montessori ed

In his TED Talk, Neuroscientist Micheal Merzenich doesn’t ever say “Absorbent Mind”, but he describes the phenomenon well.   This is an excellent example of an opportunity for more meaningful dialogue between the Montessori Community and the Scientific Community.  Merzenich actually uses the term “normalize” in a sense very similar to the Montessori definition, though I would be surprised if he was familiar with the Montessori method at all.

How do we demonstrate to the world that Montessori is truly a revolutionary approach to education?  That all the current reforms to traditional education are like making a better abacus while Montessori education is a supercomputer?  I think that contemporary neuroscience presents the tools for demonstrating tangible, significant differences resulting from the Montessori method.  

I would love to see a neuron mapping comparison between Montessori children and non-Montessori children.  What would be the consistent differences?

The featured keynote speaker at the 2009 AMI-USA Referesher Course is Sir Ken Robinson, described by AMI-USA as an

internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation, education, and human resources. In 1998 he led a national commission on creativity, education, and the economy for the UK government, bringing together leading business people, scientists, artists, and educators. His report, All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education (The Robinson Report) was published to huge acclaim. In 2003 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the arts. 

Here is a video of a speech entitled “Do Schools Kill Creativity” that Sir Robinson delivered at a TED conference in 2006.  If the embedded vidoe player is not functioning properly in your web browser, you can follow this link to see the video.

If you are attending the Refresher Course, this is a preview for you.  If you will not be attending, this is your chance to see Sir Ken Robinson for free.

Sir Ken Robinson has also recently published a book entitled The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything.

Enjoy.