January 17, 2022
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service
Based on Maria Montessori’s description, children entering the second plane of development, (roughly 6-7 years of age) have the capacity to understand the abstract concepts of fairness, injustice, equity, morality, and history (Montessori, 1971). This has been proven. At its height in the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement drew children, teenagers, and young adults into a maelstrom of meetings, marches, violence. Several activists interviewed for the Civil Rights History Project were in elementary school when they joined the movement (YCRM). The education of children was one of MLK's top priorities.
History, the study of how the past has shaped our current existence, is the pillar of the Montessori educational approach for Montessori elementary children. Teaching approaches that emphasize acknowledgement of diverse cultures and histories give children multiple perspectives and the confidence to confront racial and ethnic injustice, and be better prepared to live and work in a diverse world (Learning for Justice, 2021). The poem below is evidence that when we provide an education for peace, present true history, and allow creative and critical thinking to explode, we get children that are so inspired that they write their own truth.
“Peace Shall Rule The World”
Aline Mae Hughes
4th-Grade Elementary
Chesapeake Montessori School
Chesapeake, Virginia
Lay down your weapons.
It doesn’t matter what kind and listen closely.
Now a days, there are wars, guns, weapons and terrible things going on.
Everyone is forgetting that this is not how we do things in this world.
Peace is how we settle.
Kindness and love are the best way to get along with one another.
We need to learn to accept what we have done wrong, not get upset at other people or cause fights.
Because at the end of the day you’ll realize you’ve only done worse.
So lay down your weapons, let the war end.
And let’s create peace with one another and let kindness be bigger, better, and stronger than hate ever will be.
So come together and let peace Rule the world, throughout each and every
Human being.
History, the study of how the past has shaped our current existence, is the pillar of the Montessori educational approach for Montessori elementary children. Teaching approaches that emphasize acknowledgement of diverse cultures and histories give children multiple perspectives and the confidence to confront racial and ethnic injustice, and be better prepared to live and work in a diverse world (Learning for Justice, 2021). The poem below is evidence that when we provide an education for peace, present true history, and allow creative and critical thinking to explode, we get children that are so inspired that they write their own truth.
“Peace Shall Rule The World”
Aline Mae Hughes
4th-Grade Elementary
Chesapeake Montessori School
Chesapeake, Virginia
Lay down your weapons.
It doesn’t matter what kind and listen closely.
Now a days, there are wars, guns, weapons and terrible things going on.
Everyone is forgetting that this is not how we do things in this world.
Peace is how we settle.
Kindness and love are the best way to get along with one another.
We need to learn to accept what we have done wrong, not get upset at other people or cause fights.
Because at the end of the day you’ll realize you’ve only done worse.
So lay down your weapons, let the war end.
And let’s create peace with one another and let kindness be bigger, better, and stronger than hate ever will be.
So come together and let peace Rule the world, throughout each and every
Human being.
Citations:
Lesson Plans. Learning for Justice Magazine. Retrieved from: https://www.learningforjustice.org/classroom-resources/learning-plans on 12/21/2021.
Montessori, M., ed. Montessori, Mario (1971). The Four Planes of Education. Distributed by Association of Montessori International/USA
Youth in the Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved from: https://www.loc.gov/collections/civil-rights-history-project/articles-and-essays/youth-in-the-civil-rights-movement/ on January 16, 2022
Lesson Plans. Learning for Justice Magazine. Retrieved from: https://www.learningforjustice.org/classroom-resources/learning-plans on 12/21/2021.
Montessori, M., ed. Montessori, Mario (1971). The Four Planes of Education. Distributed by Association of Montessori International/USA
Youth in the Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved from: https://www.loc.gov/collections/civil-rights-history-project/articles-and-essays/youth-in-the-civil-rights-movement/ on January 16, 2022
