Years ago, we came across an article written by a parent at a Houston Montessori school. In the article, the parent describes Montessori as Libertarian with a capital L. If we are being honest, we would tend to say the article “rationalizes” more than describes. There is definitely indirect instruction on and reinforcement of the John Stuart Mill view of liberty which says your liberty to swing your fist ends just where my nose begins. This aligns well with the writings and thoughts of Thomas Jefferson on the same subject. We mean his broad view, not revolutionary quotes from Jefferson that are frequently taken out of context. The sentence “It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg” from Notes on the State of Virginia is a prime example of what we are at liberty to do.
Mill would further qualify these high-level ideas to include failing to act to either protect or save another exceeds your right to liberty – something that anyone working with children should agree with. So while we believe Montessori as an education philosophy is above rationalized political descriptions, we do think that had he been alive, Mill (and perhaps even Jefferson) would have joined Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison in welcoming Maria Montessori to America. This same article recently resurfaced, and it has gotten us thinking about a couple of blogs we published in December of 2020 on freedom and on being a Montessori adult. Specifically, it has us considering what a Montessori adult looks like in a community and societal context. They are, to paraphrase, hopeful, discontent, and aware that while changes aren’t permanent, change is.
Describing the Montessori adult
The Montessori adult is an individualist. Never are they one to do whatever they please regardless of others (see comments on Mill and Jefferson). Instead, this person stands out as unique by the stark contrast with how they choose to live and act compared to others around them. They possess wisdom and control far beyond their years and combine it with value driven actions that neither preach nor recruit, but rather surface as virtues in action. They are able to lead by example as a result of these actions and virtues. They fear “leaders” who fail to exhibit any recognizable and consistent values, but they fight both cynicism and fatalism.
The Montessori adult is considerate of all things. When we say this, we literally mean that they consider things deeply prior to adopting an action or a view that matters. Where time is of the essence and consideration cannot be given, they use a strong set of values that have been practiced since birth to react in a fashion that is admirable. When you build actual values into your core they will emerge organically just as if you have spent a lifetime exercising vices they will appear at the most inopportune times. Because this person cultivates virtue and not vice, they can rely on themself and trust that their consideration will bring themself and others they affect to the right end.
The Montessori adult gives freely of their time. When a neighbor, friend, sibling or parent needs help, they are the first to lend a hand. They sacrifice their time and energy in the interest of caring and concern for others. They see themselves as responsible for contributing positive actions to their family, friends, community, and country in order to make all of those complex relationships better – even if just a little bit. Collaborating with others to solve problems and make everyone’s life better helps to ensure that they themselves will always have a safety net if some bad fate should befall them.
Because they understand that taking care of themselves is what enables them to help their neighbors, friends, and family, the Montessori adult eschews things that harm them. Beyond no smoking or drinking alcohol, they eschew social media and invisible influence, and they favor real human contact over digital communication. Their phone is off when they drive, and their ears are open when others speak. They have the courage of their convictions in the face of those that don’t understand why they don’t go with a herd. They are equally courageous in their ability to change their mind when they learn something new.
If you want to see the Montessori adult become upset (which is a rarity), expose them to real injustice. Not the childlike “injustices” many perceive to exist in the world, but real injustice where people are assumed guilty without a trial, stereotyped by a happenstance of birth, or beaten down by the herd. They demand open processes of discovery that can be questioned to ensure fairness and will come down on the side of what those processes reveal – even changing their view on important things when required. They are an expert on some things, but as they can’t be an expert on everything, they seek to truly understand the methods by which knowledge is gained and how it is changed over time.
The Montessori adult is frugal with important things, choosing to conserve rather than waste. This is borne from the knowledge that all humans have the same basic needs and ensuring that valuable resources – be they natural, man-made, or even the product of human ideas – are valuable because they are limited and in demand. Things that benefit all need to be respected by all, even if it means personal sacrifice. Worthy values are worthless if they are not exercised, and this is a case where that truth is evident.
When around children, regardless of the child, they are kind and compassionate in a way that draws children to them. They promote peace by their actions and instruct children to seek harmony with others. This is driven by an appreciation for their own individuality which requires that they respect others and allow them to be who they are. They are honest and fair with children when something has gone wrong. This is a reflection of their personal honor.
Behind what is visible on the surface, this person is as imperfect as each of us. Rather than build a wall of nonsense that allows them to rationalize their own greatness they derive joy from the process of identifying and working through their imperfections and growing as a human being. This humility may show up as a self-effacing sense of humor or, at times, as an exasperated sigh aimed squarely at their own failures. It is always genuine. They may recognize others as dangerous, broken, under the influence, or irrational – but they never see them as lacking the same basic value as a human being as everyone else. After all, they are themself flawed. They disappoint themselves by violating their own rules and they fail to live up to their own standards. They press on and try to ensure they do not repeat the same mistakes.
What makes this person the responsible and admirable human being that they are is understanding their actions as coming from neither coercion nor the rantings of others. They have pursued knowledge and positive actions for the benefits of both, not to reinforce their own ideas or force their will upon others. Their allegiance is not to any notion or ideology, but rather to actions and knowledge that serve all at once. They leave the things that enrich each person to the person themself. As long as that person’s fist ends where their own nose begins and that person will come to the aid of another human being in need.
The Montessori adult as a parent
If you are one of the small handful of readers we have, you will spot every value we teach – both at school and at home. The person we describe is real and they have a lifelong engagement with Montessori. They were given the opportunity to become the person they are by others around them ensuring a conducive environment for growth while reinforcing a Montessori approach to life – even after Montessori school.
If you want your child to be the type of person we describe, then Greystone House is a great start. For the moment, we end when Kindergarten ends. That means that what we teach and reinforce daily must be reinforced at home and in the experiences your child has if the lessons are to stick. It must also be reinforced by how YOU as a parent choose to live. There are plenty of influences in the world that both encourage and help us to brush away notions of wrong and right and the positive behaviors those notions may drive. The real individual is nearly as rare as astatine (though hopefully longer lived). Thankfully, unlike that element, they can be cultivated and increased in number. That is the job of the Montessori adult who is also a parent.
