Teacher Education
Kitty Bravo Jana Morgan Herman
Submitted by Kitty Bravo, Chair of the IMC Teacher Education Committee and
Jana Morgan Herman, Chair of the IMC Social Justice – Teacher Education Task Group
Recognizing the great
need for Montessori teachers
to be more sensitive and prepared
for working with all children,
recommendations have been made
for both the Classroom Leadership and
Child Development curriculum. These recommendations
include the study of trauma, including
racial trauma, and the effects of Adverse Childhood
Experiences on learning and behavior. The group also believes
that teachers need to understand the negative impact of inequitable
discipline practices caused by implicit bias. All children need
to be respected and supported. We need to reframe our belief that
some specific children and families are a good fit for Montessori.
Our adult learners need to understand the importance of adapting
their practices to fit children’s needs instead of making the child
fit Montessori.
While the task group’s work is still in the early stages, many
opportunities have been identified for recontextualizing the
curriculum to be more inclusive and address important social
justice topics. This includes recommendations for preparing
environments in Practical Life, Language, Cosmic, and the Art
areas with art, books, and materials representing all cultures and
explicitly represent the children served in the adult learners’ school
community. In Math, Science, History, and Cultural areas, the
team established recommendations for acknowledging mathematicians,
scientists, and inventors from all cultures so that all children
can see the contributions people like themselves and others
have made to society’s evolution. A further recommendation for
Cosmic Education at the Elementary level and Secondary studies is
exploring ancient civilizations, indigenous peoples, and modern
cultures from multiples perspectives, exploring which peoples
have been elevated and suppressed.
At this stage, the task group is mostly brainstorming and wordsmithing,
adding concise points to the IMC standards. The idea is
for the recommended policies and curricular suggestions to fit in
and update the existing Montessori curriculum in a complementary
way. Because IMC programs and Montessori teacher education
programs are international, it is essential for the wording for antibias
and social justice issues across the globe to be easily interpreted.
The Teacher Ed Social Justice Task Group also recognizes
that some programs may need support in implementing these
topics. With this in mind, the task group is considering developing
a companion guide to go with the IMC Standards. This guide would
provide suggestions for how to present these topics and include
ideas for reflective and discussion questions, as well as practicum
and general course assignments.
Once the task group completes the IMC standards’ recommendations,
the entire TEC will review them before presenting
them to the IMC Board. The next phase of the task group’s work
will be to identify the corresponding adult learner competencies
related to social justice and make competency recommendations
to both IMC and MACTE. This is significant work, but with
time, patience, and a commitment to creating a safer and more
equitable world, the IMC -TEC and Social Justice Task Group is up for
the challenge.
VOLUME 22 ISSUE 4 • 2020 | WWW.MONTESSORI.ORG/IMC | ©MONTESSORI LEADERSHIP
/IMC