Due to the high number of students receiving their nutritional intake from school meal programs, the U.S. Congress passed the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act. The act increased school lunch funding by $0.06 per lunch with the hope that more fruits, vegetables, and whole grain products would be served. It also paved the way for […]
Emily Madden
Emily Madden graduated from the North American Montessori Center in 2011 with her International Montessori Teaching Diploma in Preschool and Kindergarten Montessori. She is the Head of School at Conway Montessori where she has taught for 10 years and attended preschool as a child.
Wolfgang Köhler and the Fight for the Psychological Institute
We see hundreds of struggles in schools today. Some schools do not receive proper or adequate funding. Students are profiled and treated differently based on labels that society or previous teachers give them. Teachers turn to their administrators for help and receive no support. So, what do we do about it? How are we going […]
Stories of a New Administrator
A little over a year ago I took over as the Director of the small, private school I taught at for six years and attended as a small child. Need it be said that I was thrilled? My staff taught by my side for several years and brainstormed with me for nearly a year. I […]
Group Work and the Introverted Student
“As children, our classroom desks are increasingly arranged in pods, the better to foster group learning, and research suggests that the vast majority of teachers believe that the ideal students is an extrovert.” -Susan Cain Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking (pg. 6) How often do we as teachers assign group projects and […]
To Test or not to Test: That is the Question
Picture this, lush green fields and ancient ruins of magnificent structures gazing over the tops of houses on the lanes. This is my view on the train from York to London. My family is from Yorkshire and I had the delight of spending time with them during my brief stop. However, I’m left contemplating a pressing […]
Fostering an Independent Three-Year-Old
Children are capable of so much more than society gives them credit for. Helicopter parenting is becoming increasingly common and children are being required to do less and less for themselves. Sure, it’s easier to do for your child rather than wait or risk a tantrum. How much are they learning from it though? Today’s society […]
A Letter to First Day Families
You’ve enrolled at a new school! Excitement, nervousness, and anxiety towards the unknown start to kick in. Questions are filling your mind as you and your little one are headed to your first day of preschool. Stop, take a deep breath, and relax. For some, the transition to a new school is easy and takes little time at […]
The Benefits of an Individualized Approach
I’ll never forget the first year I started teaching. I was slightly skeptical of the whole process, although I believed in it (because I am the product of the Montessori school I now direct) millions of thoughts swarmed my head. “Teachers are ‘guides’ in the classroom and educational process,” “How am I going to keep 40 […]