The Cosmic Task of Birth to Three in Prague and A few stories about how I got there...
I want to thank those of you who were present in Prague this July at my presentation
I am happy to announce that I have created a website that will serve to connect us in the future: www.cosmictask0-3.education. On the website you will find the PDF from my July 30th 2017 presentation, as well as links to the two trailers I made previous to Prague and links to the YouTube videos I shared. The Cosmic Task 0-3 videos are NOT available due to parental permission having been granted only for the Congress viewing.
My Prague experience began when I met an AMI 3-6 Graduate from the Maria Montessori Institute in London, Federica Cinerelli, who I was randomly assigned to sit next to on the airplane from Rome to Prague and who inspired me that day to begin reading Montessori's books in Italian.
How it began
In high school I studied French. In college I studied Italian. I have always loved these two languages. After teaching preschool for 5 years in a French-American School and finding the methodology too authoritarian, I applied for a Rotary scholarship to study in Perugia and to take the AMI 3-6 course in Italian. I had a strong desire to study Montessori's educational philosophy in it's original language. The Perugia course was never to happen for me as I was the runner up for the scholarship and another opportunity presented itself, I was invited to live with my sister and help her with her first child. Four nieces and nephews later, when I was ready to return to my original path and study Montessori education, I discovered that there was a course for Birth to Three in Rome, which was my new found focus thanks to my nieces and nephew who were by now all three years old.
The Rome course, however, had only lasted a few years, and what I had found on the web was outdated information. But I didn't know this so I wrote a letter and sent it by fax to the fax number on the website, which must have been Silvana Montanaro's dining room fax machine.
After waiting some time without getting a response, I phoned the number on the website, presumably to Dr. Montanaro's home again, and I was greeted in Italian by someone who didn't know what I was talking about. Going back to the web and digging a little deeper I found the updated information and registered for the Assistants to Infancy Course in San Diego in 2003. It wasn't in Italian but it was with Dr. Montanaro, and I was confident I would eventually make my way back to my original goal of studying Montessori's books in the language in which they were written.
In 2010 when I finally went to Rome to begin my research on the history of Assistants to Infancy, I purchased copies of Montessori's books in Italian from the Opera Nazionale Montessori. I've transported them across the Atlantic Ocean twice, but have yet to read them. Thanks to meeting Federica, who told me how rich they are in Italian, I will begin to take in Montessori's teachings in the author's own voice.
THE COSMIC TASK OF BIRTH TO THREE for having been part of this historic event. I was honored as a speaker to have had you all in the audience.
I am happy to announce that I have created a website that will serve to connect us in the future: www.cosmictask0-3.education. On the website you will find the PDF from my July 30th 2017 presentation, as well as links to the two trailers I made previous to Prague and links to the YouTube videos I shared. The Cosmic Task 0-3 videos are NOT available due to parental permission having been granted only for the Congress viewing.
If you took videos during the presentation please do not share them.
My Prague experience began when I met an AMI 3-6 Graduate from the Maria Montessori Institute in London, Federica Cinerelli, who I was randomly assigned to sit next to on the airplane from Rome to Prague and who inspired me that day to begin reading Montessori's books in Italian.
Federica and I in Prague, July 27, 2017
How it began
In high school I studied French. In college I studied Italian. I have always loved these two languages. After teaching preschool for 5 years in a French-American School and finding the methodology too authoritarian, I applied for a Rotary scholarship to study in Perugia and to take the AMI 3-6 course in Italian. I had a strong desire to study Montessori's educational philosophy in it's original language. The Perugia course was never to happen for me as I was the runner up for the scholarship and another opportunity presented itself, I was invited to live with my sister and help her with her first child. Four nieces and nephews later, when I was ready to return to my original path and study Montessori education, I discovered that there was a course for Birth to Three in Rome, which was my new found focus thanks to my nieces and nephew who were by now all three years old.
The Rome course, however, had only lasted a few years, and what I had found on the web was outdated information. But I didn't know this so I wrote a letter and sent it by fax to the fax number on the website, which must have been Silvana Montanaro's dining room fax machine.
Dr. Montanaro's dining room office in Rome
After waiting some time without getting a response, I phoned the number on the website, presumably to Dr. Montanaro's home again, and I was greeted in Italian by someone who didn't know what I was talking about. Going back to the web and digging a little deeper I found the updated information and registered for the Assistants to Infancy Course in San Diego in 2003. It wasn't in Italian but it was with Dr. Montanaro, and I was confident I would eventually make my way back to my original goal of studying Montessori's books in the language in which they were written.
In 2010 when I finally went to Rome to begin my research on the history of Assistants to Infancy, I purchased copies of Montessori's books in Italian from the Opera Nazionale Montessori. I've transported them across the Atlantic Ocean twice, but have yet to read them. Thanks to meeting Federica, who told me how rich they are in Italian, I will begin to take in Montessori's teachings in the author's own voice.
I began this project 10 years ago. It was born out of the AMI-USA refresher course in 2008 when I saw the flyer for the 26th International Congress in India (January 2009) to be held at the Kalakshetra Foundation.
Center photo: Montessori between Kalakshetra founder Rukmini Devi and George Arundale
In 2009 I went to the Congress and afterwards I spent another 6 weeks in Chennai and Auroville observing in several programs (Montessori, Krishnamurti and Sri Aurobindo philosophies) and for the remainder of the year I traveled around the US observing in as many 0-3 Montessori programs as I could, focusing on those with Assistants to Infancy who had been in the classroom for over 15 years.
Letters written by Ghandi, Tagore, Nehru and Sarojini Naidu agreeing to be patrons of the Teacher Training given by Maria Montessori in India
In 2010 I redirected myself towards Italy triggered by this statement in a speech from 1957 where Mario Montessori refers to research published by Ms Adele Costa Gnocchi on the psycho-somatic development of infants that she collected from her birthing center and research school. “After nine years, it (Adele’s research) is successfully publishing details of psycho-somatic treatment of infants, the aims and the character of the school.” I set out to find these publications and this was how I began to explore this history of 0-3 in Italy.
George Arundale's Montessori Diploma
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