Page 24 - parent handbook 2024-25 FINAL FLIP

Montessori Academics
Montessori is STEAM! Since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, the US has called for an increase in scientific and mathematical education. There is currently a movement underway to train 100,000 STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) teachers. Across the country there are new standards for STEAM subjects, with educators being charged to be creative and engaging rather than just teaching from a textbook.
What does this mean for Montessorians?
STEAM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math: Being Creative and Engaging in the Montessori Classroom Montessori teachers have a jump start on their conventional counterparts. Since student engagement is at the forefront of the Montessori classroom, we are already actively engaging students in hands -on learning. Beginning in the Montessori preschool environment, students learn the fundamental rules of math and science through the discovery of natural laws through manipulation of didactic materials and problem-solving with peers. The work engages the senses and insures the internalization of concepts, not
just memorization of disjointed facts and figures. Through the Montessori concept of Cosmic Education, the curriculum reinforces that everything is interrelated; students see how math and science work harmoniously in nature.
On March 29, 2012, the National Governorʼs Association issued a brief on “The Role of Informal Science in the State of Education Agenda”. It calls for an increase in hands-on discovery and practice of STEAM concepts, something that is already happening across all levels in the Montessori community. It also calls for the use of outside resources such as museums, science centers, and other ʻreal-lifeʼ activities that engage and focus studentʼs attention in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. Again, Montessori teachers have been using “going-out” opportunities to pique student interest and foster real-life connections
for over 100 years.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Co-founders of Google, have said that Montessori education allowed them to think for themselves. They credit Montessori with allowing them to question what was going on around them and to discover the answers for themselves. Former Montessori students, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, and Will Wright, inventor of “The Sims” video game series, also credit Montessori for allowing them to
ask questions, discover, and learn on their own terms.
The current STEAM movement is calling for innovation, collaboration, and hands-on learning and problem solving.
To the Montessori community, this is nothing new. This is what weʼve been doing all along!