It's impossible to conceive of different ways to think about education without first identifying and momentarily suspending our most basic (and usually unexamined) assumptions. The illustration below is an attempt to assess our current, commonly held core beliefs about education. I intend to write follow-up posts about the Ten Horsemen … and the language, policies, … Continue reading Ten Horsemen of the Educational Apocalypse
Return to Scientific Pedagogy (or: why I’m a feral Montessorian)
To my way of seeing it, "Montessori" has ceased to be a meaningful descriptor. Through the systematic formulation and implementation of a discipline she called Scientific Pedagogy, Maria Montessori developed and documented a successful, well-defined, and thoroughly integrated classroom practice for assisting the healthy and natural education of pre-school and elementary age children. Montessori's American … Continue reading Return to Scientific Pedagogy (or: why I’m a feral Montessorian)
Scientific Pedagogy, Part III: formulating a new discipline
This illustration is simply an attempt to clarify and – believe it or not (see previous post) – simplify (for my own understanding), the streams of thought that appear to have influenced Dr. Maria Montessori in her work of formulating a Scientific Pedagogy. The components described here are not drawn from any explicit references, in … Continue reading Scientific Pedagogy, Part III: formulating a new discipline
Scientific Pedagogy, Part II: the intellectual ingredients
Maria Montessori synthesized the principles and practices of four sciences and put them to work in a large room full of small children to develop a framework for the discipline she came to call Scientific Pedagogy. Not long after the opening of her first classroom, a rising tide of enthusiasm for replicating the miracles that … Continue reading Scientific Pedagogy, Part II: the intellectual ingredients
Scientific Pedagogy, Part I: a summary in 100 words
It's hard to talk about Scientific Pedagogy succinctly. This week, I put before myself the challenge of encapsulating my understanding of this discipline using only 100 words (… and a quote, whose words I don't feel obligated to count). In the two or so posts that will follow this one, I'll flesh out my summary … Continue reading Scientific Pedagogy, Part I: a summary in 100 words
