Maria Montessori supported
the work of the League of Nations and its successor the United Nations as a
forum where peace could be created. Montessori formed the Social Party of the
Child in Copenhagen, 1937 and worked tirelessly in support of the Rights of the
Child in conjunction with UNESCO.
She saw the hope for peace
in the education of children. That foundation is laid in Montessori schools, as
children become independent, self-actualized and compassionate community
members. They learn to collaborate as active agents of social evolution. The
curriculum for peace education like all subjects is determined by the
developmental characteristics of the child. Because the elementary student is a
sensitive period for reason, justice and morality, the Model UN Program forms a
part of the Science of Peace that Maria Montessori believed was the real answer
to war and conflict. Currently, more than 200,000 high school and university
students participate annually in the Model United Nations Program.
PEACE EDUCATION
Montessori’s own writings
explicitly make a connection to education for peace. She passionately argued
that education was a means—perhaps the only genuine means—of eliminating war
once and for all. Without explicit and intentional moral and spiritual
education, she believed, mankind would inevitably revert to its habit of war.
Values such as global citizenship, personal responsibility, and respect for
diversity, she argued, must be both an implicit and explicit part of every
child’s (and adult’s) education. These values in Montessori education are every
bit as crucial as the subjects of math, language or science. She wrote
in Education and Peace, “Peace is a goal that can only be attained
through common accord, and the means to achieve this unity for peace are
twofold: first, an immediate effort to resolve conflicts without recourse
to violence—in other words, to prevent war—and second, a long-term effort to
establish a lasting peace among men”.
Teaching global citizenship
is the explicit fostering of both a specific set of knowledge and a particular
set of values in students (and teachers, for that matter). The specific
curriculum might include addressing the causes of war and poverty,
communication and other conflict resolution skills, disarmament or so
on; the values would usually include and appreciation for diversity and nonviolence.
Montessori’s unique methods reinforce this commitment to fostering global
citizens who would live out the values of and actively work for peace. This is
for several pedagogical reasons. One, the fostering of independent critical
thought (at age-appropriate levels, of course), as Montessori’s contemporary
John Dewey also emphasized, is vital to the survival of a
democracy. Citizens are less likely to be manipulated and mislead into a
war not in their interests when they have developed a habit of informed
reflection. Ironically, it was the infamous Nazi Goering who, while awaiting
the Nuremberg trials in 1946, who also expressed this point: "Why of
course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on a farm want to
risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of it is to come back to
his farm in one piece?....Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought
to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them
they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism
and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country".
Consciously developing the habit of critical and independent thought can
protect men and women from such propaganda.
As one may expect, this is
the aspect of Montessori’s methods most commonly critiqued as idealistic and
naïve. Montessori and her followers may well make two replies to this. First,
Montessori classrooms by their nature reduce undesirable behavior as students
are genuinely engaged in their work. Secondly, one can observe from many public
schools, given literacy and dropout rates, that the “carrot and stick” approach
is not working. If students are never given real choices as they grow, it is
not realistic to expect them to suddenly acquire this skill upon graduation.
Hence developing internal self-discipline is a vital outcome of Montessorian
and other types of peace education.
Dr. Maria Montessori is a seminal figure in peace education.
However, beyond merely producing theory, she developed concrete pedagogy for
peace, one that is currently still thriving throughout the globe (Duckworth,
2006). Her methodology focused on the development of the whole child and prized
the creative and critical thinking skills, as well as relational skills, which
are so critical in men and women who will be both inspired and equipped to
build lasting peace. ***Excerpt from Maria Montessori's Contribution to Peace
Education by Cheryl Duckworth
CommUNITY Wellness
