Montessorium

05/29/2022

After World War II, Montessori's educational philosophy began to find its footing in the United States: starting in 1965, there were rarely fewer than 500 mentions of Montessori in the national press annually, and the totals spiked several times before mostly leveling off for the rest of the century around 1980.

In 1980s Massachusetts, however, things were just getting started...

Montessorium represents the philosophy of Higher Ground Education.

05/27/2022

Did you know that Montessorium publishes a weekly podcast? Check out Philosophy of Education on Apple Podcasts, and don't forget to subscribe!

‎Education · 2022

05/26/2022

Social media is a cesspool of anxious status games and polarizing misinformation. Perforce, we need to restrict its usage amongst teenagers and other developing humans. Or so goes a common and, we think, mistaken argument.

Social media is a cesspool of anxious status games and polarizing misinformation. Perforce, we need to restrict its usage amongst teenagers and other developing humans. Or so goes a common and in my view mistaken argument.

05/26/2022

LIVE NOW: Montessorium's Matt Bateman on Clubhouse with the co-founders of A.school, talking about microschools and the future of education technology.

Join the conversation!

Wednesday, May 25 at 9:30pm EDT with Matt Bateman, Josh Umbehr, Kirk Umbehr, Dagny Layman. A conversation with Kirk and Josh Umbehr of a.school, a microschool management platform. We’ll talk about a.school—and also why structural innovation is on the critical path for education reform.

02/19/2022

We're on Substack! Check out our free weekly publication, Points of Interest at https://montessorium.substack.com/.

Weekly curated content and commentary from Matt Bateman of Montessorium. Click to read Points of Interest, a Substack publication with hundreds of readers.

02/18/2022

Curious about the history of Montessori education in the United States?

Kerry Ellard has been exploring that complex history for a few months. The interface between Montessori pedagogy and progressive education is particularly interesting.

Here are some articles to get you started:

1. The initial popularity of Maria Montessori’s educational philosophy in the US resonated with the Emersonian philosophy of education and intersected, albeit only for a few years, with the societal views of the Progressive elites of the day.

https://montessorium.com/blog/montessori-initial-reception-america

2. When Maria Montessori's works first arrived in the US, interpretations varied significantly, and evaluations ranged from adulation to skepticism. Here we look at a representative sample of American newspaper commentary.

https://montessorium.com/blog/early-american-newspaper-commentary-on-montessori

3. Newspaper mentions of Montessori leveled off after WWII, then rose briefly for the rest of the century before mostly leveling off around 1980. In 1980s Massachusetts, however, things were just getting started...

https://montessorium.com/blog/the-american-montessori-revival-part-i-20th-century-massachusetts

More on https://montessorium.com/initiatives/history-of-education

Few fields have a less adequate understanding of their own histories than does education. This itself is a cause of inertia and inadequacy in education, both in the status quo but also amongst innovators. There is no understanding why or wherefore without understanding whence. This project is dedica...

02/03/2022

David Doswell, Arnaud Schenk, and Matt Bateman discuss the potentials and pitfalls for educators thinking about the blockchain-enabled internet.

Join the conversation on Clubhouse:

Thursday, February 3 at 1:00pm EST with Matt Bateman, David Doswell, Arnaud Schenk, Dagny Layman. Join David Doswell and Arnaud Schenk for a discussion of the potentials and pitfalls for educators thinking about the blockchain-enabled internet.

02/03/2022

Join David Doswell, Arnaud Schenk, and Matt Bateman for a discussion of the potentials and pitfalls for educators thinking about the blockchain-enabled internet.

Live on Clubhouse tomorrow at 1 PM ET!

Thursday, February 3 at 1:00pm EST with Matt Bateman, David Doswell, Arnaud Schenk, Dagny Layman. Join David Doswell and Arnaud Schenk for a discussion of the potentials and pitfalls for educators thinking about the blockchain-enabled internet.

01/31/2022

The second cohort of The History of Education begins this week! It's not too late to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-history-of-education-tickets-209435456087

This course surveys three millennia of educational thought, focusing on the big picture aims and curricular-pedagogical frameworks in Western education. We’ll start with the emergence of curricular education in antiquity, follow the development of classicism through the 19th century, and then examine burgeoning progressive movements. Montessori will be considered as a third historical alternative to these two schools.

Presented by Dr. Matt Bateman, Theory Instructor at The Prepared Montessorian Institute, in partnership with Montessorium, a Montessorian school of educational thought, one grounded in philosophy, history, and the humanities.

See how the current status quo emerged from conflicting ideas & understand Montessori’s role on the timeline of education.

01/29/2022

You've probably heard of Louisa May Alcott. But, did you know that her father, Amos Bronson Alcott, was a major figure in the 18th-19th century American intellectual and education reform scene?

Learn about his impact here: https://bit.ly/3r6QTBt

01/28/2022

A quintessential American autodidact and devoted follower of the "Yankee" educational model, Frederick Douglass had strong convictions about the unique value of formal education.

Full article here: https://bit.ly/32Efkwy

01/13/2022

LIVE NOW: Matt Bateman and Joe Connor, the founder of Agora and SchoolHouse, discuss the new frontiers in education.

Wednesday, January 12 at 9:00pm EST with Matt Bateman, Dagny Layman, Joseph Connor, Ray Girn. Education has experienced two decades worth of change in the last two years. Joseph Connor joins us to help bring order to the chaos, to glimpse the present clearly enough to see the future.