Do You See?

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Kari discuss boundaries and the Montessori notion of “freedom within limits”. They also dispel the myth that students in Montessori school can do whatever they want, expound upon the safety that consistent limits give to children, and Ms. Angie gives her best classroom management tip.

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Laura discuss experiential learning and the ways in which going out into the world can benefit students. Ms. Angie is a glutton for punishment when it comes to taking students on trips, Ms. Laura’s secret nickname is revealed, and Ms. Alisha tells the notorious Ouija board story.

In this episode, Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Allison discuss the terrifying topic of the adolescent brain. It turns out this is the second biggest time of change for the human brain, as you might have guessed if you happen to have a teenager around the house. Ms. Angie has survived raising three teenagers and gives parents some homework: to examine one of their teen’s irritating behaviors (if they don’t currently have one, just wait a few minutes) in light of the insights of this episode.

In this episode Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, Ms. Melissa, and Mr. Alden discuss growth mindset, which emerged from research at Stanford University, and how we can help children become friendly with their mistakes and develop the resilience to take risks. Mr. Alden creates a metaphor using the weather, and Ms. Angie recommends a song from Zootopia.

In this episode Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Becca lucidly discuss some recondite vocabulary words and ask: how do we learn new words and how do we foster a rich vocabulary in children? Ms. Angie puts Ms. Alisha and Ms. Becca on the spot with a vocabulary test, and Greek and Latin roots are highlighted.

In this episode Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Katie discuss creativity and present some excellent evidence that Montessori-educated children are more creative than their traditionally-educated peers. Ms. Angie asserts (not for the first time) that her job is never boring, and brags about some of the amazing innovators who were educated at Montessori schools. Also, Ms. Alisha sings!

In this episode Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Melissa discuss conflict resolution and the four styles of communication, as well as the use of the peace table to increase students’ emotional intelligence. Ms. Angie tells of a peace table between a young boy and girl that may or may not reinforce the stereotypes of communication styles of men and women everywhere…

In this episode Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, Ms. Melissa, and Ms. Rebecca talk about the benefits of positive thinking and gratitude. They stress the importance of having fun at work, which they certainly do, and Ms. Rebecca tells a story about the longest word in the Oxford dictionary, despite the fact that she is our kindergarten teacher.

In this pilot episode Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisha, and Ms. Melissa explore confirmation bias, in which humans fool themselves by giving more weight to evidence that confirms their existing ideas than to evidence that contradicts them. Ms. Angie confesses her own confirmation biases.