Part of my role this year is enhancing and amplifying our school’s social media presence. A friend of mine, who works in the social media space, graciously agreed to give me hours of his time to train me to manage our presence effectively.
I was trying to describe to him what is so unique about the Montessori method.
Child-centric learning, isolation of difficulty, building independent thinkers, and other core concepts sounded great over zoom.
But he wanted to know… how is this all practically implemented in a mixed-age environment?
How can different kids learn different materials in the same classroom? How can they all focus and grow?
So I decided to do an impromptu showing to him.
Now, the cards were somewhat stacked against me. Being one of the first days of school, the kids were still learning the ropes and getting acclimated to their environment.
But I always believe in our kids.
And I believe in their teachers, who have done an INCREDIBLE job creating a wholesome, organized, and loving learning environment in such a short period.
So I came in. Unannounced. With an important guest live-streaming on my computer with me.
I “walked” him around the classroom (cool how we can do that in 2022, no? He lives an entire ocean away from us, after all). I brought him from work to work, and from child to child.
Some working together. Others working on their own.
Some with a teacher guiding them. Others advancing their knowledge independently.
Some were working on intricate Hebrew language skills. Others on reconstructing a map of Asia.
All engaged.
All focused.
All learning.
My friend was amazed.
His words?
“Everyone needs to know about you guys. This type of learning experience needs to be shared”.
I’m looking forward to doing just that.
Have a beautiful shabbos,
Shmuel
