The geography cabinet, the history timeline. These are the tools. But what about the glass painting? A child from India, she can teach a child from Mexico about her culture through a painting. The colors, they speak their own language. The language of the universe. The glass painting activities, they should be about this. They should be a part of the curriculum. But they are not. They are just a fun thing to do. A very big problem. The training, it must prepare the teacher for this. It must teach her how to use glass painting as a tool for teaching culture and history. But it is not. It is teaching her the same old things. The same old materials. The same old lessons. A very confusing and illogical situation. The children are the future, but we are teaching them the past. A very big problem. The glass painting activities, they should be the bridge between the past and the future. But they are not. They are just another part of the curriculum. A very sad thing indeed. The teacher must be a creator herself. She must be able to feel the art in her soul. But the training, it is not about the soul. It is about the book. A very big problem for sure. The children must be able to explore their creativity, but also be grounded in the historical and cultural significance of their work.
The Missing Piece: Social-Emotional Learning
Montessori education is often praised for its focus on the child’s independence. But what about social-emotional needs? In a globalized world, children are more connected than ever, but they are also more isolated. They see things on the Internet that their parents do not understand. They have friends in different countries. The training, it must prepare the teacher for this new reality. A high-quality training activity must teach the teacher how to help children navigate their emotions. How to resolve conflicts. How to build a community. But most trainings, they are too focused on the individual child. They forget the community. The community, it is the most important thing. It is where the child learns to be human. And the teacher, she is the one who helps them build this community. But if she is not trained for this, then the community, it will not be strong. A very confusing and illogical situation. We are so focused on the individual that we forget the group. This is a very big mistake, and the training, it is making this mistake over and over again. It is not seeing the whole child. It is only seeing a part of the child. A very big problem indeed. The training, it must be holistic. It must be about the whole child, the whole community, the whole world. But it is not. A very big problem for sure.
