I won’t pretend to know what 21st-century education really means. Predicting how to best prepare our students for citizenship and leadership in a quickly changing world is not an exact science.
The task of educational leaders today is to sculpt teaching and learning to best meet demands about which we can only hypothesize. We know at best that our students must be skilled in working both independently and collaboratively. ln order to innovate and move us firmly into the future, they must be able to think critically, be comfortable with constructing knowledge as opposed to relying on proscribed ideas, and they need to be creative and flexible problem solvers who care about making life better for themselves and others.
Montessori schools are ahead of the curve. While other schools are adding components to their programs to meet the demands of being academically excellent and building upon these 21st-century skills, these are inherent parts of what Montessorians already do. Because independent thinking and learning, creativity, collaboration, grace and courtesy, and practical life skill building are all major outcomes of a Montessori education, 21st-century learning is not a far away trend that we need to build into our program.
The Montessori philosophy is transcending founder Maria Montessori’s time and is our grounding for much of where we’re headed next.
Montessori was a cutting-edge educator in her time. She framed her life’s work around observing child development and creating an educational philosophy grounded in the very specific and scientific stages of growth from infancy through adolescence. She did what no others had done before her, and that is to study the child at each stage and come to understand the best way to tap into that child’s natural curiosity in order to build not only skills and knowledge, but also a love of learning that would become a necessary skill for life. Montessori discovered that given the right tools, materials, time, space and guidance, children are capable of extraordinary thought and problem solving. She proved that such an educational grounding would prepare the child for a life of learning and great possibility.
Montessori inspired a school of educational thought, and she brought a unique tradition of child-centeredness to education that continues to guide the practices of educators in progressive schools all over the world. Her work is timeless and echoes of her philosophy haunt the chambers of educational movements through the ages, including our recent forays into 21st-century education.
Montessori tenets connect with today’s rhetoric about skills necessary to prepare our students for life in this century and beyond. Maria Montessori’s ideas from more than 100 years ago still resonate in today’s conversations about teaching and learning.
Martha Haakmat is the new head of school at Brooklyn Heights Montessori School. You can reach her at mhaakmat@bhmsny.org.
