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Empowering Our Children It was a Thursday afternoon around 4:30 when I went into my favorite café, Buckthorn’s, for my second cup of coffee for the day. The café was somewhat empty, only a few people scattered among the tables. As I was standing in line to order, my attention drifted to a young girl, approximately five years of age. She was alone, in deep conversation with the young man behind the counter. I glanced around and saw a woman sitting at the back of the café watching this child from afar.
“Could you please put this ice cream in a to-go container so that I can take it home?” “I can’t eat anymore”, said the girl. She handed him her dish and then waited patiently while the man behind the counter tried to find a container. Finally, he was able to geri-rig a suitable container, making a tent of aluminum foil over the paper cup, because he could not find a lid that would not smash the ice cream.
The young girl looked pleased when he handed her ice cream back to her. “Thank you”, she said. “It was nice of you to help me”.
I approached the woman with the child as they were getting ready to leave. I told her how impressed I was at how this young child had handled herself. The woman explained that she was her grandmother. She said that she and her daughter had agreed, early on, that they would try to set up experiences for this child to learn how to advocate for herself and build confidence around social interactions.
The grandmother went on to say that she is a Psychologist who has worked in the prison system for the past twenty years. She gradually realized that all prisoners have one thing in common: they all felt powerless over their lives from childhood on.
Realizing how important self-confidence is and realizing that to be autonomous in adulthood children need to experience moments of feeling empowered, these two women have set about looking for “teaching moments”. They look for opportunities for this young child opportunities to practice social graces; they are always on the lookout for possibilities for this child to assert herself and make her needs known to others.
“This child belongs in Montessori!” I told the grandmother. She laughed and said that they did not live in the area.
I was amazed that this child demonstrated such confidence at such a young age. Maria Montessori felt so strongly about the social graces that she incorporated them into her “curriculum” as a separate subject. Maria Montessori taught her teachers how to teach children to shake hands when meeting a new person, how to invite guests inside their classroom and offer them a cup of tea, how to not interrupt when others are speaking, etc.
As parents, it is our obligation to teach our children how to be polite and how to navigate through our society. They do not come out of the womb knowing this information. In our Montessori classrooms, we give grace and courtesy lessons as lessons. We invite several children and demonstrate how to shake someone’s hand when meeting them for the first time. Then we invite the children to practice. Children love to act out situations!
You can do this at home by play-acting appropriate behavior in a grocery store or in a restaurant. Teach them what expectations you have for them. Give them opportunities to practice independence in social settings – encourage them to speak up for themselves politely and watch from afar.
Independence and self-confidence go a long way toward creating adults who are mentally healthy, happy and productive members of our society.
Posted Friday, May 26, 2006
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Montessori Isn't Easy Let me rephrase that... Montessori isn't easy to do well.
For those who don't know, Maria Montessori failed to trademark her name before she died. As a result, any school can use the name "Montessori" without adhering to the standards that Dr. Montessori created for her method.
It is a heck of a lot easier to implement a hybrid version of the Montessori method. Many "Montessori" schools rely on textbooks and worksheets; they choose not to group children in multi-age classrooms; they don't use all the materials that Dr. Montessori designed.
Yes, this is the easy way out. Instead of following the child, as Dr. Montessori advised, they rely on the crutches of traditional education
We choose to do it the hard way. We only hire Montessori teachers with the highest level of training. We adhere to the standards that Dr. Montessori created. It may be more work, but we wouldn't have it any other way... and we believe that the results - engaged students, peaceful classrooms and a supportive school community - are worth the extra effort.
Posted Thursday, March 23, 2006
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This woman does not work at our school 
We cleaned the classrooms today.
When I say "we", I am refering to the children. Twice a month, for 1 hour in the afternnoon, the children take the time to beautify and clean their environment. Today, they dusted the shelves, cleaned the animal cages, washed the windows and windowsills and washed the tables. By the time they were finished, the children were very proud. The classroom looked fantastic.
Don't get me wrong: we have a janitorial service that comes every night to clean our school. In a Montessori classroom, the goal of children caring for the classroom environment is the process, not the end product. They feel a sense of accomplishment , indpendence and joy. They are proud of their classroom and love coming to school.
I can't tell you how many young adults that I have met who, when left alone, have no idea how to care for themselves. Our goal at Bergamo is to start early, so that by the time they leave us, they will be healthy, happy and idependent young adults.
Posted Friday, February 10, 2006
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What's in a Name? The Meaning of "Bergamo"
“Help Wanted: 1st/2nd grade teacher for local charter Montessori school. Montessori training preferred, but not required.” I recently found this ad, for a local, well-known Montessori elementary charter school, in the newspaper. The ad is indicative of the challenges that Montessori schools, such as ours, are currently facing. Many people think that Montessori is a type of franchise, where, like McDonald’s, all school are exactly the same. They are not. Montessori is a method of education and the use of the name does not ensure the quality of a school. For 30 years, our parents have referred to us as “the Montessori school in Sacramento” or “the Montessori school in Woodland”. Because we are so committed to the highest quality of Montessori, the name and the method were one. Yet, times have changed. The Achilles heel of the movement is that Dr. Maria Montessori failed to trademark her name before she died. Thus, the name “Montessori” is in the public domain and any organization can use it for any reason. Unfortunately, the vast majority of schools that use it are not true to the method. The above referenced ad is case in point. They prefer that their teachers have Montessori training, but do not require it. Moreover, there is more to an authentic Montessori school than just teacher training. High quality Montessori schools must have a top-down blueprint for the continuing education of all students. They must be led by an experienced school head with an in depth knowledge of Montessori. They must be accountable to parents and to students for academic progression. I am proud to say that we have been doing all of this for over 30 years. It is incredibly frustrating to us when we are lumped together with other “Montessori” schools simply because we share the same name. As such, we decided to embark on a risky venture: a name change to identify our school by its brand, not by its method. The name Bergamo has a special meaning for people who are educated about Montessori. Bergamo is the name of the town in Italy where one of the best Montessori training centers in the world is located. By building our brand around the name Bergamo, we are immediately identifiable to “those in the know” as a Montessori school, yet we retain our own identity as a private school. We are still, and will continue to be, a Montessori school, in the truest sense of the method. However, we would like to be known and identified for our own merits, rather than the method teaching that we employ. The Montessori Method is an exacting science. There is no room for interpretation or experimentation. Teachers must have in-depth training and intern with a master teacher before he or she is ready to guide a class alone. Anyone who tells you otherwise is not an educated Montessorian. I am proud to say that we have a 30 year track record of academic excellence. All of our teachers are Montessori trained and 75% of our elementary teachers have a Master’s Degree. We are led by a recognized expert in Montessori education. All of these factors make an incredible difference in the quality of your child’s education. As a private school, we don’t have to play bureaucratic games with public money. We don’t answer answer to the California Teacher’s Association, the State Legislature, the charter school administration or any school district. We answer to you. We are completely supported by the tuition of families, like yours, who understand the difference. You realize that an investment in the highest quality of education will pay dividends for your child in the future. Your job is to inform a friend, a co-worker and a neighbor about this difference, so that quality schools like ours can continue to thrive in the future.
So, what is in a name? History. Quality. Consistency. That is the meaning of “Bergamo”
Posted Tuesday, September 13, 2005
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The Best Endorsement Today is the last day of school for the 2005-2006 school year. The children held a closing ceremony in class to commemorate and reflect on the past 9 months. It was surprisingly emotional. The students have grown together over the past year to create a wonderful, tight-knit classroom community. They genuinely care for one another's well being. The children expressed great sadness, and even anger, that the school year was over and summer vacation was about to begin. Usually, it is the other around as children can't wait for the school year to end.
I know this all sounds incredibly corny, but it is completely true. In an era when test scores are the end-all-be-all of educational success, I take pride in our creation of school that students actually enjoy attending. Our high test scores and academic excellence are merely a byproduct of a truly wonderful, child-centered environment.
Posted Friday, June 10, 2005
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