The reach and velocity of hope and promise offered by Montessori Phoenix Projects is determined by available funds. 

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The following quote hints at the mechanism that makes it possible to offer Montessori teacher education courses to individuals of any educational background and any age.

 

"To become acquainted with the material, a teacher should not just look at it, study it in a book, or learn its use through the explanations of another. Rather, she must exercise herself with it for a long time, trying in this way to evaluate through her own experience the difficulties of, or the interests inherent in, each piece of material that can be given to a child, trying to interpret, although imperfectly, the impressions which a child himself can get from it. Moreover, if a teacher has enough patience to repeat an exercise as often as a child, she can measure in herself the energy and endurance possessed by a child of a determined age. For this final purpose, the teacher can grade the materials and thus judge the capacity of a child for a certain kind of activity at a given stage of his development."

 

Maria Montessori

Discovery of the Child

 

“When will we teach our children in school what they are? We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the world there is no other child exactly like you. In the millions of years that have passed there has never been another child like you. And look at your body – what a wonder it is! Your legs, your arms, your cunning fingers, the way you move! You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity of anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you harm another who is, like you, a marvel?” 

Pablo Casals

 

“You have very truly remarked that if we are to reach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with children, and if they will grow up in their natural innocence, we won’t have to struggle, we won’t have to pass fruitless idle resolutions, but we shall go from love to love and peace to peace, until at last all the corners of the world are covered with that peace and love for which, consciously or unconsciously, the whole world is hungering.”

Excerpt from a letter Mahatma Gandhi wrote to Maria Montessori

 

 

 

Montessori Phoenix Projects

sustainable teacher education & large-scale implementation

We live in a world where over 250 million school-aged children have no formal educational opportunities; where children learn from family and neighbors, often from other children... 

 

MPP is dedicated to bringing to those environments programs that build on the dedication, concern, and knowledge to dramatically increase holistic development and contribute to promising futures; at the same time, ensuring each a happy, healthy, and nurturing childhood. 

 

CHILDREN AND TEACHER PREPARATION

 

The sisters in the above photo live on a ranch in Central America.  Xochil, 9 yrs., the eldest (center), cannot attend school because her chores are necessary to her family's ability to be self-sufficient.  Xochil is responsible for teaching her sisters how to care for themselves and the farm animals.  As she was herding the milk cows into a corral where she and her sisters pumped water into the cow's trough, Xochil explained that although school lasts only three hours one day a week in the village, because of her chores, she is not able to attend.

 

MPP's commitment is that children like Xochil would be able to participate in the teacher development courses by way of neighboring participants visiting the farms and villages scattered throughout rural areas to share what they have learned with children like Xochil and their families.   This would help participants gain valuable experience by repeating and demonstrating course material, as well as, let the children and their families receive immediate and ongoing benefit during the long teacher education process.  This would also give children the option to make teaching a career.

 

Being committed to ensuring each child enjoys a complete quality primary education by 2015, Montessori Phoenix Projects invites children who currently have no other educational opportunity to join in teacher preparation courses.  Since becoming a quality Montessori teacher involves years of study and practice, children (like the adults) are able to move through the program at their own pace and have a double benefit of receiving quality education while at the same time securing for themselves, if they choose, a career in teaching.  Perhaps, best of al, even the content of MPP's Primary Teacher Education Course (Montessori for 3-6-year-olds) is academically enriching for all age groups, especially materials comprising Cultural Subjects, Language, and Mathematics.

 

One MPP adolescent participant, Nehan, began with MPP in 2000 when he was 15 years old.  When he was an infant, his mother, a single mom, attended two Montessori workshops led by Marjorie Farmer.  So inspired with ideas Nehan's mother opened her own school and hired local women, teaching them what she had learned from Marjorie.  Nehan's mother now inspires teachers all over the country. 

 

When his mother travels, Nehan runs their school of nine teachers where he also co-teaches and cares for his younger brother.  Nehan has no access to secondary school for himself, but his career as a school administrator has already begun.  The children attending Nehan's school learn how to harness the wind to draw water to nurture the organic garden and fill the above-ground fish pond; they stage plays dramatizing historical events; and in addition to all that they develop useful artistic, cooking, and musical skills.  Much of the curricula was designed by Nehan.  MPP provides Nehan a rare opportunity to increase his understanding of the human potential, which naturally enhances his creativity in designing instructional activities.

 

We must include the reality of Xochil's and Nehan's world.  While a smaller percentage of children are in Nehan's situation, millions of children live in similar situations to Xochil.  It is here where MPP is motivated to suggest that it is necessary to include the reality of childrens' lives when designing the next decade of educational reforms.  We must provide these children an opportunity to learn how to use available resources, to learn how to learn, and to learn how to nurture the learning process in themselves as well as in others.   

 

ABOUT MONTESSORI PHOENIX PROJECTS 

 

Montessori Phoenix Projects specializes in design and implementation of sustainable, grassroots, culturally-appropriate, language-specific, large-scale (country-wide, country-cluster, and continent-wide) teacher/parent education courses.  All programs invite participation of individuals, adolescent through adult, from any educational, social, cultural, economic, political, racial, religious, or linguistic background. 

 

WHY MONTESSORI?

 

The following are a few of the reasons that Montessori is right for quick access to quality education in a multi-cultural, multi-linguistic, global community. 

 

* Montessori learning environments reflect surrounding cultures and languages.

 

* Montessori children tend to develop self-discipline, self-motivation, self-learning, and refined social skills.

 

* Montessori teachers are able to invent and construct relevant educational didactics in meaningful and complete sequences from local resources.

 

* Fully developed Montessori programs send children under six well on their way to literacy, numeracy, independence in learning, and familiarity with basic academic information related to geography, history, world cultures, communication, fair trade, and practical living skills.  Thus, children unable to attend elementary school, will have a basic education.

 

MONTESSORI PHOENIX PROJECTS AND THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

 

Montessori Phoenix Projects supports the Millennium Development Goals by way of providing teacher education preparation and teacher education.  These are accomplished through the following two objectives:

 

The first, development of the teacher's attitude and development of learner-centered teaching techniques.  The development of teacher's attitude aims to ensure each child has a teacher committed to his or her success in life, as well as, in school.  The learner-centered teaching technique includes strategies and processes for analyzing and optimizing educational objectives.  This is accomplished in The Optimal Learning Environments courses (including the Nature of Nurture, the Nature of Learning, and the Nature of Education) that are relatively short (between 48 and 144 hours) and highly effective. 

 

Curriculum content is derived from educational goals already established, thereby inserting minimal interference with Ministry educational aims.  Optimal Learning Environments empowers already established teachers to overcome the problems brought on by burgeoning class sizes and lack of textbooks and other educational equipment.  At the same time, the OLE program prepares new teachers to be effective teachers.  OLE is ideal for today's situation where so many thousands of new teachers are required and authorities are yet unclear of what to do.  This course is ready to go, is sustainable, and is versatile.  OLE should be offered to anyone who works with children, families, cultural survival, and education including those in the medical field, NGO field workers, orphanage administrators, teachers of all levels (early childhood through university), parents, adolescents, orphans, indigenous, and individuals desiring to become teachers.   Optimal Learning Environment courses can be delivered over television or radio, in small groups or large. 

 

The second objective relies on funding and interest, either concurrent to or after completion of the OLE program, for the birth-through-twelve-year-old Montessori teacher education courses.  Embarking on the full-scale Montessori teacher education program requires the establishment of community economic development schemes, wherein communities undertake to produce classroom didactics.  MPP has a special community economic development strategy which relies on NGO involvement and takes into consideration a wide spectrum of community skills including sewing, carpentry, pottery, glass-blowing, weaving, painting, gardening, construction, etc. 

 

While the Montessori teacher education courses require several years to complete, MPP ensures immediate and ongoing educational benefit via the OLE preparation program.  Additionally, MPP courses are spread through the grassroots, participants sharing what they learn with others.  MPP provides consultation to government authorities to assist in establishing educational and licensing objectives for the early childhood age group (birth through six years) and also offers OLE program course leader education to teacher education colleges.