MONTESSORI TALKS IN PERU, November 2016

In the 1970’s I was a teacher at Colegio San Silvestre in Lima, Peru. In August, 2016 I was thrilled to be able to return. Finally I was able to visit Cusco, visit a beautiful Montessori school and talk to teachers there, visit Machu Picchu, and give a Montessori presentation to about 30 or 40 people in a lovely hotel in Lima.

Three months later I was invited back to give presentations on AMI Montessori at three universities, with Susana Chavez, AMI teacher from Lima as my translator. On the first day we spoke at Universidad Femenina Sagrado Corazon for 250 people with a wonderful response. In the afternoon the talk was given at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia. 80 invitations had been sent out and 1000+ people showed up! As in much of the world, professors, teachers, and university students want to know the difference between “authentic” Montessori and the kinds of Montessori practices that are not aligned with Dr. Montessori’s plans, or her books.

They stood in line around the block in the hot sun for two hours before the talk—we needed two additional rooms and video conferencing to accommodate the overflow—and since there was not room for the 150 people still waiting outside, I repeated the talk (how could I say “No”). Also some of the attendees from the first talk who asked if they could stay and hear the presentation a second time. I think Peru is ready for AMI Montessori! My final talk was given the next day at the famous Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, founded in 1551. Continue reading →