I know the children are doing their best when they do not know
when I am in the room.” 4
Where generations can unite is in the beauty and truth of the
pedagogy and philosophy of Dr. Montessori. For example, Millennials
and GenXers often take the blame for “helicoptering” or “snow
plowing” in the care of their children. This is eloquently explained
in the book How to Raise an Adult, by Julie Lythcott-Haims. Modeling
for the child, whether it is in a three-year plane of development
where the older children are modeling for the younger children
or it is adults, like a teacher, modeling for the child and the parent
on how to interact with one another. Remember, Millennials,
GenXers, and Boomers learned from their parents, but as
explained in the book, the world is different in each generation,
eg., wars, the economy, the cost of education, prejudices, etc.
all play a large role in molding parent actions. Nevertheless,
Dr. Montessori made it clear how important it is for adults to be
sensitive to their actions in front of children. “A child is an eager
observer and is particularly attracted by the actions of the adults
and wants to imitate them. In this regard an adult can have a kind
of mission. He can be an inspiration for the child’s actions, a kind
of open book wherein a child can learn how to direct his own movements.
But an adult, if he is to afford proper guidance, must always
be calm and act slowly so that the child who is watching him can
clearly see his actions in all their particulars.” 5
Generations Working Together
Preserving Montessori Education
Working together rather than in competition for who is right
and who is wrong, not unlike how our current political system
is operating right now, is the best way to preserve and promote
Montessori education. We are fortunate to have such a strong
base for Montessori education throughout the world. It is so well
established. What has kept it so strong are the principles that
Dr. Montessori established over 100 years ago.
On a grander scale, it has been miraculous to see how
the Montessori Foundation, International Montessori Council,
Center for Guided Montessori Studies, American Montessori
Society, Association Montessori International/USA (AMI), and
state and regional independent school associations have been
working together, especially at a time when Montessori education
is taking hold in charter and public schools.
At the same time, Millennials—when they were the age
of now the oldest iGens—have been struggling to navigate a
world of wars, faltering economies, and having to pay for college
tuitions. . . to name a few. To get a clearer picture of all of their
challenges, I once again refer to the book How to Raise an Adult.
To receive another perspective, watch the TED Talk, “What
baby boomers can learn from millennials at work—and vice
versa.” Presenter Chip Conley closes his talk capturing the essence
of what we need to do together to keep Montessori education growing
strong: “In sum, CEO of Airbnb, Inc. Brian Chesky brought
me in for my industry knowledge, but what I really offered was my
well-earned wisdom. Maybe it’s time we retire the term ‘knowledge
worker’ and replace it with ‘wisdom worker.’ We have five generations
in the workplace today, and we can operate like separate isolationist
countries, or we can actually start to find a way to bridge
these generational borders. And it’s time for us to actually look at
how to change up the physics of wisdom so it actually flows in both
directions, from old to young and from young to old.” 6
Taking advantage of Boomers’ age and experience in leading
4 Montessori, M. (1949). The Absorbent Mind, Ch. 27, 283
5 AZ Quotes. https://www.azquotes.com/author/10291-Maria_Montessori?p=3
6 Conley, Chip. (Sept. 2018). What baby boomers can learn from millennials at work — and vice versa. https://www.ted.com/talks/chip_conley_what_
baby_boomers_can_learn_from_millennials_at_work_and_vice_versa
VOLUME 22 ISSUE 4 • 2020 | WWW.MONTESSORI.ORG/IMC | ©MONTESSORI LEADERSHIP ����
/10291-Maria_Montessori?p=3
/chip_conley_what_
/IMC
