At Hummingbird Montessori School in Creemore, students practise peace every day. The goal, school owner Sherri Jackson (pictured above, left) says, it to create peaceful citizens through Montessori education.
Montessori is an educational approach developed by a pediatric physician, Dr. Maria Montessori, in Italy in the early 1900s. Dr. Montessori was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times for her work on peace and education.
“The only way to have a peaceful world is if we teach children at the beginning of their lives how to have one,” says Jackson, who admits that the program’s emphasis on peace is what drew her to become a Montessori teacher in the first place.
The concept of peace is fundamental to the Montessori classroom. The curriculum supports children to listen to others’ opinions and speak their minds respectfully, even if they disagree. “They need to learn to manage and see each others’ point of view,” says Jackson.
Montessori teachers use many different techniques to foster peace and balance in the classroom. They may nurture students’ self-awareness through yoga and meditation; create opportunities for students to engage with their community such as visiting the food bank; and learn about different cultures and historical figures like Anne Frank and Martin Luther King Jr.
Children who are experiencing a problem can write down their feelings anonymously in a class diary, which Jackson then uses to discuss issues freely with the entire class.
“Together, the class comes up with rules for resolving the issue and the children feel empowered,” she says. “The role of the teacher is to step back and let the kids learn to navigate it themselves.”
The classroom curriculum also fosters the connections between humans and the environment to give children “the whole perspective,” Jackson says.
“We start by learning about the universe and work backwards. This way, the children learn that every living things is just one piece of a massive interconnected structure and it is up to us to maintain harmony and flow.
For example, when we’re feeling upset about something, it’s not just about us – other people are involved, too.
“All humans have the same fundamental needs: food, shelter, water, clothing and transportation. We all need each other. We are all the same.”