Montessori in the News

Teach for Peace

As we approach the holiday season, we enjoy the warmth and excitement as we get caught up in the spirit of the forthcoming holidays. We all enjoy the emotionally rewarding gatherings of family and friends and the sharing of gifts. Seize this opportunity sharing the spirit of the holidays and your culture with your children. The time you spend with them and the memories your create will be your legacy.

Another legacy we should all remember is that of Dr. Montessori. She began her work by teaching some of the most disadvantaged children of Rome. Her goal was to create an educated population, because she recognized that without education there could not be a world at peace. At this time of year, as so many of us wish for peace, maybe we should also consider becoming proactive in our search for peace. Many times the Dalai Lama on his recent tour of North America stated to his audience a very Montessori thought.

"For us to achieve peace, we must educate the children. It may be too late for us to see peace, but if we reach out to educate the children, they will accept differences and they will learn to respect one another. Understanding and respect are the first steps toward peace. If we give the children the gift of knowledge, when they grow up, they will be the ones that achieve peace."

For centuries, this time of year has been a time to reflect and to share with our families. It has also been a time to share with others that have less. How wonderfully beautiful, if in the spirit of the holidays each of us could also give the gift of education to a child. It is in this spirit of giving that the Montessori Initiative is creating the Teach for Peace Initiative in association with the Public Private Alliance Foundation and the Montessori Model UN.

The goal of the Teach for Peace Initiative begins with asking all interested Montessori schools to create a scholarship fund, supported by their local community. The purpose of the fund would be to provide scholarship(s) for deserving students that might otherwise not be able to access a Montessori education. If you are a school or a parent interested in creating a Teach for Peace scholarship program, please contact me, hwalters@montessori-mun.org . I will send you a Teach for Peace summary that you can use to get your school started. Participating schools will receive email copies of supporting materials that can help your Teach for Peace program be communicated to your community.

Montessori continues to be recognized globally as a leading approach to education. Recently the King of Morocco dedicated its first After School Learning Center, which features after school learning activities based on a Montessori curriculum. Located in the nation's capital of Rabat, this is the first of multiple centers planned by Morocco. The centers are being built with the support of the government and grants by the World's Sports Alliance. The WSA is supporting the development of learning centers throughout the developing world, each centered on sports as a learning activity and each utilizing Montessori as the foundation for the children's education. Thirteen emerging nations have signed development agreements with the WSA to fund Montessori based sports learning after school centers in their country.

Closer to home in North America, the City of Newark is working with the WSA to develop a similar center, and construction is slated to begin in 2008.

The curriculum for these programs was developed by the Montessori Initiative for WSA in association with Montessori educators.

Continuing with a global approach, the Montessori Model UN continues to grow. This year more than 100 schools from North America, Western Europe, Caribbean Basin, Latin America, South America, China and US protectorates have enrolled to participate in this prestigious program, which culminates in a student General Assembly at the United Nations.