Inclusive Montessori
"If help and salvation are to come they can only come from the children, for the children are the makers of men." - Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, Part I, (p. 4), 1949.
151 years ago today, a visionary was born. She inspired and changed the lives of so many families around the world, mine included. She began her journey working with the children of construction workers and children with learning difficulties. She spent many years in India, where she was greatly influenced by the way of life. She advocated for a peaceful and just world where every child had the right to be respected, loved, and access a quality education.
And yet all these years later, Montessori education is still inaccessible to the vast majority of children. As with many other issues of access, this is essentially a result of elite capture.
Okay, so what can we do about it? How can we make Montessori more inclusive and accessible? You can be sure that I have some thoughts!
1. Privilege: All of us who are able to think about our child’s education and our parenting styles, are tremendously privileged by virtue of our race, class, caste, gender, economic status. Most parents around the world do not enjoy this luxury. So understanding and accepting our privilege is a great first step.
2. Price: Montessori schools are usually private and expensive. Training, courses, and coaches are expensive. We can consider different economic models such as pay as you go, pay as per income, or free places to ensure that our spaces are more inclusive and representative.
3. Language: Sharing about Montessori in our local languages greatly increases accessibility and makes it relatable. Sruthi from The Unskilled Artist has a Telegu series which is a great example!
4. Online representation: Consider following and amplifying the voices of more diverse accounts- not only BIPOC but also people living in the global South. See what you can learn from them and their different realities. We can also try not to judge or shame those who are not teaching or following what we consider to be “authentic” Montessori. Nadia from Shajara Montessori has a great post on this.
5. Offline community: Think about our neighbours, friends, colleagues, the people who work in our homes, and communities around us especially low income ones. How can we share the Montessori joy with them without being preachy or elitist? I recently shared my workshop recording for free with a few people I knew were interested but could not pay to learn. When sharing, choose to focus on the principles instead of the materials as the principles can be freely practiced by all, irrespective of socio-economic status.
A beautiful, holistic, respectful, loving childhood should be a reality for every single child regardless of where they are born. Let’s make it happen together!
I would love to hear your thoughts below on any other ways that we can do this too.
