From Here to There
There’s a well-known joke about a tourist lost in the countryside who asks one of the locals for directions to the nearest big city. The response is, “well I wouldn’t start from here”. It is one way of reflecting on the state of current mainstream education and how inappropriate it is for the needs of individuals and society. In that spirit I wanted to offer some emergent thoughts about how the paradigm shift we are seeking can be framed as changing society today while building an education system embedding change over the longer term.
I have written recently about Montessori for everyone, everywhere all the time and am excited by the evidence that a generational shift in attitudes may support radical new directions. Influential figures have talked about a learning revolution and education revolution but Montessorians might consider more explicitly embracing a broader social revolution with education as a cornerstone. A transformation in the way society thinks and behaves must include the way children are taught but is more powerful when it reflects the practical opportunities it can bring to everyone right now.
Crisis, Conflict and Contested Spaces
Kuhn popularized the term paradigm shift, originally in the context of natural sciences, with a number of stages ranging from dissatisfaction with the existing models to eventual adoption of a new, dominant model. Some commentators believe mainstream education is already in the state of crisis needed to drive such a debate and there is increasing evidence that Montessori has a strong claim to be better oriented to future needs. We believe that "The child is both a hope and a promise for mankind" but must articulate how Montessori principles can both lead society from an unsatisfactory, outdated approach to a more productive future and have an immediate impact.
Paradigms are contested spaces with conflicting ideas where we must expect challenge. Max Planck noted, "a new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." That is why it is so thrilling to have so much new research supporting Montessori and to hear school and early career Montessorians articulating their experience and becoming active campaigners for change.
From Here to There on the Road from Jaded to Joyous
This article is just the beginning of a discussion that attempts to convey what people might expect from a wholescale shift to Montessori education but which also reflects the potential to affect all of society from today onwards. We have already seen examples and evidence how Montessori influences business, care for the elderly, mental health and adult well-being.
Parents make an active choice to enrol their children in Montessori schools and should be an audience that is open to taking Montessori principles into their everyday lives. We know, however, that research has suggested there is work to be done to “..reconcile the Montessori principles with conflicting parent values..” and that recent data has suggested some parents appear reluctant to actively learn more about their child’s educational experience.
The paradigm shift envisaged moves from systems that constrain potential, undermine vitality and damage communities to a world view that celebrates and supports positive human tendencies and interactions. By nurturing the physical, cerebral and emotional attributes of every individual we can improve quality of life, wellbeing, creativity, collaboration and productivity for all people. Ultimately, we can establish the conditions for a just and lasting peace based on trust, respect and mutuality.
Suggesting the Seven Steps
The aim here is to capture a sense of what the transformation of education and wider society might look like. Each of the seven steps reflects a philosophical step underpinned by action for change. Every step is applicable to adults, communities, organisations and countries as much as children and educational environments.
Industrial to Individual
Reject education modelled on and meeting the needs of the production line for a holistic approach developing potential and creating rounded, self-motivating individuals. Early engagement with Montessori has been supportive of the later achievements of some extraordinary people who have been paradigm changers in their own sector of excellence. While individual brilliance should be encouraged and allowed to flourish Gen Z favours workplaces that are inclusive, transparent and recognise individual needs. That’s something we should all want.
Uniformity to Uniqueness
Stop treating people as clones marching in lockstep or pigeon-holed by simplistic, arbitrary measures. Start celebrating difference as individuals traverse an integrated curriculum then live evolving, complex lives. Rigidly timetabled, test-based measures in childhood do not reflect the realities of individual development but create anxiety and the damage caused by being labelled for life. The best organisations recognize that diversity in their employees leads to better performance while Gen Z wants to understand “how their individual contributions matter.”
Fixed to Flexible
Forget the futile pursuit of narrow, entrenched academic paths and limited horizons and establish frameworks that support breadth, adaptability and creativity in pursuit of life and career opportunities in a changing world. Traditional education pathways are under enormous pressure and no longer guarantee high-quality jobs, long-term stability or good pay. In a world of greater, faster change the value of creativity, curiosity and emotional resilience will be vital to personal health, societal growth and business success.
Rigid to Renaissant
Disallow coercion and constraint in learning and personal development while encouraging breadth, curiosity and synergy that brings science, the humanities and the arts into balance as an aid to practical life. From Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Schweitzer, to Montessori, Lamarr and Somerville we have learnt routes to new discoveries from those who can understand and interact across the boundaries of subject knowledge. We also know that new learning and experiences can be an important part of maintaining cognitive health.
Worried to Wellbeing
Release people from prescriptive systems that induce tension, anxiety and refusal to a model that supports choice, personal responsibility and joy in children as well as improved mental health when they become adults. Research shows that Montessori children carry their advantages in mental wellbeing through to their adult years and there is every reason to believe that adults will be more productive and engaged if they are able to take responsibility for their own development.
Isolation to Interdependence
Move from self-interest, loneliness or reliance to an embrace of global community, difference, shared interest and intentional contribution to the common good. Donne wrote that “no man is an island, entire of itself” and Montessori places the individual and their potential in the context of the cosmos, society and community. Most people seek greater connection and the evidence suggests it is better for longer and healthier lives.
Vested Interests to Value for Money
Transform a pre-tertiary education sector expected to be worth $5.66tn globally by 2030, where educators are buffeted by political and commercial interests, to one that places the child at the heart of its philosophy and is intentionally designed to help progress towards world peace. The World Bank has reflected that “education is a key to jobs, growth, and lifelong learning” and the latest research from Angeline Lillard indicates that “three years of public Montessori preschool costs less per child than traditional programs”. Montessori is good for the economy, good for individual wellbeing, good for academic outcomes and offers value for money.
Starting the Journey
We can demonstrate that Montessori education is good value, meets employer needs, creates adult wellbeing…and that it offers hope of a priceless peace for all humanity. Colleagues have written powerfully about the power of inter-generational engagement, that social cohesion is not just for children and the ways schools can be hubs for entire communities. The message must be that Montessori counts and can bring something positive to every life and every individual in society right here, right now.
We must also be vigorous in reflecting that Montessori is about human tendencies that are timeless and span all continents. Whether it is the marginalized, oppressed and disadvantaged or the well-heeled and privileged Montessori addresses fundamental aspects of individual development and potential. New technology, innovative training and creative teaching are part of the paradigm shift as we build accessibility and understanding.
One further transformation that could make all the difference is not mentioned above. It relies upon individuals taking a step away from attitudes and actions that they believe serve them well but only diminish their humanity. In individual relationships, communities and a world riven by far too much mean spirit, isolationism and anger, the principles of grace and courtesy would be a step in the right direction.
We must lead by example.
Lynne Lawrence, AMI Executive Director
