"I have studied the child. I have taken what the child has given me and expressed it and that is what is called the Montessori method."

-- Dr. Maria Montessori.

The Montessori method is both a methodology and educational philosophy. It was originally developed in the early 1900s by Dr. Maria Montessori as a way to educate poor children in her native Italy. Although a few Montessori schools go through high school level, most are preschool or elementary school programs.

Philosophy

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Concepts

The Montessori method believes that the child is the best judge of what he or she is ready to learn, and that children learn best individually in a supportive and non-competitive atmosphere. The child controls the pace, topic and repetition of lessons independent of the rest of the class or of the teacher, and takes personal responsibility for his studies. This does not occur randomly, but is carefully nurtured within the child over time; the energy of the toddler who wants to do all things for him or herself is thus channeled into life-long self-determination and personal responsibility.

More on [ Montessori method ]

David Lynch : Transcendental Meditation

Drugs or meditation
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +0100
Have you ever used hallucinogenic drugs for inspiration, or have you done it entirely through meditation? I have smoked marijuana. But I don’t smoke it any more. And I was pretty lucky—and it’s a true thing. You know, I went to art school in the ’60s. So you can imagine what was going on. And yet my friends were the ones: they said, “No, no, no, David: don’t you take those drugs.”

How do ideas become a script?
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +0100
How do you find your ideas, and how do you form them into a script? That’s a beautiful question. I think a desire for an idea is like a bait. And I say it’s like fishing. You desire an idea. And when you go fishing, you know you have to have patience. And you bait your hook, and then you just kind of wait. But the desire is that bait that pulls those fish in—those ideas. And the beautiful thing is: when you catch one fish that yo [...]
Music and consciousness
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Sun, 10 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +0100
Can you explain how you use music to transform consciousness within your story? But it doesn’t expand—music doesn’t expand consciousness. The only thing that expands consciousness… You know, they have these so-called “consciousness raising” groups. What they’re doing is sharing information, or giving information. It doesn’t raise consciousness. Consciousness can be raised only by experiencing that d [...]
Does meditation protect you?
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +0100
How can you just so fully commit to the violent, dark nature of life—mostly in Twin Peaks, I think, and all of them—how can you be so committed to that darkness without being harmed by it? And how does meditation help you with that? In a way—this is a strange thing, but it’s a true thing in my experience–bliss is like a flack jacket. Bliss is like a protecting thing. If you have so much bliss, they say it’s [...]
Where to meditate, even on location
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:00:00 +0100
Could you share your technique for being able to meditate twice a day while you’re shooting your films? Yes. I wanted this meditation. And I think that the key is this desire for it. And where it came from, you know, I don’t know for sure, but I wanted it. And so I have never missed a meditation in those 32 years, twice a day, morning and afternoon. You wake up, you do your meditation, and then you go about your business. And in the ev [...]
On the way to Enlightenment
sanunit@iowatelecom.net Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:00:00 +0100
Have you been enlightened? I’m not enlightened, I have to tell you. But on the way to enlightenment, the good news is: every day gets better. When you experience this consciousness, this ocean of consciousness has qualities. And those qualities are bliss. They call it sometimes “bliss consciousness.” And you can dive in and get wet with this bliss consciousness. And it expands. Inner happiness grows. It’s so beautiful. It&r [...]

Education: News & Videos about Education - CNN.com

College chiefs urge new debate on drinking age
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:19:00 -0400
College presidents from about 100 of the nation's best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, saying current laws actually encourage dangerous binge drinking on campus.
A Homeschooling Win in California
Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:00:00 -0400
In a stunning reversal of its own ruling, a California court says it's O.K. for uncredentialed parents to homeschool their kids. But regulatory questions remain
Living with autism in college
Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:07:00 -0400
When Dan Hackett started college, he didn't make the grades he knew he could.

UN News Centre - Culture, Education

Music-rich Glasgow wins place in UN cultural network of cities
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Glasgow has been declared a City of Music by the United Nations culture agency, joining its neighbour Edinburgh on its Creative Cities Network, established to promote social, economic and cultural development.
Top UN official deplores murder of Filipino broadcaster
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending freedom of expression and press freedom has condemned the murder of a radio broadcaster who was shot dead on his way home in Roxas City, in the Philippines.
Tributes by UN officials mark passing of Palestinian poet
Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Senior United Nations officials in the Middle East have joined their voices to those paying tribute to the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, who was laid to rest today.

U.S. Department of Education

Grant to Idaho to Help Create More Charter Schools
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:23:00 -0000
ED's Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement Doug Mesecar visited the Idaho Arts Charter School in Nampa, Idaho, today to present a $3,386,402 Charter School Program grant award to the Idaho State Department of Education. Tom Luna, Idaho State Superintendent of Public Instruction, joined Mesecar for the announcement.
Career and Technical Education Grants
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:08:00 -0000
ED has awarded a total of $750,000 in grants to six states to help strengthen and enhance career and technical education (CTE) programs. Indiana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nebraska, Florida, and Hawaii have received grants to support partnerships that will create new CTE programs, or adopt existing ones, that will align secondary and postsecondary education courses needed to prepare students for further education and employment.
Teaching Resources: U.S. History, Polar Sciences, Countries of the World and More
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:37:00 -0000
The Constitution, U.S. government, international relations, nations of the world, pivotal moments in U.S. history, early childhood education, calculator-controlled robots, and polar sciences are topics of new resources at FREE, the website that makes teaching resources from federal agencies easier to find.

BBC News | Education | UK Edition

Big jump in top GCSE exam grades
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:21:51 -0000
There has been the biggest annual rise since 1990 in the proportion of GCSE exams awarded the best grades.
Results show regional variations
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:47:50 -0000
The first breakdown of results in England's GCSE entries reveals regional differences, with the North East and London doing well.
Languages still slipping at GCSE
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:52:54 -0000
Fewer people are taking modern languages and fewer GCSEs have been taken overall, results from the exam boards show.
Schools keen to pass 30% target
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:15:31 -0000
Many secondary schools will be discovering whether they have beaten a new government GCSE target.
Pushy parents can act as agents
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:30:18 -0000
Parents can now act as agents to handle their children's university applications - and then turn up for the interviews too.
Decline in number of childminders
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:53:19 -0000
The number of childminders in England has continued falling in the face of increasing regulation.
No quick exit from GCSE challenge
Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:08:22 -0000
Even if GCSE results this week raise schools above the 30% threshold, they can remain in the National Challenge programme.
US to back 21st century learning
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:51:13 -0000
The US Congress backs plans to bring technological advances from the business world into the classroom.
University used in Nigerian scam
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:55:33 -0000
The name of Liverpool Hope University is being used in an internet scam in Nigeria.
Cash for youth diversity projects
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:52:46 -0000
Children's Minister Beverley Hughes allocates £4.5m to programmes to unite youngsters from different backgrounds.
Subject by subject
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:32:49 -0000
Compare your grades with everyone else's
Twin triumphs
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:43:11 -0000
Three sets of twins celebrate 48 A* and A grades
More pressure
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:19:38 -0000
New target hanging over hundreds of schools.
Quads celebrate
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:58:24 -0000
University and A-level success for awesome foursome
Sats 'shambles'
Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:48:52 -0000
What next for England's troubled testing system?
E-mail us
Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:22:01 -0000
How to contact the BBC News website education team
Teacher concerns over school CCTV
Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:22:41 -0000
Many teachers say they are concerned about "hidden" surveillance cameras located in their schools.
Sats marking contract is scrapped
Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:55:42 -0000
The contract between exams authority the QCA and troubled marking firm ETS is ended by "mutual consent".
'Bravest' students do not cheat
Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:08:42 -0000
The most courageous students are least likely to cheat in class, US researchers say.
A-level results show big divide
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:23:01 -0000
Exam boards have given a regional breakdown of A-level results for England for the first time, showing big differences.
Thousands call university hotline
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:09:30 -0000
Record numbers of students call the university admissions line after receiving their A-level results.
Bosses say education is worse
Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:15:03 -0000
Senior managers say education has declined over the last 10 years, despite record exam results.
Revival hopes for 'stem' subjects
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:48:39 -0000
A growing number of students are taking maths and science A-levels, prompting hopes of a revival.
NI students top of A-level class
Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:48:36 -0000
A-Level students in Northern Ireland once again outperform their counterparts in England and Wales.
Delay 'likely' for school tables
Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:01:17 -0000
As Key Stage 3 test results in England are announced, the schools minister says marking problems will delay league tables.
Student debt 'could top £17,500'
Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:48:15 -0000
A survey suggests the average student will face debts of more than £17,500 by the time they leave university.
Oxford delays on A* grade offers
Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:58:46 -0000
Oxford University will not make offers of places based on the higher A* grade at A-level when it is first introduced.
Children 'bullied over brands'
Sun, 10 Aug 2008 23:41:11 -0000
Brands are more influential to children than the opinion of their own friends, says research from a teachers' union.
CBI wants more pupils in science
Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:43:55 -0000
British business leaders want brighter teenagers to be "opted in" to taking three separate science subjects.
Graduate jobs market strong
Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:54:03 -0000
The graduate jobs market seems to be holding firm, with the lowest graduate unemployment rate for five years.
What future for schools?
Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:38:48 -0000
Mike Baker considers the big picture of where schools should be heading in the future.
Tests - do we still need them?
Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:00:26 -0000
Mike Baker considers whether the "high stakes" testing regime is still needed.
Future of league tables
Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:37:46 -0000
Mike Baker says it is hard to see how performance tables can be published on the basis of this year's school tests.
Was there ever a golden age?
Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:37:54 -0000

Digging for hope
Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:33:14 -0000
English teenagers help African village build classrooms
'Try teaching' scheme booming
Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:06:40 -0000
A scheme that gets American graduates to try teaching in tough areas before other careers is proving a hit.
When pupils are too shy to learn
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:16:57 -0000
"Invisible children" too shy to put up their hands could be helped by a scheme to boost their social skills.
Multiple difficulty?
Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:07:09 -0000
Why multiple choice exams trouble dyslexics
What is BBC News School Report?
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:13:39 -0000
Find out more about the project which motivates secondary students around the UK to make and broadcast their own news.

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