VOLUME 22 ISSUE 3 • 2020 | WWW.MONTESSORI.ORG/IMC | ©MONTESSORI LEADERSHIP ����
to create a sweater. It refers to a prescribed
experience – someone has done it before
and tells you exactly what needs to be done
to create this product. As we are scrambling
to give children the prescribed Montessori
experiences which we think make up the
method, we have forgotten that is not what
Montessori is. Montessori pedagogy is not
limited to our teaching materials, but is
really a vision of the child and how best
to meet their needs and this can be done
with or without the Montessori didactic
apparatus.
Things got harder for Dr. Montessori
even though she was reunited with her son,
Mario. Mahatma Gandhi, thinking this was
the best birthday present he could give
her, had Mario released from prison. However,
now England had joined the war, and
with India under British rule, the
Montessoris were considered to be “enemy
aliens”. The grounds of the Theosophical
Society were converted into an army base
and it was no longer safe to have them in
Chennai. Also, with Montessori’s failing
health it was thought that Chennai was
too hot for her and they were moved to the
hill station of Kodaikanal. The house there
was very simple, something that met their
needs, but Montessori was very depressed.
She missed the cultural and political bustle
of a big city, and now she had no teachers
to train or children to observe. She often
asked, “What can I do here?”
However, it was here, during this period,
and under these circumstances that
something beautiful was born. In the absence
of their didactic materials, Dr. Montessori
and Mario used nature as their
teaching tools. They built aquariums and
terrariums and let the children see the collaboration
between plants and animals.
They studied trees and cultivated plants
and saw purpose in everything that existed.
It was in the beautiful and peaceful Kodaikanal
that the theosophical vision of universal
unity and the interdependency that
exists in nature was generated. Despite the
very difficult circumstances, Montessori did
not give up. Her work for the child continued
as she laid the foundation for cosmic
education. As Mario Montessori writes,
It was here that so many of the
materials that we teach today – botany,
the story of the universe, geography charts
– were created. I am filled with awe as I
imagine what Montessori did, using a
resource that was plentiful around her –
nature – and writing a curriculum that has
no boundaries and is still relevant today. It
arouses the child’s interest and intensifies
his sense of belonging through time and
space, “giving him a vision of the whole
universe” (1989, pp. 5-6)
Nothing was lost as Montessori found
out on her return to Europe. As a matter
of fact, so much was gained. The spiritual
dimension to her teacher training originated
in India as well, and as we all know, sets
us apart from all other teachers. The aims
of the Theosophical Society have many
similarities with Montessori philosophy:
respect for all things, freedom of thought,
and development of latent potentialities in
individuals.
Just like Montessori was, we are in
a war now too. The only difference being
that the enemy is invisible. There is so
much uncertainty and tons of insecurity
that is causing us much stress and anxiety.
We do not know if our schools will survive.
Montessori did not know either. What
we can learn from her and what kept her
strong through it all was her focus on the
child. She did not let anything come in the
way of studying the child. Neither should
we. Let her inspire us at a time when we all
need it most:
Staying authentic to the philosophy,
adapting to the circumstances, providing
the children with meaningful activities,
and finding every opportunity to deepen
connections are what we at Montessori
Casa International (MCI) focused on as we
maneuvered these unprecedented times.
As a teaching body, we reflected a lot, met
often, and constantly asked ourselves what
we can do to better meet the needs of the
children. This definitely kept us strong –
just as we know it kept Montessori strong
during her exile in India.
As the “stay-at-home” orders were
lifted and childcare centers were allowed
to open, we planned the reopening of our
school. There were a lot of restrictions
imposed upon us to keep everyone safe
and healthy, and initially we wondered
how we were going to maintain the basic
“We had made a new discovery
which was special and long-lasting,
and it all came about in the hills
of Kodaikanal, where practice and
ideas met – and a better vision
emerged.” (Bhatia, 2019, p. 104)
“I assure you that were I not
absolutely certain that mankind
can be bettered, I should not have
had the strength to battle for fifty
years, having so frequently had to
begin again when my work was
destroyed by others. I would not
have had the strength, at my age,
to travel the world, proclaiming
the truth.” (Bhatia, 2019, p. xii)
/IMC
