Prove it! - Dr. Stephen Hughes Part 1

There is so much to say about this Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology turned mega Montessori advocate that I needed to make it a multi-part series.  Although it comes as no surprise after years in a Montessori classroom that a pediatric neuropsychologist has become a champion of the Montessori method, it certainly is reassuring to have Dr. Stephen Hughes on board.  His website is a fantastic resource (it's about Montessori kids and it's called 'goodatdoingthings'!) and his talks are required listening for Montessorians. 

In this first introduction I wanted to highlight his insistence on making the value behind a Montessori education more evident to education scholars and parents.  For far too long, Montessori education has held on to a sort of niche status and niche audience and it is time for the offer to become more widespread.  Dr. Hughes calls upon Montessori schools to prove it in a variety of ways.  Keeping alumni records is crucially important (the Montessori Mafia after all, is no fluke), portfolios are key (we use studentjotter.com), and some kind of standardized testing that does not involve preparing the students for the actual test can be helpful in making worthwhile comparisons. 

Montessori philosophy and curriculum often focuses on the internal and implicit.  We know that the drive to learn, explore and achieve is inside every one of our students.  Dr. Stephen Hughes highlights that this classroom (teacher) habit has to change when communicating with the outside world about Montessori education.  Our schools need to work at making our incredible achievements explicit, obvious and statistically significant.

Montessori Mafia - Continued

The Post Oak school close to Houston, TX has an amazing school website to explore.  Check it out as you refine your own and explore different concepts in Montessori education. 

Among the coolest features is this interactive image of some of the outstanding members of the WSJ coined 'Montessori Mafia'.  Click the image to go to Post Oak's website and learn about what each of these great people have to say about the impact of Montessori education on their careers and legacy.

The Montessori Mafia

Surely you've read the article and seen these mafiosi around.  The Wall Street Journal article summarizes what we in the Montessori community have already taken as commonplace.  Our kids are more creative because we don't school the creative right out of them!  Nothing magical happens in the classroom itself, the only thing that makes the environment and philosophy seem wonderful and magic is the child itself.  Unleashing his own potential and creativity by exploring his passions.

The comments section of the article is especially interesting, please go comment yourself.  I will just include one comment and his link on this blogpost today.  I include this one because we believe so strongly that Montessori education is and should always be for everyone.

• Daniel C. Petter-Lipstein wrote:

Peter,
Nice article.
To those who think Montessori is an educational method for the “affluent”, I strongly reject that notion. There are over 400 public Montessori schools in the US and more are coming. One is opening in the South Bronx in September and another one is trying to get approved in Oakland, C. Their charter was recently denied not because of its educational approach, which was praised, but for other community reason that were somewhat vague.

See my article, “Superwoman Was Already Here”

Daniel