"The willingness to show up changes us. It makes us a little braver each time." - Brené Brown

I think Brené Brown and Maria Montessori would be fast friends, had they lived during the same time. They both believe deeply in showing up as who we are …  and in following that authentic self. Montessori calls it following the child; Brown calls it being authentic and vulnerable in order to find wholehearted living. It’s important to say that the concept of “vulnerability” has evolved into a positive and beneficial behavior and characteristic in both Brown’s and my research.

Montessori wrote that “the child is capable of developing and giving us tangible proof of the possibility of a better humanity. We have seen children totally change as they acquire a love for things and ideas and as their sense of order, discipline, and self-control develops within them.... The child is both a hope and a promise for all humankind.” A hope and promise for humankind starts at the center of the child’s ability and gift to show up as who they are. If this concept interests you, I thought I’d walk you down a path of Brown’s research, and why I think it ultimately connects to our work at GMS.

Brown began her research journey in the field of social work with her basic belief about the necessity of human connection. “Connection is why we’re here; it is what gives purpose and meaning to our lives” (Brown, 2012a, p. 253). Her dissertation explored assessing relevance in professional helping (e.g., pastoral care, psychologists, educators, or organizational leaders). Over six years, she interviewed 1,280 professionals to develop her theory of accompaniment.

Through asking her participants about human connection, she ended up developing the related ideas of shame and shame resilience. Asked about human connection, participants invariably ended up talking about instances of heartbreak, betrayal, and shame, which Brown defined and coded as the fear of not being worthy of real connection. That emerging pattern led her to return to her data to investigate why and how some were resilient to this shame, heartbreak, and betrayal. She eventually developed a model of shame and shame resiliency, which revolved around empathy, courage, compassion, and connection. The patterns in her data pointed to wholeheartedness, which Brown developed into what she called wholehearted living. And from her study of wholehearted living, Brown then focused her research attention on the power of vulnerability. Vulnerability and having the courage to show up authentically and humbly as who we are connects to how we ask our students at GMS to show up. Brown (2012a) wrote, “Vulnerability is the core, the heart, the center, of meaningful human experiences” (p. 12). Vulnerability (being open, authentic, and humble) directly connects to a person’s ability to honestly know their self and their limitations.

Here is where we begin to connect more to the work we do at Greensboro Montessori School. We believe, just as Maria Montessori, that we are always striving for meaningful human experiences and lessons. To achieve this, we need to empower our students to think independently, critically, and openly. And that takes courage.

To be comfortable with their personal vulnerability, Brown writes that people must first have a strong sense of love and belonging. We work to instill that belonging everyday in all our classes. That sense of worthiness is a foundational path for students to find greatness. Conversely, when people cannot be real and honest, i.e. vulnerable, they block great ideas and innovation. Brown (2012a) identifies a lack of vulnerability as the “most significant barrier to creativity and innovation” (p. 187). This lack of vulnerability fosters a fear of change and close-mindedness. If we cannot empower our students to take safe risks and to see the value of struggle and failure, then we may be stinting their ultimate growth.

It takes courage and bravery for students to have new ideas and try new things. Entrepreneurship, growth, and new ideas cannot thrive in an environment that does not welcome openness and authenticity. One participant in an interview with Brown (2012a) said, “When you shut down vulnerability, you shut down opportunity. By definition, entrepreneurship is vulnerable. It’s all about the ability to handle and manage uncertainty” (p. 208). Entrepreneurship thinking and habits of mind is something we pride ourselves on at GMS.

And as for how we create a culture that welcomes these ideas of vulnerability, true courage, and entrepreneurial thinking, school research is crystal clear that we need adults in schools (leaders and teachers) who are willing to display and model this open sense of courage in a quest for better understanding and learning. The adults must first have the courage and wisdom to intentionally be vulnerable. As an adult learning community of about 60 employees, we work everyday to be open to ideas, as we mindfully and intentionally follow the child. I also invite each of our parents to intentionally join us on that journey as we partner to help empower our young people to be confident and inspired to display the sort of courage that Brené Brown writes about.

I’ll leave you with a final thought from Brown. While the quote is specifically about leaders, I think applies all the same to us as parents, as teachers, and as human beings:

“Across the private and public sector, in schools and in our communities, we are hungry for authentic leadership – we want to show up, we want to learn, and we want to inspire and be inspired… When leaders choose self-protection over transparency, and when self-worth is attached to what we produce, learning and work becomes dehumanized… Re-humanizing work and education requires courageous leadership. It requires leaders who are willing to take risks, embrace vulnerabilities, and show up as imperfect, real people. (Brown, 2012a, p. 5)

Have a great and courageous weekend.

- Kevin

 

Works Cited
Brown, B. (2002). Accompanar: A grounded theory of developing, maintaining, and assessing relevance in professional helping (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Texas, Austin.
Brown, B. (2010a). The gifts of imperfection: Let go of who you think you’re supposed to be and embrace who you are. Center City, MN: Hazelden.
Brown, B. (2012a). Daring greatly. New York: Gotham Books.
Brown, B. (2012b). Vulnerability and inspired leadership. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Leadership Series.
Montessori, M. (Published 1992). Education and Peace. The Clio Montessori Series.

Click here to check out a whole host of books and audio published by Brené Brown

After two years worth of planning, design, collaboration, development and fabrication, our Junior High students will be hosting a grand opening of their newest venture, Maria's Market Farm Cart, including a special ribbon cutting ceremony with the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce. (The ceremony is being planned for early 2018. It was originally scheduled for December but was postponed due to inclement weather.)  This project has been a near perfect example of how our students work together to bring an idea to life while engaging in real, purposeful work that not only stimulates their intellect but also teaches them valuable, lifelong skills in entrepreneurship and economics.

Maria’s Market Farm Cart was developed through an aspect of the Junior High Curriculum known as the Micro Economy Program. The 2017-18 school year marks the fifth year running the program as an integrated "Farm to Fork” business. At the beginning of each school year, students apply for jobs in the program based on their interests, talents, and abilities. Branches of the business include Research and Development, Design and Fabrication, Finance, Tribal Council, an on-site Restaurant, and a Farm Team. Click here to read more about the Micro Economy Program.

At the beginning of the 2016-17 school year, the Farm Team submitted a proposal to the Design and Fabrication Team to build a mobile market stand where produce from the School's gardens, eggs from the School’s chickens, and original student art could be sold. The Design Team jumped at the project, pledging to retrofit an old trailer bed generously donated by the School’s garden manager, Aubrey Cupit.

3D SketchUp of the farm cart design

As the team envisioned a functional design for the mobile market stand, the team members, guided by Upper School Performance and Visual Arts Teacher Jonathan McLean, used an application called Sketchup to create the first 2D images of a mobile cart.

Student designer, Lily Wagoner, studied images, took real time measurements, and made a cut and materials list. After this thorough research phase, students began the process of building the cart. Bit by bit, the project came together with the final stages including staining and painting the cart.

Maria’s Market Farm Cart officially debuted at the 2017 Fall Festival on October 15 and has been open for business several times since then. Every Friday afternoon that Junior High has a Micro Economy day the farm cart will be open from 3:00-4:00 PM during the afternoon carline. All of the produce for sale is harvested by the students from the School's gardens. Students also make crafts and original artwork to contribute to the market, including items made by the Research and Development Team in the metal forge.

Junior High students work together to fabricate the farm cart applying principles of geometry and physics.

The Farm Cart and all of the integrated work throughout the student-run Micro Economy Program is a wonderful example of how these entrepreneurs are able to use their intellectual abilities to produce viable work that relates to real life, while simultaneously teaching them to be leaders and entrepreneurs. It also addresses the complexities of doing ethical work that benefits the community and ultimately the world. In the process, they learn the meaning and pleasure that can be derived from such work. It is what Maria Montessori envisioned for the adolescent and we couldn’t be more excited about encouraging this vital work.

 

“The shop would also necessitate a genuine study of commerce and exchange, of the art of ascertaining the demand and being ready to meet it, of the strict and rigid rules of bookkeeping. But the thing that is important above everything else is that the adolescent should have a life of activity and variety and that one occupation should act a “holiday” from another occupation. The shop would be in respect to the studies of economics and politics an educational object, similar to the aquarium or terrarium in the case of the study of biology.”   - Maria Montessori (From Childhood to Adolescence, 70)

“Their spirit will dry up if the grandeur of the practical reality of our days is completely shut away from them, as if it did not exist. Men with hands and no head, and men with head and no hands are equally out of place in the modern community."  - Maria Montessori (From Childhood to Adolescence p. 61)

Every Friday, Junior High students at the Greensboro Montessori School participate in a hands-on experiential education program in which they work together in teams simulating different aspects of a micro economy that is based on a Farm to Fork concept. One of the outcomes of the program is the preparation of a weekly meal for 40+ people in our certified kitchen. This self-run lunch business is known as Maria’s Cafe. Another outcome of the micro economy program is the operation of a mobile farmer’s market stand that enables students to sell produce from the School’s gardens and student artwork. Keep reading to learn more about the structure of micro economy program and how students are acquiring skills that will serve them long after graduation.

Each student cycles through a “career” in their participation in the micro economy program. There are a total of six career choices – research and development, design and fabrication, tribal council, finance, farm, and restaurant. Each career has a specialized focus and functions as its own entrepreneurial enterprise. Students apply for management positions within these careers and have a chance to hone in on particular interests and skills while serving the community. While each career has its own focus, all together, they operate under one umbrella known as Irossetnom Micro Economies Incorporated, also known by its acronym, IMI. (If you’re wondering about the name Irossetnom, that’s Montessori spelled backwards!)

On the Research and Development Team students specialize in scientific research and product development. Their current projects include managing the GMS chicken chickens, which they bought in 2016, and selling eggs, as well as making products in the forge that can be sold at Maria’s Market. Management positions include Director of Scientific Inquiry, Sustainability Coordinator, and Science Writer.

On the Design and Fabrication Team students work with 2D and 3D Design. They take photographs and design the GMS yearbook annually. They also take orders from the community on 3D products ranging from new classroom tables, to toddler picnic tables, to wooden recycling center bins on casters, to the GMS Farm Cart. Students work with design products like SketchUp to create 2D templates for products before they engage in the real life building process. Once made, these beautiful items are sold. Management positions include 2D Creative Director, Media Coordinator and Director of Technology, Media Assistant, and 3D Creative Director.

The Finance Team oversees finances for all of IMI. They process receipts for ingredients and materials, analyze operation costs, and present findings on net profits to the community on a weekly basis. They also conduct some marketing activities, like creating order forms to reserve food on Fridays, conducting surveys to find out how “customers” find the dining experience, and managing credit card sales and pre-orders. Management positions on this team include Chief Financial Officer, Assistant Bookkeeper, and Marketing Director. The Finance Team also runs a concessions stand.

The Tribal Council Team is the governing body of IMI. They host special events like dances, the Evening in the Pumpkin Patch (a Halloween-themed event for younger GMS students), Rock-a-thon (an all-night movie watching marathon to raise money for charities), a holiday toy drive, talent shows, and other special events benefiting the whole by bringing everyone together to celebrate community and raise money for charities and IMI. Management positions include equal representatives within the council.

On the Farm Team, students participate in all aspects of growing the food and getting it to the Table (Maria’s Cafe), and to the Farm Cart (Maria’s Market). They plant seeds, build greenhouse platforms, harvest and wash vegetables and deliver them fresh to the kitchen (very, very fresh,) take inventory on garden produce and plan for future crops, maintain the bee hives, cut flowers and make bouquets to sell to local vendors, and learn about local agriculture, different methods of growing food and how each affects our planet, and help to plan future menus based on what is growing seasonally. They also decorate our tables with nature inspired settings. Many of the ingredients in our Maria's Cafe recipes come directly from the GMS gardens, especially whole unprocessed foods like garlic, onions, salad greens, eggplant, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, persimmons, apples, figs, crab apples, butternut squash, tomatoes, and much more. We use no genetically modified ingredients (GMO’s) and part of our mission is to understand what is happening to our food system and how we can play our part to fix it. What better way to learn to be a global responsible citizen? Management positions on this team include Market Manager, Produce Manager(s), and Tea House Manager.

On the Restaurant Team (Maria’s Cafe), students chop, julienne, emulsify, grate, and learn new skills every week as they prepare the meal, and clean up afterwards. They gain much culinary expertise and are held to professional restaurant rules. They are learning about industrial equipment and processes and are inspected by the Health Department three times per year. They learn knife and food safety as well as quick methods for peeling and chopping garlic and onions and how to work with the best and freshest ingredients to make a delicious meal. Management positions include Head Chef, Sous Chef, Pastry Chef, and Pantry Manager.

Simon Sinek, best-selling author and renowned lecturer, made his mark with a famous TED Talk encouraging leaders and organizations to “Start with Why.” Knowing “what” you do and “how” you do it does not matter if you don’t know “why” you’re doing it. As we embark on a new journey for Greensboro Montessori School through 70 in 70: The Fund for GMS, we’re excited to examine Mr. Sinek’s model of what, how and why as it relates to revitalizing our Primary classrooms. This exploration provides transparency, meaning and context … all of which are necessary to effectively educate our children and be responsible stewards of our donors’ contributions.

An example of the table and chairs, wood-grain tile and carpet selected for our Primary classrooms should we raise $70,000 by December 31, 2017.

What: One of the main goals of 70 in 70: The Fund for GMS is to revitalize our Primary classroom environments. “Revitalize” can be ambiguous, so let’s unpack this concept. If we raise $70,000 in 70 days, all four Primary classrooms will receive:

In addition to the Primary classroom revitalization, we will also award faculty grants to the professional educators in our other divisions: Toddler, Lower ELementary, Upper Elementary and Junior High. This democratic school process includes a committee of students, faculty, and administration who review and approve grant requests from faculty. Grants focus on specific needs that will propel a classroom's or division's curriculum to the next level.

How: It’s simple - not easy - but simple. By raising $70,000 by December 31, 2017, we will have the funding to support this immediately actionable, strategic imperative for our School, the Primary classroom revitalization. $70,000 also supports our powerful tradition of awarding faculty grants.

Why: The environments in which we live, work and play directly influence the levels of joy, productivity and success we experience in each of these endeavors. Think about the time and effort we, as adults, place in building warm, pleasant and efficient environments for ourselves, our families and guests. The spaces we design impart value on the people who spent time in them.

The same goes for a child’s classroom. While we may take this for granted, Maria Montessori revolutionized education by designing her classroom environments for her students, not for the teachers. Furthermore, she trained teachers in classroom design so they could create environments that optimize student learning. But why?

Students require freedom of movement in their living and learning spaces. Classrooms must have child-sized small tables for group work, tables for a single student to work independently, and chairs that can easily be moved by the student. Students are able to make themselves comfortable and find their place in the room where they best work.

Classroom furniture also facilitates learning attention to detail, control of error, and self-regulation. Students receive lessons on how to carry chairs safely; how to walk in a controlled manner carefully navigating friends and materials laid out on rugs; and how to learn when a work or space is not available in a specific moment. Carrying a chair without dropping it, knocking a friend, or disturbing a group is a challenge to be repeated for success. And is all done by design.

Another key element in a Montessori classroom is the consideration of aesthetics: beauty and simplicity are what draw the child’s interest into the purposeful work available throughout the classroom. Each and every day, our teachers prepare their learning environment by arranging materials on the shelves in an order and sequence that facilitates their use. Our teachers’ goal is to connect their students to the materials, which then become the active “teacher” of abstract concepts giving the student opportunities for discovery-based learning.

In describing the importance of the teaching-role played by the materials in the classroom, Dr. Montessori wrote: “As a teacher, the material is always ready, always patient, constant in mood, and prepared to repeat its lesson. It is truly a striking teacher in that it imparts a deep mastery, constantly leading to analysis and discovery until the root of the problem is reached. The pupil will never again forget that lesson.”

An investment in our students’ learning environment is an investment in them. Upon crossing the threshold of their rejuvenated classrooms for the first time, our Primary students will know they are valuable members of our community. The improved aesthetics of their classrooms will instill a greater sense of purpose, clarity, motivation, ownership and belonging in each of them, and their learning will be maximized.

At face value, flooring, furniture and countertops may not seem important or inspirational. But when we know why design and beauty play a leading a role in the Montessori classroom, we understand the significance of our investment. (We also see how Montessori’s classroom design remains on the cutting edge of education.) Just like gathering places of our adult lives - living rooms, kitchens, offices, conference rooms, even that special corner at your local coffee shop - prepare us for our best work, so do our classrooms for our children.

In 2005, Greensboro Montessori School eighth graders first traveled to Costa Rica for a cultural immersion experience. We were eager to connect with another Montessori school abroad with a similar adolescent program. Our research led us to The Summit School in Coronado, Costa Rica which is very close to the capital city of San José. On our first expedition to Costa Rica, we incorporated a formal school visit to The Summit School and it was the highlight of our trip. The parents made a special lunch for us, and our students assisted the younger Costa Rican children with a school project. When we returned the following year, students from The Summit School accompanied our students in our daily travels and service learning adventures. At that point, Greensboro Montessori School and The Summit School became sister schools.

Since then, the eighth grade trip to Costa Rica has morphed into an authentic immersion experience. Our students stay with the Costa Rican families of The Summit School students, and together, our students and the Ticos (a colloquial term for natives of Costa Rica) go everywhere together. We visit volcanoes, complete high ropes courses and sail through the rainforest canopy on zip lines. We travel to the Caribbean Coast where we walk the beach at night looking for turtle eggs to bury in a nearby protected hatchery. We travel to the Pacific side to snorkel and explore rain forests and animal sanctuaries. We spend a day in downtown San José learning about Costa Rican history, art, and government. Our weekends are spent with the host families doing what they usually do. The students also do things you would expect them to do on the weekends: they get together and go to the mall or a movie or a party at someone’s home.

Every year, when asked what our students’ favorite part of the trip is, they always say their homestay with the Tico families. Our students make friendships that last for years, and some even return to Costa Rica on their own to visit their “families.”

In 2009, the Ticos first ventured to Greensboro Montessori School to stay with our students and learn more about North Carolina. Even though we don’t have erupting volcanoes or zip lines through the rain forest, we still have a great time sharing the landmarks and natural wonders of our state with them. Our visits have included such destinations as the Duke Lemur Center, the North Carolina Museum of History, and Hanging Rock State Park. On a recent visit, our itinerary included kayaking on the Dan River, exploring Grandfather Mountain, and a tour of the Duke University Marine Lab in Beaufort. Our homestay hosts always arrange social gatherings for the students on the weekends. The Ticos typically experience some classroom time with us as well as a trip to The Land in Oak Ridge.

Our students benefit tremendously from the life-changing experiences resulting from our relationship with The Summit School. With every visit to Costa Rica, our students return with their eyes a little wider and their lives a little richer as they have their first experience actually living in another culture. They begin to see the world in a different light and develop a new appreciation for the abundance in their lives.

"An Education for Life," has become a marketing catchphrase in education. What was first coined by Dr. Maria Montessori and unique to her research-based approach, is now overused to the point of meaninglessness. But rather than give up on Dr. Montessori's philosophy, let's explore it's origin and provide the context needed to rescue this phrase from educational pop culture.

In 1949, Dr. Montessori wrote "The Absorbent Mind" based on her decades of childhood research. She writes of her pedagogical theory: "This is education, understood as a help to life.” Dr. Maria Montessori applied a scientific technique to the observation of natural development in students and concluded there are a number of important concepts concerning childhood growth and development:

An Education for Life. When you hear this phrase in our hallways, know it's not some quip or expression resulting from a focus group. It is tenet of the Montessori method highlighting the dual role of education: to meet the child where she is in her developmental growth and to prepare the child for that which lies ahead.

Greensboro Montessori School sends tremendous congratulations and a fond farewell to our class of 2017. In our lead photo for this post, the class of 2017 stands proudly in the top row. Pictured from left to right are Isabel Egbert, Jean-Lou Paré, Jack Brown, Sophie Strugnell, Baxter Smelzer, Simon Smith, Eli Wainscott, Ya Chukasul, and Hayden Juneau. The inaugural ninth-grade class, who will return next year, kneels along the bottom row. Pictured from left to right are Alex Kotis, Owen Jacobs and Theo Fenske.

[dt_sc_h2] Sound Bites from the Class of 2017[/dt_sc_h2]

Greensboro Montessori School's graduation exercises include personal speeches from the graduates. In these moments, the audience is treated to glimpses of each graduate's past, present and future. In honor of these young adults' self-awareness, maturity, accomplishments and gratitude, we share some of the most touching thoughts shared by the class of 2017. Photos courtesy of Aris Wells Photography

[dt_sc_h5]Jack Brown[/dt_sc_h5]

"I have only been at Montessori for three years, but I have gotten the experience of a lifetime. I can say, without a doubt, that this Montessori experience will put me ahead all throughout my life. First of all, I'd like to thank my parents for sending me to this school...Like all things in life, things come and go away, sometimes even too quickly. And when I found my grade the oldest one in Montessori, I knew it had been too quick. Although I have been dreading leaving this school, I am also looking forward to the upcoming year."
Jack's next stop: Grimsley High School

[dt_sc_h5]Ya Chukasul[/dt_sc_h5]
Greensboro Montessori School class of 2017"Now Middle School. Nothing has changed a lot about me; I'm still quiet as I could ever be. Old friends were still there for me, so I felt safe. Things changed here though. Assignments got more difficult and [there were] projects I thought I would never be able to do. From creating a wolf suit on stilts, to creating costumes, to creating a movie. Teachers in Middle School: Jonathan, Doug, Deirdre, Dean, Jenny, Sandra, Matt and Keisha. Without your help, I wouldn't be on this stage today. Middle School felt just like family."
Ya's next stop: Weaver Academy for the Performing and Visual Arts and Advanced Technology

[dt_sc_h5]Isabel Egbert[/dt_sc_h5]
Greensboro Montessori School Class of 2017
"Before I do anything, I need to thank my family. Grant, you made me who I am in ways you can't even understand. You are always there for me, and I love you. Mom and Dad, thank you for putting me in this school and for supporting me in everything I do...Eighth grade is a confusing, scary fever dream. Everything stops being just a thing and becomes your last thing. Your last Marketplace; your last Land trip; your last Advisory; [your] last time in CASA; until finally, you're standing here for the last time. Thank you all for everything."
Isabel's next stop: Weaver Academy for the Performing and Visual Arts and Advanced Technology

[dt_sc_h5]Hayden Juneau[/dt_sc_h5]
Greensboro Montessori School Class of 2017
"In his final year at this school, this kid, alongside his partner in crime, Owen Jacobs...started to run everything tech related, doing things like being the first students to run [theatrical productions] by themselves. This kid, in his final year, found out what he wanted to be. He found out what he was skilled at, and here he is, standing on a stage, the last day he will be a student here, telling you about the last three years of his life in the third person. How - meta - is - that?"
Hayden's next stop: Weaver Academy for the Performing and Visual Arts and Advanced Technology

[dt_sc_h5]Jean-Lou Paré[/dt_sc_h5]
Greensboro Montessori School Class of 2017
"It took a little bit of time to adjust to the new homework load, but once I got past that, I had lots of fun in Jonathan's long-term [creative labs] projects, Dean's science labs, and Doug's math classes. I also had a blast at the land helping the Racoon tribe set up the Tipi, make a fire, and the fun job of washing dishes. I also enjoyed the woodworking rotation...Thank you to everyone that has helped make my experience at GMS the best it could be and making it possible for me to attend the STEM Early College next year."
Jean-Lou's next stop: STEM Early College at NC A&T State University

[dt_sc_h5]Baxter Smelzer[/dt_sc_h5]Greensboro Montessori School Class of 2017
"After 12 years of the Greensboro Montessori School, I am definitely going to miss it. Leaving can be a scary and an exciting time. And I have had not only amazing relationships with friends throughout the years, but also with the teachers. You couldn't ask for more involved and caring teachers. Teachers, staff, and friends all in [an] awesome Montessori environment that all helped me grow to be ready for the next step in my life. After being here, I look around and realize I am ready. I have been well prepared and have learned the skills I need to move forward."
Baxter's next stop: Page High School (pre-IB) or Weaver Academy for the Performing and Visual Arts and Advanced Technology

[dt_sc_h5]Simon Smith[/dt_sc_h5]
Greensboro Montessori School Class of 2017
"I have spent..12 years of my life in this school and sometimes I gotta ask, 'Is this the real life or is [it] just fantasy?' This school has been amazing to me from the teachers to the staff, and this place has most definitely given me its all...A little known fact about me..I don't like change. But life forces you to change whether you like it or not...You just have to adapt."
Simon's next stop: Weaver Academy for the Performing and Visual Arts and Advanced Technology

[dt_sc_h5]Sophie Strugnell[/dt_sc_h5]
Greensboro Montessori School Class of 2017
"My experience at GMS has definitely been special...Learning in [a] Montessori environment is a lot more free. There aren't as many guidelines, and it's more based around genuine curiosity. I think in Montessori there are a lot more lessons that are being learned, and there are a lot of life skills that are involved. I've really enjoyed my time here and have made many memories with many people. Even though I've only been here one year, I'm gonna miss everyone so much, but I'm excited to see what's in store for me next."
Sophie's next stop: Northern Guilford High School

[dt_sc_h5]Eli Wainscott[/dt_sc_h5]Greensboro Montessori School Class of 2017
"My final word describes my Middle School experience is 'nuevo,' which means 'new' in Spanish. Everything is new here. You are thrust into projects and situations that you've never experienced before, and it's blissfully confusing to figure it out, solve the puzzle, get rid of the grit on the lens to see the full picture. I've done it all now, however. I've planted microgreens; I've led a group to be saved by aliens; I've branched out to new people, new groups of people; and I've learned by this. By every moment, every decision, I've grown as a person."
Eli's next stop: Weaver Academy for the Performing and Visual Arts and Advanced Technology

<hr>

[dt_sc_h2]Looking Ahead to the Class of 2018[/dt_sc_h2]

In 1997, Greensboro Montessori School graduated its first class of three eighth-grade students. It seems fitting on the 20th anniversary of that historic occasion, we are proudly introducing the School's first class of ninth-grade students, and it is also comprised of three students. Greensboro Montessori School is proud to announce the intelligent, talented, creative and courageous young men who are boldly pioneering the School's ninth-grade program.

Greensboro Montessori School's inaugural ninth grade

Theo Fenske

Greensboro Montessori School's inaugural ninth grade

Owen Jacobs

Greensboro Montessori School's inaugural ninth grade

Alex Kotis

If you stroll through our school gardens on any given Monday afternoon, you are likely to find Marcia Jones volunteering alongside our lead environmental educator, Eliza Hudson. As a retired educator, Marcia looks forward to her weekly gardening class with our Primary students, and with her 31 years of experience as a kindergarten teacher in Guilford County, we look forward to all she has to offer the children and the school. In a recent interview, Marcia shared with us how much she loves teaching young children the value of tending the earth, especially her four grandchildren including Foster, who is enrolled in our Primary program.

In addition to helping in our gardens on a weekly basis, Marcia supports several other community gardening projects in and around the Greensboro area. She uses her green thumb to tend the gardens at the Wentworth Museum in Rockingham County, the Guilford College Community Garden and Jones Elementary School. “Gardening helps me relax,” Marcia shared, "and its so nice to be able to see the product of all your effort. I think that’s especially true for young children." Many years ago, she started a gardening program with her kindergarten students at Sedgefield Elementary School. “The children loved it. We grew a wide variety of vegetables from seed, including squash, radishes, potatoes, peas, and pumpkins. The children especially liked the pumpkins because they would grow all summer and could be harvested in the fall,” she shared.

With her family’s roots in this area of North Carolina, Marcia is deeply connected to the land, and her knowledge of farming is much greater than what her humble demeanor might initially suggest. She grew up working on her family's farm in Rockingham County just north of Greensboro and she has many fond memories of driving the tractor out in the fields. “My sister and I were working on the family farm up until two years ago. Over the years, we’ve grown tobacco, corn, wheat, soybeans and apples.” Even with those years of experience in her back pocket, Marcia continues to express her modesty about having a green thumb and loves learning new gardening techniques from those around her. “Lately, I’ve been learning more about which herbs to plant around my vegetable garden to deter deer and other wild animals,” she told us.

Needless to say, Marcia's time and talent, both as an avid gardener and an experienced educator, have been a tremendous gift for our school this year.  We are grateful for all that she has done to enrich our environmental education program and to support our students and faculty with her skills and expertise.  When asked about the best part about working with Marcia this year, Eliza Hudson shared these words of appreciation:
"Working with Marcia has been one of the highlights of the year for me and the Primary children in the Encore program at Greensboro Montessori School. It is rare to meet life-long educators who still have energy to volunteer with youth these days, yet Marcia is truly one such educator. A teacher to her core, I gain significant insight about children, gardening, and teaching from her every time we work together. Thank you Marcia!"

In a recent article in the New York Times titled "Learning to Think Like a Computer," author Laura Pappano mentions the need for students in all disciplines to understand and practice “computational thinking.”  She defines these skills as “recognizing patterns and sequences, creating algorithms, devising tests for finding and fixing errors, reducing the general to the precise and expanding the precise to the general.”  As I read through the article, I thought of the scientific Montessori materials used daily in our classrooms that give our students experiences with these skills. From the time they are toddlers, Montessori students are challenged to identify patterns, follow sequences, and recognize errors in their own work.

At its most basic level, the layout of a Montessori classroom is designed to aid the recognition of patterns and sequences. The shelves are organized neatly from top to bottom and from left to right, reinforcing the same orientation with which we read. On a deeper level, the materials themselves are designed to appeal to the senses and entice curiosity and repetition, thereby enhancing the young child's ability to directly compare, contrast and discover the patterns and sequences inherent in the environment. Dr. Maria Montessori once said, “The education of the senses has, as its aim, the refinement of the differential perception of stimuli by means of repeated exercises.”  It is through these independent, repeated exercises that children gain this deep perception of patterns that exist in the world around them.

In traditional educational settings, children go to school and do work that is prescribed by the teacher.  Lessons that employ Montessori materials are teaching students to think through a complex algorithm of steps each time they independently take an activity off the shelf: selecting the activity, identifying and following each step of the activity, completing the task at hand, and then returning the work to its space on the shelf. The child then has the freedom to create his or her own algorithm in how the material can be used effectively. Each material has variations and extensions (new steps in the algorithm) that can be shown by the teacher guide, or more often, discovered by the student. This logical process is applied across all areas of the curriculum.

In addition to thinking through algorithms, learning to devise tests for finding and fixing errors is another aspect of computational thinking.  Dr. Montessori was intentional about creating learning materials to “provoke auto-education," in other words, materials that were self-correcting. In this way, the child could experiment with a material and deduce the correct answer through trial and error, rather than having the teacher validate the correct answer.  “Indeed, it is precisely in these errors that the educational importance of the didactic material lies.” (The Montessori Method, p. 171) Devising tests for finding and fixing errors is an essential element the Montessori method of education.

Another skill listed as essential to computational thinking is reducing the general to the precise and expanding the precise to the general.  The Montessori math materials are the best example of the student’s ability to breakdown abstract concepts into concrete examples and vice versa.  From the start, the red and blue rods in the Primary classroom allow a child to explore the concept of one to 10 with his or her hands.  Also, an exploration of the introductory golden bead tray involves realizing that the 10-bar is made up of 10 single unit beads, the 100-square is comprised of 10 10-bars, and the thousand cube is comprised of 10 100-squares.  This understanding of place value and quantity is further reinforced by its relationship to the geometric forms of a line, square and cube.

My favorite example of how the materials demonstrate the connection between precise and general, or concrete and abstract, is in the math bead cabinet. In the Primary classes, the student uses the square chains to physically count one-by-one up to the square of each number, then uses the cube chains to count to the cube of each number (i.e., the cube chain of threes counts to nine, and the cube chain of threes counts to 27).  In Elementary classes, the chains are then used for skip counting (e.g., three, six, nine, 12, 15, etc.), which becomes a lesson in multiples.  Studying multiples provides a peek into the abstraction of pre-algebraic formulas.

So far we’ve explored some of the ways the Montessori materials are leading children to develop computational thinking.  In Part Two of this three-part series, we will interview Jonathan McLean about how our sixth, seventh and eighth level students are applying computational thinking in his Creative Labs course in the Middle School.

A professional artist and entrepreneur in her own right, Madeline Gallucci is a nothing less than a rising star in the Kansas City art scene.

After graduating from Greensboro Montessori School in 2004 and Weaver Academy in 2008, Madeline received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2012. Shortly thereafter, she landed the Charlotte Street Foundation Urban Culture Project Studio Residency. Two years later she was named Artist-in-Residence at Hotel Phillips, a historic hotel in the center of the city. The 12-month program showcased Madeline and her work in a large storefront window space on the first floor of the hotel that doubled as her studio. Her artwork was also translated into textile patterns used in interior design elements—such as bedding, upholstery, pillows, curtains and wall art—in some of the guest rooms. She also conducted numerous workshops, studio tours and artist lectures. Madeline was only the fourth artist to be selected for this elite residency program and notes: “It was a tremendous opportunity to develop my public speaking skills. In essence, I was acting as an ambassador for abstract art.”

Madeline Galluci's studio gallery at Hotel Phillips

Madeline Galluci's studio gallery at Hotel Phillips. The program offered an experimental and collaborative opportunity for Madeline, the hotel, guests from all over the world, and the local Kansas City community.

As if two residencies weren’t enough to celebrate, Madeline was named one of three Charlotte Street Foundation Visual Artist Award Fellows in 2016. The award recipients were selected through a competitive process involving in-person interviews, presentations and studio visits by a panel of renowned and qualified arts professionals, and culminated in a four month exhibition that concluded in January 2017 at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Crossroads location. She also received a $10,000 unrestricted grant to support her work as an emerging contemporary artist. Madeline described this exhibition as a turning point in her life and her career. As a result of that award, she sought representation by a professional firm, Weinberger Fine Art in Kansas City, Missouri.

Madeline Galluci named a Charlotte Street Foundation Visual Artist Award Fellow

Madeline's work while on display at the 2016 Charlotte Street Foundation Visual Artist Awards Exhibition at the Crossroads location of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Photo by Misha Kligman.

When asked to describe her work, Madeline says, “My work is driven by color. Right now, I am playing with the combination of fluorescent colors together with colors found in nature. My work is also very whimsical. I am fascinated by camouflage culture. If the purpose of camouflage is to help something blend in to its environment, what happens when you take that pattern out if its natural environment. How does it blend in or stand out? I think of the trend of pink camouflage."

Beyond the borders of Kansas City, Madeline has also shown nationally at IDIO Gallery in Brooklyn, New York; Rebekah Templeton in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Skylab Gallery in Columbus, Ohio; and Terrault Contemporary in Baltimore, Maryland. Her newest work is currently on display in an exhibit entitled “Habitual Observations” at Weinberger Fine Art.

In addition to pursuing her professional goals through a fine art studio track, Madeline shared that she is also realizing her drive to become an arts administrator. Since 2014, she has worked as a co-director of Front/Space, a storefront apartment in downtown Kansas City that has been repurposed for non-commercial exhibits, performances, forums, research and publishing projects.

As co-director of the gallery, Madeline loves fostering a spirit of collaboration. She works closely with past exhibitors to review proposals for new artists who want to use the live/work studio and gallery space (which is supported by funding from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the Charlotte Street Foundation and the University of Kansas' Spencer Museum of Art). "I love that the momentum comes from the artists themselves. I don’t want the gallery to just be the artwork that I or my partner would curate. It is important to me that we curate through an open call to the community.” The other element of the Front/Space mission that resonates for Madeline is the connection to social justice. “Front/Space is a safe space for artists and people who have been marginalized. We want the artist to feel safe to use the space for risk taking and to experiment with art that may not be accepted in the main stream. And more than anything, we want the artists to do what they want to do.” Madeline’s skills as an administrator and collaborator are paying off as the gallery has received the biggest group of proposals to date...over 50.  “We know our reach is growing,” she stated proudly.

A "whisper bench" created by Jim GalluciMadeline's passion and penchant for the arts run deep. Her brother, Mario Gallucci, holds a Master of Fine Arts in visual studies and lives in Portland, Oregon. Her father, Jim Gallucci, is an internationally acclaimed sculptor based in Greensboro. His large gateway pieces have transformed the Greensboro landscape, and Greensboro Montessori School is honored to have two of his “whisper benches” in the gardens flanking our front office.  Madeline's mom is Dr. Kathy Gallucci, associate professor of biology at Elon University. Madeline shared she and her mom have a running joke that in their family, art is the dominant gene and science is the recessive gene. Art and science genes aside, if you saw the two side by side, you might actually wonder if they were twins.

Like so many of our graduates, Madeline attended Greensboro Montessori School from the time she was a primary level student. “I was such an independent learner,” she said. “My parents knew that GMS was a good fit for me because I always had to do things in my own way and in my own time.” She further reflected on the values and life lessons from GMS that stick with her today. “Looking back, I realize how [the Montessori method] mirrored art school and also how it mirrors studio practice. There was always room for creativity and experimentation, and at the same time, I had to learn how to stay motivated and create my own structure and deadlines."

Madeline Galluci, Greensboro Montessori School, Class of 2004.

Madeline's work from DOUBLE TAKE, a 2016 exhibition at Terrault Contemporary in Baltimore, Maryland.