Hello Capitol Hill Montessori Family!
Monday was the International Day of Peace. In 1949 Maria Montessori started to publish her many years of lectures and had them translated to English as well as many other languages. Here are a few things she had to say:
In Education and Peace, she said that politics and peace talks may provide a cessation of war but they cannot create peace. Over and over we realize that we cannot change the adult, peace will emerge only when there is indirect preparation. This must be the work of education. Education cannot simply give facts and pass on formal knowledge, it must be understood as the help we can give for the normal development of the new person.
In From Childhood to Adolescence, she said that society was reaching the bursting point, facing a crisis that menaces the peace of the world and civilization itself. Science and the rapid material progress of the modern world had transformed social life but the schools had not kept pace. Education of the adolescent must be very broad and very complete. Laborers need to learn to work with their heads and intellectuals need to learn to work with their hands, as those who have hands and no head and those who have a head and no hands are equally out of place in the modern community.
Grace and Courtesy (commonly known as social-emotional learning) has always been one of the cornerstones of a Montessori education. In fact, there are grace and courtesy lessons given indirectly to primary students and directly to elementary students. How can students practice this in an online learning environment? Logging in before instruction begins, being prepared (dressed, fed, sitting upright at the screen, needed materials at hand), adhering to the agreed upon norms of the class, treating others with respect, and most importantly loving oneself. Those are just a few examples.
Here is a short article with tips on promoting social-emotional learning at home. Tips we can all benefit from!
Since learning is happening at home, we also want to extend grace and courtesy to all the parents who are juggling their own jobs along with the children’s schooling, and please know that every staff member at Capitol Hill Montessori is here for you. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.