Martha Root Montessori School

On the last day of the session of 2023-24 children of Martha Root relished many activities including making footmats with old saris, weaving home decor, reusing discarded materials for arts and crafts, making sandwiches, ABC cookies and gujiyas! Then they celebrated Holi and Baha’i New Year with songs, dances and offered each other sweets that they had made together while learning how to use natural colors made of flowers and vegetables as gulal!

To develop their powers of expression and to demonstrate the application of science, some students of Martha Root presented what they had learnt in the last quarter at a monthly parents teachers meeting. The themes that the students chose to share with parents included the functioning of an earthquake detector, electroscope, heater and security sensor; symptoms of HIV/AIDS and Cancers and precautions to detect them early on; the processes of photosynthesis and water cycle; and quizzes on current affairs.

The eloquence and confidence with which our students presented complex topics, was a source of delight for all parents and teachers.

The annual function for the academic year 2022-23 was focused on Unity. All students of Martha Root Montessori School performed songs, dances, skits and shared quotations about virtues that create conducive conditions for unity. Parents, teachers and guests were overjoyed to witness the blossoming of the innate talents and capacities of children on stage. The message from the Baha’i Writings that echoed throughout the program was, “The well-being of mankind, its peace and security are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.”

After months of online classes, students at MRMS are eager to meet and study with their classmates and teachers in person from tomorrow!

Martha Louise Root
Aug. 10, 1872 – Sept. 28, 1939

Martha Root grew up in Pennsylvania in the United States. From a young age, Martha was different from other girls her age because she was mostly interested in books and by the age of 14 she earned enough money by writing to visit Niagara Falls. She was a distinguished student and graduated from the University of Chicago where she studied English Literature. After being a teacher and becoming a principal of a school she later pursued journalism and worked as an editor for a number of newspapers.

From a young age, Martha Root had an open enquiring mind and was eager to explore new ideas. In 1909 when she was introduced to the Baha'i Faith she studied it's teachings such as the essential oneness of all religions, the elimination of all kinds of prejudices and was inspired by the principle of the oneness of humanity and the vision of the ultimate establishment of world peace. In 1915, her newfound Faith inspired her to embark on a journey around the world visiting various countries like Guatemala, Mexico, Germany, China, Japan, Australia, Iran, Greece etc. During these visits, she met people of all backgrounds and stature while publishing articles in regional newspapers spreading the message of world peace and unity. In 1926 when Queen Marie of Romania met Martha Root she said, “I believe these teachings are the solution for the world’s problems today.”

Despite her small build, her lack of resources and poor health, Martha embarked on an unpaid ongoing 24-year odyssey that would take her around the world four times. In the following years, this remarkable woman — who often said that we live in moments, and not in years — travelled to and then revisited South America, Central America, the Far East, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, India, the Balkans, Scandinavia, India, China, Japan, Europe, and Hawaii.

She gave the message of world peace to kings, queens, princes, princesses, presidents of republics, ministers, statesmen, publicists, professors, newspapermen, clergymen, poets and a vast number of people in various walks of life. She attended religious congresses, peace societies, Esperanto associations, socialist congresses, Theosophical societies, and women’s clubs. Martha Root lectured at over 400 universities and colleges. She visited Varanasi twice, gave talks at universities and met prominent thinkers and philosophers such as Dr.Bhagwan Das. She placed Baha’i books in private and state libraries and supervised their translation in numerous languages. She wrote articles about well-known people she had contacted and events she had experienced. She wrote a book on the life of Tahirih and she visited all but 2 German universities as well as nearly 100 educational establishments in China.

During her last world-encircling journey from 1937 to 1939, Martha Root was in Shanghai when war broke out. Undaunted, she made her way to India and Australia where she taught millions of people through her lectures, literature and newspaper publicity. On her way homeward to San Francisco, gravely ill from severe pain in her neck and leg, inflamed muscles, difficulty in swallowing and nausea, she had to be assisted to disembark the ship in Honolulu. Three months and three weeks later, she passed away from cancer, which had been diagnosed 27 years before.

On her last globe-spanning trip, she continued her astonishing schedule in spite of worsening pain, ongoing headaches, difficulty breathing and eating, and a mild heart attack. Still, she went on. What prompted this courageous, indomitable woman to carry on in spite of enormous challenges, including physical pain and limited resources? Martha Root was firmly convinced that in her possession was the most priceless gem the world had ever seen. She believed that in showing this gem and offering it to anyone, king or peasant, she was conferring the greatest bounty upon him he could ever receive. It was this proud conviction that enabled her, a woman of no wealth or social prestige, simply dressed and neither a great scholar nor an outstanding intellectual, to meet more kings, queens, princes and princesses, presidents and men of distinction, fame and prominence and tell them that

“The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.”

Theater Workshops by acclaimed actor, writer, film maker and artist Umesh Bhatia inspired and built capacity of Martha Root's junior youth.

To be an artist one needs to be kind and understanding towards others and oneself. These series of workshops opened a big wide window to the beauty and power of theater as a medium for transforming ourselves and our community.

The fundamentals of acting and creative expression that the students explored were:
- To listen attentively and communicate clearly through words, expressions, body language and tone
- To recognized and act an interplay of 8 core emotions that make us all human.
- Impromptu creative imagination and expression through collaborative effort.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/oct/24/want-to-train-your-brain-forget-apps-learn-a-musical-instrument

Want to 'train your brain'? Forget apps, learn a musical instrument Musical training can have a dramatic impact on your brain’s structure, enhancing your memory, spatial reasoning and language skills

A few points that were discussed:
*Summers are the best time to visit hill station/ Grandparent's place.
*Explore your own city or nearby places with kids too.
*Let your child be active physically/mentally as per his/her own choice. We can give them better choices but should not force them.
*Help them learn life- skills and day to day chores during this period.
*Plan meaningful yet fun-filled family activities and enjoy altogether.
*Help them organise a meaningful summer camp for underprivileged kids at home and flourish the emotions through kind gestures.
*Create a library for kids and assist them to explore the world through stories
*Give them opportunity to pen down their ideas about different global issues.
* Get involved with their holiday homework and let them enjoy it on a daily basis. It should never be a burden or a task to be completed anyhow at the very end.

A happy and a memorable summer break will surely bring with it immense energy and lifetime imprints on our little kid's heart, brain and soul.