Language: Italian

Published: Milano: Franco Angeli, 2000

ISBN: 88-464-2088-8

Abstract/Notes: In the early years of the twentieth century, the great structural, social and cultural changes in American society included a growing number of immigrants arriving from the poorest regions of Europe. For the first time, the issues of immigration, assimilation and social integration became the most important problems facing American society. In the optimistic climate of the so-called progressive era, social reformers thought that these problems could be solved by the science of pedagogy, as applied to the educational needs of foreign immigrants. This essay centres on the pedagogical efforts of Italian-American educator Angelo Patri, who attempted to integrate Italian-American children into the fabric of American society through education. It starts by assessing Patri’s early writings, such as A Schoolmaster of the Great City, and his private and professional papers. In doing so, his work is situated in the debate on progressive education alongside pedagogue Maria Montessori, demonstrating his central role in the debate on integration through education. Within this analysis, particular attention is paid to the notion of learning by doing, and it is argued that both educators were influenced by this particular aspect of progressive education.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/0046760X.2015.1063710

ISSN: 0046-760X, 1464-5130

Abstract/Notes: This research is a case study of African American parent involvement at a urban Montessori school in Minnesota. African American parents at this school have had limited involvement in conferences, PTSO meetings, school activities, and on the Site-Based Leadership Team. An examination of the literature was made to investigate the influences on African American parents when they make decisions about their parental involvement. This research covered the historical background, theoretical background, implications, racial barriers, and strategies that increased African American parent involvement. An ethnography was designed to gather data from 9 mothers of African American students. These parents provided information about their backgrounds and their experiences with the school. Staff at the school (6) were interviewed as to their experiences with African American parent involvement. The results of the study offer findings on attitudes, perceptions, needs and ideas for improving African American parent involvement at any school.

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2000

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Language: English

ISSN: 0010-700X

Abstract/Notes: In this article, the author shares some of his recollections around the birth of the American Montessori Society (AMS), beginning in the 1950s. He explains the way AMS evolved in its earliest days which reveals something of who its members are now and how they have been part of the 50-year journey. He adds that by recounting the past, members of the American Montessori Society are able to connect what happened in the first days of AMS with the mission of the Society today.

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Abstract/Notes: At times, when I sit among thousands of Montessorians at a Nancy McCormick Rambusch Lecture during The Montessori Event, I visualize Douglas Gravel, at the time a student in the first American Montessori Society training course, bounding up the stairs inhaling a combination of chocolate chip cookies and the alcohol smell of the mimeograph machine, all while singing the Mighty Mouse theme song: "Here I come to save the day! In the early years of World War II, Cleo served as an assistant to the Minnesota War Finance Committee's publicity director and later came east when the U.S. Department of State sought skilled workers for overseas. After the war, Cleo obtained a position with the Committee for Economic Development, working her way up to office manager, with a staff of 50, where she remained for 13 years. Again, Doug and Maria's contacts proved useful; this time, Senator Christopher Dodd and his sister Carolyn Dodd (children of the late Senator Thomas Dodd) eased the path to the transfer, in 2006, of the AMS Archives to their current home at the Archives and Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center ofthe University of Connecticut Libraries.

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Language: English

ISSN: 0010-700X

Abstract/Notes: The early 1960s was a critical, albeit chaotic, period for the revival of the Montessori movement, which had been recently rekindled in the United States. The success or failure of the movement can arguably be said to have rested squarely upon the backs of those founding members and early supporters of the fledgling American Montessori Society, (AMS) which, in its infancy, was trembling under the weight of its own potential success--a social, cultural, and spiritual phenomena that was enfolded within an educational philosophy and methodology. The organization was vulnerable, and there was no way of predicting its future success or failure. There was no question that someone was needed to handle office affairs, and the importance of bringing the right person in for that job, at that specific time in the history of AMS, could not be minimized--although the full weight of the consequence of that hiring decision 50 years ago can be understood only in retrospect. Help was urgently needed, and it was soon to arrive in the person of Cleo Monson. As it happened, Monson embodied the essential traits and skills paramount to accomplishing the job, and she would later be credited, by many who knew her both professionally, as the critical pillar upon which would rest the survival and success of the AMS. (Contains 1 footnote.)

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Abstract/Notes: fall conference, archives, centennial issue of Montessori Life, peace DVD

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246