Breaking the Paradigm

Why do we focus so intensely on child flourishing in Montessori schools while burning out the adults who make it possible?

If we believe in human dignity as our core value, how should we evaluate and support teachers?

And what happens when we apply self-determination theory—autonomy, competence, and relatedness—not just to children, but to the educators who guide them?

These are the questions Caroline Robbins is wrestling with as both a public Montessori administrator and doctoral student studying how we can transform teacher evaluation systems to actually support human growth. Her journey from art history student inspired by Anne Frank to scholar-practitioner bridging research and real-world practice offers a unique lens on what it really takes to sustain authentic Montessori communities in public settings.

The Questions That Drive Real Change

What if teacher evaluation became collaborative appraisal instead of top-down judgment? Caroline's pilot study revealed that public Montessori teachers crave three things: relationships, meaning, and support. Remarkably, these align perfectly with self-determination theory's core human needs, suggesting we're onto something fundamental about what all humans require to thrive.

How do we maintain Montessori authenticity within systems designed for compliance and control? Caroline navigates this tension daily, working within required frameworks while asking: "How can we make this meaningful? What are your goals? How can we support you in getting there?"

Why do we lecture at parents when we'd never lecture at children? The conversation reveals a striking disconnect: Montessori educators facilitate learning beautifully with students, then resort to "sage on the stage" mode with adults. What would change if we applied the same principles consistently?

Perhaps the most provocative thread in this conversation is Caroline's focus on adult inner development. Why don't we give educators space for the same kind of spiritual preparation we expect them to facilitate for children?

Listen to discover how Caroline is quietly revolutionizing teacher evaluation and what happens when we finally start treating educators with the same developmental approach we use with children. Thanks, Caroline, for a great conversation!

Want to connect with Caroline about her research or public Montessori work? Find her on LinkedIn for updates on her upcoming publications and findings!

This episode was brought to you by YOU: the Paradigm Breakers who demanded more.

For months, you've been telling us:

"I love the podcast, but where do I go to get deeper?" "How do I connect with other educators doing this work?" "Can you create something that helps me implement these ideas?"

Your voices created Provocations.

This isn't another publication. It's designed specifically for the revolutionary educators in our community who are ready to move from inspiration to implementation.

What our community gets in Provocations:

* Quarterly issues featuring the most innovative educational minds worldwide

* Frameworks developed by our own Paradigm Breaker community

* Access to a network of educators actively transforming their contexts

The real value? Becoming part of a movement that's actually changing education, not just talking about it.

But here's what matters most: Every issue is shaped by this community. Your questions become our content. Your challenges become our case studies. Your successes become our celebration.

This is what happens when revolutionary educators stop accepting the status quo and start building something better together.

Ready to help us create what comes next?

Become a paid subscriber for full access to Provocations!

Because the educational revolution won't be funded by institutions that profit from the broken system. It's being built by people like us.

Breaking the Paradigm is a division of Developing Education, which is on a mission to transform education globally to foster human development and flourishing for all people.

First Intention: Curriculum and pedagogy support for Montessori adolescent practitioners, specifically with math and language across the prepared environment.

The Enlightened Educator Project: Supporting educators with mindfulness and resiliency through professional development and downloadable resources.

If freedom is our highest democratic value, why don't we give young people freedom in schools?

Ellen Roche, my latest guest on Breaking the Paradigm, brings a unique neuroscience perspective to this question.

Her research reveals something that should shake us all: we arrive in this world with agency already intact. Babies aren't passive sponges; they're active meaning-makers from day one. So what does it say about educational systems designed primarily for compliance and control?

We're living through what Ellen calls "yet another inflection point in culture wars." Schools are battlegrounds. Parents are suspicious. Teachers are leaving in droves. Meanwhile, we keep using the wrong tools to solve our problems: more testing to close achievement gaps, more control to create safety, more compliance to prepare kids for "the real world."

But what if we've got it backwards? What if the path forward isn't through more authoritarian systems, but through environments that actually honor how humans develop?

Ellen's work in developmental neuroscience offers a different lens. She's studying how we grow and develop in relationships, how our earliest experiences shape our capacity for solidarity and resistance, and why trust- not control- might be democracy's best hope.

We also dive into why progressive educators keep falling into the same trap: making economic arguments for better education. Early childhood gets funded because of "return on investment." Play-based learning survives because it supposedly creates better workers.

Ellen argues this is a dead end that leaves us vulnerable every time the economic winds shift. But if not economics, then what? How do we make the case for education that honors children's humanity without constantly having to prove its productivity value?

The question Ellen leaves us with is profound: Do we have the courage to trust decades of human development research, or will we keep building systems that snuff the humanity out of our educational spaces?

Listen to find out how the neuroscience of early childhood development connects to the future of American democracy- and what it means for anyone who works with young people.

Want to learn more about Trust for Learning's work? Check them out at trustforlearning.org.

Want to Deepen Your Paradigm Breaking Practice?

After two years of exposing the education status quo, we're going deeper.

Provocations, our new publication, brings together the most innovative global minds—the educators, rebels, and visionaries who refuse to accept that "this is just how school works."

Each issue reveals the hidden patterns keeping millions trapped in outdated systems, and the proven strategies already transforming communities worldwide.

This isn't another academic journal. It's the playbook for parents, teachers, and leaders ready to break free from an education system designed for a world that no longer exists.

Available exclusively to Breaking the Paradigm subscribers.

Breaking the Paradigm is a division of Developing Education, which is on a mission to transform education globally to foster human development and flourishing for all people.

First Intention: Curriculum and pedagogy support for Montessori adolescent practitioners, specifically with math and language across the prepared environment.

The Enlightened Educator Project: Supporting educators with mindfulness and resiliency through professional development and downloadable resources.

If Maria Montessori started her work with children who had learning differences, why does modern Montessori have a reputation for not serving neurodivergent learners?

If we're truly following the child, what happens when that child doesn't fit our preconceived notions of what a "Montessori child" should look like?

These are the uncomfortable questions Christine Lowry forces us to confront in this paradigm-shifting podcast episode. As a special educator and longtime Montessorian who founded two inclusive schools before "inclusive" was part of our vocabulary, Christine brings both the research and the real-world experience to challenge everything we think we know about who belongs in Montessori classrooms.

Christine points out that most Montessori teacher education programs simply don't prepare educators to work with neurodivergent learners. We fall into habits, especially when stressed, and retreat to rigid interpretations of "what Montessori should look like."

But here's what she challenges us to remember: Montessori education is mostly gray, not black and white. The gray requires reflection, observation, and willingness to experiment: exactly what Dr. Montessori modeled as a scientist.

Our goal isn’t to create the same Montessori classroom in every school, or to do exactly as Montessori did in the 1940’s. Our goal should be to use her methods to serve the unique young people in front of us.

This conversation reveals that inclusion isn't about adding supports for "those kids;" it's about creating environments responsive to human variability.

It's about remembering that we're not trying to create compliant workers, but independent, confident humans who know how to advocate for themselves and support others.

Listen to discover why Christine believes neurodivergent learners are a gift to our classrooms, how a shift in language can transform our practice, and what happens when we finally have the courage to follow every child- not just the ones who fit our expectations.

Want to connect with Christine about professional development or coaching? Reach her at [email protected] or find her on LinkedIn.

Want to Deepen Your Paradigm Breaking Practice?

After two years of exposing the education status quo, we're going deeper.

Provocations, our new publication, brings together the most innovative global minds—the educators, rebels, and visionaries who refuse to accept that "this is just how school works."

Each issue reveals the hidden patterns keeping millions trapped in outdated systems, and the proven strategies already transforming communities worldwide.

This isn't another academic journal. It's the playbook for parents, teachers, and leaders ready to break free from an education system designed for a world that no longer exists.

Available exclusively to Breaking the Paradigm subscribers.

Thank you so much for your continued support!

Breaking the Paradigm is a division of Developing Education, which is on a mission to transform education globally to foster human development and flourishing for all people.

First Intention: Curriculum and pedagogy support for Montessori adolescent practitioners, specifically with math and language across the prepared environment.

The Enlightened Educator Project: Supporting educators with mindfulness and resiliency through professional development and downloadable resources.

What if efficiency is actually the enemy of deep learning?

When we prioritize productivity over process, we rob both educators and students of the momentum needed for genuine discovery and growth. Real transformation happens not in rushed 45-minute meetings, but in the spacious conversations that allow ideas to emerge organically.

In this thought-provoking conversation with Taylor Henry, lead guide at Bovina Center Montessori School in New York, we explore how our obsession with time management actually undermines the very relationships and insights we're trying to cultivate. Taylor's journey from engineering to education reveals how questioning our most basic assumptions about schedules, meetings, and "productive" time can revolutionize our approach to learning.

In this wide-ranging episode, we touch on the following- and much more:

* What happens to adult collaboration when we realize it takes 30 minutes just to discover what a conversation actually needs to be about?

* How do we create environments where students learn to manage their own time rather than simply comply with adult-imposed schedules?

* Why do we interrupt the concentration of adolescents when we would never dream of doing that to a focused three-year-old?

This conversation challenges the fundamental assumption that efficiency equals effectiveness. As Taylor reminds us, "We don't offer freedom in response to capability. We offer freedom so that capability is acquired." When we scaffold away every opportunity for students to make real choices about their time, energy, and priorities, we're preparing them to be perpetual followers rather than thoughtful leaders.

The paradigm shift here isn't about better time management.

It's about recognizing that learning to navigate unstructured time is itself a crucial life skill that requires practice, reflection, and yes, the freedom to make mistakes.

All these insights, plus practical approaches to creating schedules that honor human rhythms rather than factory efficiency, in this paradigm-shifting episode of Breaking the Paradigm. Thanks for showing us what happens when we trust the process, Taylor!

Want to Deepen Your Paradigm Breaking Practice?

After two years of exposing the education status quo, we're going deeper.

Provocations, our new publication, brings together the most innovative global minds—the educators, rebels, and visionaries who refuse to accept that "this is just how school works."

Each issue reveals the hidden patterns keeping millions trapped in outdated systems, and the proven strategies already transforming communities worldwide.

This isn't another academic journal. It's the playbook for parents, teachers, and leaders ready to break free from an education system designed for a world that no longer exists.

Available exclusively to Breaking the Paradigm subscribers.

Thank you so much for your continued support!

Breaking the Paradigm is a division of Developing Education, which is on a mission to transform education globally to foster human development and flourishing for all people.

First Intention: Curriculum and pedagogy support for Montessori adolescent practitioners, specifically with math and language across the prepared environment.

The Enlightened Educator Project: Supporting educators with mindfulness and resiliency through professional development and downloadable resources.

What if the key to transforming education isn't new curriculum, but radical love?

When we center radical love, hope, and relationality in our classrooms, we create spaces where every student can rediscover the beauty of who they are and can thrive.

In this powerful conversation with three of the co-authors of Pedagogies of Voice, Marlo Bagsik, Dr. Sawsan Jaber, and Crystal Watson, we explore how student agency emerges when we step back from power and step into authentic relationship. These brilliant educators, alongside their co-author Shane Safir, have created something truly special: a book that meets this moment with practical tools for building classroom communities rooted in identity, belonging, inquiry, and efficacy.

What happens when we recognize that no one comes into education to harm children, yet harm still occurs through well-intentioned compliance?

How do we move from surface-level "getting to know you" activities to truly seeing our students as whole human beings?

Why does teacher agency directly impact student agency, and what does that mean for how we support educators?

This conversation reveals the interconnected nature of liberation: we cannot free students from dehumanizing systems while keeping teachers trapped in those same systems.

The paradigm shift here isn't about new techniques. It's about recognizing that “teachers are the most powerful people in the world” when they understand their capacity to create transformative spaces through radical love and authentic relationships.

All these insights, plus practical pathways for implementing pedagogies that honor student voice and agency, in this paradigm-shifting episode of Breaking the Paradigm. Thank you for showing us what educational revolution looks like in practice, Marlo, Sawsan, and Crystal!

If you haven’t pre-ordered Pedagogy of Voice, it comes out on July 31st! You can order the book at the link below, and if you want to build community as you read, you can also join the author-led book club!

I don’t say this often- but if you only have time to read one book this summer as an educator, leader, or policy maker, you should choose Pedagogy of Voice! (And no one has paid me to say these things- I just think the work is that good!!)

Pre-Order Link: https://www.corwin.com/books/pedagogies-of-voice-288927

Book Club Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfN6GKJRA8GOJk2Z8uV8BqzYFlfgYpwl-C_yper5aBzNmSMeQ/viewform

Want to Deepen Your Paradigm Breaking Practice?

After two years of exposing the education status quo, we're going deeper.

Provocations, our new publication, brings together the most innovative global minds—the educators, rebels, and visionaries who refuse to accept that "this is just how school works."

Each issue reveals the hidden patterns keeping millions trapped in outdated systems, and the proven strategies already transforming communities worldwide.

This isn't another academic journal. It's the playbook for parents, teachers, and leaders ready to break free from an education system designed for a world that no longer exists.

Available exclusively to Breaking the Paradigm subscribers.

Thank you so much for your continued support!

Breaking the Paradigm is a division of Developing Education, which is on a mission to transform education globally to foster human development and flourishing for all people.

First Intention: Curriculum and pedagogy support for Montessori adolescent practitioners, specifically with math and language across the prepared environment.

The Enlightened Educator Project: Supporting educators with mindfulness and resiliency through professional development and downloadable resources.

What if stepping back actually helps students step forward?

Sometimes our impulse to control becomes the very thing that limits learning. When we create space for uncertainty and exploration, students discover capabilities we never knew they had.

In this thought-provoking conversation with Jason Blair, an elementary art teacher and prolific education writer from Columbus, Ohio, we dig into what happens when educators shift from controllers to researchers.

What do we do when efficiency becomes the enemy of creativity?

How do we create conditions for learning that honor both independence and interdependence?

Why do many of our classroom reactions stem from fear of judgment rather than commitment to growth?

Jason challenges educators to see ourselves as action researchers. His insights reveal how breaking the predictable routines of school can create transformative shared experiences, from first-day surprises to mixed-age collaborations, that change how students see themselves and others.

This conversation isn't about classroom management; it's about the inner shifts needed to become a Paradigm Breaker. As Jason puts it: "Efficiency is the antithesis of creativity." When we slow down and lean into the cracks in our system, we discover that students aren't the problem; our environments are. And if our environments aren’t fit for our young people, we must change them.

All these paradigm-shifting insights, plus practical strategies for moving from control to curiosity, in this episode of Breaking the Paradigm.

Thanks for a great conversation, Jason!

Want to Deepen Your Paradigm Breaking Practice?

After two years of exposing the education status quo, we're going deeper.

Provocations, our new publication, brings together the most innovative global minds—the educators, rebels, and visionaries who refuse to accept that "this is just how school works."

Each issue reveals the hidden patterns keeping millions trapped in outdated systems, and the proven strategies already transforming communities worldwide.

This isn't another academic journal. It's the playbook for parents, teachers, and leaders ready to break free from an education system designed for a world that no longer exists.

Available exclusively to Breaking the Paradigm subscribers.

Thank you so much for your continued support!

Breaking the Paradigm is a division of Developing Education, which is on a mission to transform education globally to foster human development and flourishing for all people.

First Intention: Curriculum and pedagogy support for Montessori adolescent practitioners, specifically with math and language across the prepared environment.

The Enlightened Educator Project: Supporting educators with mindfulness and resiliency through professional development and downloadable resources.

What if the key to global peace and understanding is dignity?

When we truly understand dignity as our birthright, rather than something to be earned, it points toward liberation for all.

In this profound conversation with Kathy Minardi, founder of the Whole School Leadership Institute, we explore how dignity work offers a paradigm shift toward genuine global peace. This conversation reveals the scientific foundation behind what Montessori developed a century ago about human worth and interconnectedness.

What happens when we mistake respect for dignity—making worthiness contingent on behavior rather than recognizing it as inherent?

What do we do as leaders when we create cultures of compliance rather than communities of belonging?

How do our own wounds around dignity violations impact the emotional fields we create in our schools—and how do we heal that?

Kathy connects this work directly to Montessori's vision: "If Montessori had heard the word at the time, a hundred years ago, this is what she was talking about. This is how she built the pedagogy." The path to peace isn't through external policy changes, but through recognizing and nurturing the inherent dignity we all carry.

All these insights, and the practical steps toward dignity-centered communities, in this paradigm-shifting episode of Breaking the Paradigm. Thanks for illuminating this pathway forward, Kathy!

Paid Subscribers Get New Perks!

After two years of exposing the education status quo, we're going deeper.

Provocations, our new publication, brings together the most innovative global minds—the educators, rebels, and visionaries who refuse to accept that "this is just how school works."

Each issue reveals the hidden patterns keeping millions trapped in outdated systems, and the proven strategies already transforming communities worldwide.

This isn't another academic journal. It's the playbook for parents, teachers, and leaders ready to break free from an education system designed for a world that no longer exists.

Available exclusively to Breaking the Paradigm subscribers.

Thank you so much for your continued support!

Breaking the Paradigm is a division of Developing Education, which is on a mission to transform education globally to foster human development and flourishing for all people.

First Intention: Curriculum and pedagogy support for Montessori adolescent practitioners, specifically with math and language across the prepared environment.

The Enlightened Educator Project: Supporting educators with mindfulness and resiliency through professional development and downloadable resources.

When we talk about education- what do we really mean?

Last week, I attended an alumni event called Education at a Crossroads put on by the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. The event began with a call to preserve democracy, emphasizing that education is key to a flourishing society.

The presenters, Ivy League professors, argued for more equity and access in education, framing the discussion as a battle between those who want more equity and those who want less.

But here’s the problem: while equity was the center of the discussion, at no point did they question, or even consider, the system of traditional education, which is inequitable at its core.

One speaker shared a quote that encapsulated the issue: “Our goal, and what educators have been trying to do for at least twenty years, is to make sure that the least of our students have what everyone else has.”

While this sounds noble, it reveals a fundamental flaw: The conversation never defined what education is, only that it’s “important.”

I would argue that getting more students to “have” a traditional education is not actually what we want to be doing.

When the panelists spoke about education’s role in democracy, they focused on classrooms being places for difficult conversations. Yet they ignored the need to prepare young people to live democracy.

The truth is, our traditional schooling system is authoritarian, not democratic.

For the first eighteen years of their lives, children are told where to go, what to do, and how to do it by adult figures.

They are evaluated by external stakeholders, often strangers, and told they’ll fail if they don’t master arbitrary content in arbitrary timeframes.

When they don’t follow the expectations and demands of the adults around them, young people are punished, sometimes very harshly, for failing to comply with the orders they are given.

This system doesn’t prepare students for democratic living; it conditions them for authoritarianism.

If we truly want equity and access for all, we must fundamentally question this system. It was never designed to value or uplift most students.

To perpetuate such a system is to perpetuate harm.

This brings me to a special announcement.

Frustrated by the lack of discourse outside small progressive circles, I’ve spent the past four months working on Provocations, a new publication from Breaking the Paradigm.

Provocations brings together education leaders from around the world who are rethinking education in terms of human development and flourishing. These leaders care about a truly transformative education, and are willing to question the systematic barriers that prevent it from being available to all children.

At Breaking the Paradigm, we actually care about democratic education—not simulated democracy with an authoritarian regime, but real opportunities for young people to live democracy.

Provocations is now live, and it’s a new benefit for our paid subscribers. It’s a space where we question assumptions, reject commonplace answers, and focus on the child—who they are, what they need, and how we can support them.

We must reject the idea that education is merely the transmission of content. Instead, we must embrace education as an aid to life, a foundation for human flourishing, and a lever for global peace and sustainability.

It’s time to provoke ourselves, our systems, and our leaders to think differently. Let’s unlearn the assumptions about who children are, what they’re capable of, and how they should spend their time.

Join us in Provocations as we explore what’s possible when we dare to challenge the status quo!

Paid Subscribers Get New Perks!

After two years of exposing the education status quo, we're going deeper.

Provocations, our new publication, brings together the most innovative global minds—the educators, rebels, and visionaries who refuse to accept that "this is just how school works."

Each issue reveals the hidden patterns keeping millions trapped in outdated systems, and the proven strategies already transforming communities worldwide.

This isn't another academic journal. It's the playbook for parents, teachers, and leaders ready to break free from an education system designed for a world that no longer exists.

Available exclusively to Breaking the Paradigm subscribers.

Thank you so much for your continued support!

Breaking the Paradigm is a division of Developing Education, which is on a mission to transform education globally to foster human development and flourishing for all people.

First Intention: Curriculum and pedagogy support for Montessori adolescent practitioners, specifically with math and language across the prepared environment.

The Enlightened Educator Project: Supporting educators with mindfulness and resiliency through professional development and downloadable resources.

“Montessori is only for affluent children.”

Have you heard that one before?

It’s one of many myths about Montessori that is propagated in the US about a Montessori education. The logic goes that because many Montessori schools in the US are private schools, they must only be successful as private schools.

Yet, such an understanding leaves out the significant history of Montessori, and in particular public Montessori in the US.

On this episode of Breaking the Paradigm, I spoke with Jihane Mrad and Corey Borgman about their efforts to start a public Montessori program in Fairfax County, Virginia.

We discuss the challenges and opportunities of starting a public Montessori program, and in particular, how to message a new program to parents who have only known a traditional system.

Jihane and Corey both have unique backgrounds in education which inform their perspectives on the topic. Jihane is the Director of Thought Leadership at Trust for Learning and Corey is the Montessori Education and Outreach Director at the University of Virginia.

Thanks Corey and Jihane for a great conversation!

Thanks for Stopping By!

If this work resonates with you, I invite you to become a paid subscriber. It is a great way to support this work so I can continue to bring thoughtful interviews and blogs to you all year long! Thank you so much for your continued support!

Paid subscribers have access to video recordings of our podcasts, as well as other expanded perks to be announced soon!

Breaking the Paradigm is a division of Developing Education, which is on a mission to transform education globally to foster human development and flourishing for all people.

First Intention: Curriculum and pedagogy support for Montessori adolescent practitioners, specifically with math and language across the prepared environment.

The Enlightened Educator Project: Supporting educators with mindfulness and resiliency through professional development and downloadable resources.

The language we use has power- to restrict or to liberate.

Ideally, our language points toward liberation for all, reflecting the inclusive potential of a Montessori education. However, that’s not always the case.

In this thoughtful conversation with Justin Tosco, his fourth appearance on Breaking the Paradigm, we dig into the importance of rethinking and reframing the language used in Montessori education. This conversation built off a panel Justin was a part of at the American Montessori Society conference this year.

What happens when “peaceful” refers more to compliance rather than justice? What do we do as guides when we revert to being “task masters” rather than cultivators of human potential? How do our own biases impact the ways we view and interpret children’s behavior- and how do we work through that?

All these questions, and more, on this episode of Breaking the Paradigm. Thanks for a great conversation, as always Justin!

Thanks for Stopping By!

If this work resonates with you, I invite you to become a paid subscriber. It is a great way to support this work so I can continue to bring thoughtful interviews and blogs to you all year long! Thank you so much for your continued support!

Paid subscribers have access to video recordings of our podcasts, as well as other expanded perks to be announced soon!

Breaking the Paradigm is a division of Developing Education, which is on a mission to transform education globally to foster human development and flourishing for all people.

First Intention: Curriculum and pedagogy support for Montessori adolescent practitioners, specifically with math and language across the prepared environment.

The Enlightened Educator Project: Supporting educators with mindfulness and resiliency through professional development and downloadable resources.