IMC Teacher Education Committee News Social Justice and Montessori Teacher Education

Social Justice and Montessori Teacher Education Notes from the IMC Teacher Education Committee

The work of social justice and the transformation of society is part of the Montessori

legacy. Dr. Montessori was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times for her humanitarian work and her advocacy for a more peaceful world. This year especially, the inequities resulting from racism in general and in education, in particular, have been thrown into sharp relief. Now it is our time to carry on that work and do our part to end systemic racism, especially related to education. After all, the children are our best hope and promise for a better and more just future.

The IMC Teacher Education Committee (TEC) recognizes that Montessori Teacher Education must adapt and assure the next generation of Montessori teachers are prepared to address the needs of our time. Several TEC members meet weekly with other members of the IMC Social Justice Task Group for Teacher Education. This task group aims to identify teacher education programs’ opportunities to integrate anti-bias and social justice policies, practices, and topics more consciously into Montessori teacher credentialing and professional development courses.

The task group is currently reviewing the IMC Teacher Education Standards and noting changes and additions to present to the IMC Board of Directors for approval. Suggestions for faculty policies include programs be required to demonstrate evidence of supporting anti-racist attitudes and behaviors in their work with adult learners and what they are teaching. The group has also discussed requiring programs to provide professional development for faculty related to anti-bias, social justice, and culturally responsive curriculum.

Carefully examining IMC course content requirements for each level, the group finds many opportunities to bring invaluable topics to promote social justice. In Montessori philosophy, for example, where the requirements already include the teacher’s spiritual preparation, the task group suggests expanding this work to have a specific focus on developing self-study practices that will lead to recognition of implicit bias. Similarly, a suggestion is to add a Classroom Leadership requirement that adult learners demonstrate ethnic, racial, and economic sensitivity in working with children, parents, and colleagues.

Social Justice and Montessori Teacher Education

Kitty Bravo Jana Morgan Herman

Submitted by Kitty Bravo, Chair of the IMC Teacher Education Committee and Jana Morgan Herman, Chair of the IMC Social Justice – Teacher Education Task Group

Recognizing the great need for Montessori teachers to be more sensitive and prepared for working with all children, recommendations have been made for both the Classroom Leadership and Child Development curriculum. These recommendations include the study of trauma, including racial trauma, and the effects of Adverse Childhood

Experiences on learning and behavior. The group also believes that teachers need to understand the negative impact of inequitable discipline practices caused by implicit bias. All children need to be respected and supported. We need to reframe our belief that some specific children and families are a good fit for Montessori. Our adult learners need to understand the importance of adapting their practices to fit children’s needs instead of making the child fit Montessori.

While the task group’s work is still in the early stages, many opportunities have been identified for recontextualizing the curriculum to be more inclusive and address important social justice topics. This includes recommendations for preparing environments in Practical Life, Language, Cosmic, and the Art areas with art, books, and materials representing all cultures and explicitly represent the children served in the adult learners’ school community. In Math, Science, History, and Cultural areas, the team established recommendations for acknowledging mathematicians, scientists, and inventors from all cultures so that all children can see the contributions people like themselves and others have made to society’s evolution. A further recommendation for Cosmic Education at the Elementary level and Secondary studies is exploring ancient civilizations, indigenous peoples, and modern cultures from multiples perspectives, exploring which peoples have been elevated and suppressed.

At this stage, the task group is mostly brainstorming and wordsmithing, adding concise points to the IMC standards. The idea is for the recommended policies and curricular suggestions to fit in and update the existing Montessori curriculum in a complementary way. Because IMC programs and Montessori teacher education programs are international, it is essential for the wording for antibias and social justice issues across the globe to be easily interpreted. The Teacher Ed Social Justice Task Group also recognizes that some programs may need support in implementing these topics. With this in mind, the task group is considering developing a companion guide to go with the IMC Standards. This guide would provide suggestions for how to present these topics and include ideas for reflective and discussion questions, as well as practicum and general course assignments.

Once the task group completes the IMC standards’ recommendations, the entire TEC will review them before presenting them to the IMC Board. The next phase of the task group’s work will be to identify the corresponding adult learner competencies related to social justice and make competency recommendations to both IMC and MACTE. This is significant work, but with time, patience, and a commitment to creating a safer and more equitable world, the IMC -TEC and Social Justice Task Group is up for the challenge.