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phil
@phil
Welcome @matt! Matt Bateman is a philosopher & historian of education. He’s a cofounder of Guidepost Montessori, the world’s largest Montessori school network. He has agreed to do an AMA for the /⁠books channel. Reply with your questions (please make sure to tag him so he can easily find them)
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comz
@comz
@matt coming from experience with montessori, how would you explain montessori and it's benefits to the uninitiated?
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Matt Bateman
@matt
I really wish I was better at this… or anyone was great at it. In my view this is an unsolved problem. The easiest way to “explain” it is to get someone to observe for an hour in a great Montessori 3 to 6 classroom. You’ll just see so many things that will blow your mind. This is basically what happened to me, about ten years ago. That said, short written explanation attempt #2833727: Culture of quiet, purposeful work. Work is either some real practical work, like setting a table or cleaning the classroom or doing the dishes, or progress through an extremely well designed, specific, academic curriculum. There is occasional high touch direct instruction, but most of the work is done independently with very light coaching, and most work is chosen by the student from the available work in the classroom that they have learned how to do. So the vibe is 30 preschool age students all studiously or purposefully working, with the teacher wandering around and giving lessons or bits of help.
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Matt Bateman
@matt
The benefit is agency. Both in the sense of practice with making choices, practice persisting through work, and competence in the form of practiced knowledge and skills.
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