community that were less fortunate. She was tasked with cleaning the floor of her family home, a chore which she likely took great pride in. 

Maria’s family moved when she was young due to her father’s work, and they eventually ended up in Rome, where she began the first grade. Schools in Rome at the time were far superior to those elsewhere in Italy, so her educational advantages began early.

At a certain point, school and learning became much more important to Maria. It is said (and referenced in a biography by Rita Kramer) that she once took a math book with her to the theater so she could study during the performance. One thing she was certain of: she would never become a teacher.

For a while, young Maria aspired to be an engineer, but later decided she would rather attend medical school. At the time (unfortunately but perhaps unsurprisingly) women were not permitted in the university program. Not to be dissuaded but an initial rejection, Montessori took and passed the entrance exams and continued to ask for admittance until she received ‘yes’ for an answer.

During her years at the university, Montessori faced constant discrimination due to her gender. She was not permitted to enter lecture halls at the same time as her male counterparts or study cadavers alongside the other medical students. (They felt it improper to be in the presence of a dead, naked body with a woman.) She wasn’t even allowed to walk to school without a male chaperone, who was, of course, her disapproving father.

Despite it all, Maria Montessori did become Dr. Montessori. Over the years she gained the respect of many of her university peers, faculty, and family members.

A Winding Path to a Visionary Model

Early in her career, Montessori was assigned to work in a psychiatric hospital. Children were treated there alongside adults, and Montessori was struck by the sheer lack of stimulation available to the children. She began working with the children and soon realized their cognitive capabilities far exceeded what they were assumed to be able to accomplish.

Not long after, Montessori was asked to start a school in an impoverished neighborhood in Rome. In an apartment complex, the parents were forced to go to work each day and leave behind their children who were too young to be in school yet themselves. This led to a natural progression of unruly behavior, thus leading the apartment manager to seek a solution. 

Montessori opened her school on the first floor of one of the apartment buildings. It was called Casa dei Bambini (Children’s House) and provided a place for the little ones to use their time productively, while also allowing Dr. Montessori an opportunity to develop her now infamous materials and methods. She believed that young children learned first through the senses, and her materials were created specifically to allow children independence in the journey to refining them.

Not only were the children of this first Casa privy to the materials; they also were the first to experience Montessori practical life lessons. They helped to prepare and serve their own meals. They polished the silver and cut and arranged the flowers. They learned polite social norms through intentional modeling and lessons in grace and courtesy. They began to take pride in their work, their community, and their home. Montessori recruited a woman who was a resident of the complex to become the teacher, and the children’s mothers met with her regularly to discuss progress.

The results were astounding. This work done with the children slowly trickled outward so that it positively affected the entire neighborhood. Visitors came to the school and were amazed at how focused and engaged the children were with their work. No one had ever seen anything quite like it before.

Observing, Refining, and Sharing

Montessori’s work and ideas spread quickly as more and more people visited Casa dei Bambini. Requests were made to open new schools elsewhere, and Montessori soon found herself training teachers, producing copies of her materials, and giving lectures around the world.

Throughout her life, Dr. Montessori’s work never ended. Though she began with a focus on children aged 3-6, during different times in her life she focused on developing methods and materials for elementary aged children, infants and toddlers, and adolescents. She was a fierce advocate for the preservation of the methods she had worked tirelessly to create. She was, after all, a woman of science. Each material, each lesson, each approach - they were all a result of many hours of careful testing, observation, analyzation, and refining. It was understandably important to her that the movement that bore her name moved forward in a way that honored her high standards.

Montessori Education: Where It Stands Today

Today, there are tens of thousands of Montessori schools across the globe. In the United States alone, there are more than 2,000 private and more than 500 public Montessori schools.

Efforts are being made to advance Montessori into mainstream education while retaining high fidelity methods. Current scientific research in areas of learning, brain development, and human development are repeatedly confirming what has already been known by over a century of Montessori education.

What might the next decade bring? Shifts in our common goals for education and what developing children need just may be the push our society needs to fully embrace what’s been working for so many families for such a long time.

We’re glad to have you on this journey with us.