Hawaii Montessori & the Chicago Cubs|
For five days at the beginning of this month I consulted in a lovely Montessori school in Hawaii that began 40 years ago in a little Quonset hut with many of the problems of the tropics that I will not go into (like rats). Today it is one of the loveliest campuses I have ever seen and serves 171 children from Infant Community through middle school.
Middle School
Since I must resist the impulse to interact with, to bond with (and then leave), the younger children when consulting, it was a pleasure to get to spend some time with the 12-15-year-olds, sharing what I have learned about this age in many countries, and to witness their excitement as they plan their trip to our nation’s capital, their volunteer work, their plans for the garden, and so much more.
Peace Garden
One of the most beautiful areas of the school is high on a hill in the middle of the campus where a peace garden has been created; this is a place to think and be at peace, with log benches as they gather in groups to share their dreams, plan their work, and discuss creating a peaceful world. Look carefully and you can see the basketball court and the Pacific Ocean in the distance. I could walk on the beach in the early morning, searching for sea turtles.
The Chicago Cubs!
When I was a cheerleader in high school I always immediately felt sorry for the loser at the end of any game, which rather dimmed the excitement of winning. So I have not since been a follower of sports. However, one of the teachers in this school who is from Chicago is an avid admirer of the Chicago Cubs and her excitement spilled over into her class with joy and excitement as they stayed in the world series so I got caught up in the flow.
During a class meeting, run by three students in the elementary class of this teacher, there was a mention of controlling excitement over the cubs with the cheer of “go cubs go”. I raised my hand and asked if someone could explain what “go cubs go” was and this little video clip shows what they did in response to my question.
Watching TV to follow the Cubs last game
This is what I learned about baseball: there are 9 innings in a baseball game. “Top of the inning” means the beginning of the inning. “Bottom of the inning” means the end of the inning is coming. Each team gets to play (that means trying to hit the ball with a bat and then run around) in each inning. If there is a tie at the end of the 9 innings there is no “overtime” (I had heard that somewhere as a cheerleader) but there can be extra innings.
I learned all this because I watched the end of the last game of the World Series game, between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians, out at the hotel pool bar so people could explain to me what was happening.
When the game was tied and almost over I couldn’t stand it anymore so I went back to my hotel room to lie in the bathtub and recover. Then I decided to turn on my iPhone and see who had won and THE GAME WAS STILL GOING ON. I turned on the TV and watched the Cubs win! But now I have had enough sports for the rest of my life.
The Montessori Work
Every night after a day of observing at the school I drove back to the hotel over the lovely countryside of the island and spent many quiet hours in my room going over the day’s notes, of course sometimes with a break to enjoy the sunset and to look for the giant turtles cavorting near the rocks on the beach.
I saw one large carapace (the back of the turtle) and one flipper and have several pictures of “where the turtle just was” just like my pictures from home of “where the humpback whale just was” which means lots of pictures of water.
By the end of the week I had a plan of what to share with the 12 teachers.
There is so much work in meeting the needs of children in Montessori classes at every age and we are all striving for the best. But sometimes we forget the importance of being exact in our teaching. Two of these areas that I often find in even the best 3-6 classes are “the correct use of the metal insets and the sensorial materials. The metal inset picture above is correct, but the children in the second picture are using the color tablets and knobless cylinders incorrectly and so will not benefit from these wonderful materials.
I almost always speak about the importance of the uninterrupted (by group snack, scheduled group lessons, etc.) 3-hour work period. If you want to know more about this extremely important part of Montessori see the book “The Advanced Montessori Method, Vol 1″, the chapter, ‘My Contribution to Experimental Science.’
Once more I could share one of my favorite quotes by Dr. Montessori:
When the children had completed an absorbing bit of work, they appeared rested and deeply pleased. It almost seemed as if a road had opened up within their souls that led to all of their latent powers, revealing the better part of themselves. They exhibited a great affability to everyone, put themselves out to help others and seemed full of good will.
The Center and the Periphery
During my Montessori teacher training there was one concept that made the essence of Montessori work especially clear to me and the memory of this suddenly popped into my head as I sought a focus that would reach all of the teachers. I didn’t have a picture of the illustration above on my computer so I reached out by email to friends around the world and received it from my good friend Seiko Ohara in Japan. This is the illustration (adapted above) of the “Center and the Periphery.” It guides us in just how far we have the right to affect the child.
In our work we only invite, offer, or inspire particular lessons or work, affecting the child at the periphery of his being. The most important work comes from deep inside the child where the wisdom abides.
This is rather like trusting a plant. In building compost (as they are doing at this school) one tries to provide all of the nutrients a plant needs to thrive. Warmth, light, water, and these nutrients are all provided, but it is the wisdom of the plant that accepts. The plant might grow toward the sun (phototropism) or a flower might close up when the sun goes down or when the temperature grows to cool. Exactly the correct amount of water will be taken in (unless we drastically overwater and overwhelm), and the exact amount of each nutrient in the soil will be taken in. This is the plant’s wisdom, its “center.” Cannot we do the same for the child?
This was a concept that applied to all of the classes at the school, from age 1 to 15 and we kept going back to it during the workshop to guide our discussions.
And for Us, the Adults
Perhaps it would be wise for all of us to become more aware of our own centers and how the influences at the periphery of our lives affect us. To realize that so much of what guides us during each day, each moment, might just be unnecessary distraction from what is really important.
This work was based on two of my books.
The Universal Child, Guided by Nature
CLICK: Universal Child
And what would become the book, Montessori and Mindfulness
CLICK: Montessori and Mindfulness
I hear babies cry and I watch them grow,
They’ll learn much more than we’ll know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world world
These are the words from a beautiful song heard all over the islands “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
Hear a bit of his music . . .
Click here: Israel Kamakawiwoʻole
Aloha Hawaii,
Susan