For me, generational differences came barreling through this past December when my wife and I celebrated the holidays together without our children and grandchildren; they were off doing their own things. This caused us to reflect on what we did as children when it came to December 25th: home with parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles. Then as we had our own children, we would wake up on Christmas morning; open presents; get in the car and drive to my wife’s family to open presents and have a big meal; then on to my parent’s home and celebrate the holiday with them; and finally, make our way home exhausted . . . and thankful that the day was over. The ongoing leap from Greatest Generation parents, to our Baby Boomer identity, to our Generation X children and their Millennial, iGeneration, and Generation Alpha kids is life today.2
Before moving on to further generational reflections in the year that we celebrate the 150th year of Dr. Montessori’s birthday, it might help to look at the whole generation spectrum. So that we can all be on the same page regarding
generation language and statistics, here is a chart from the Pew Research Center defining US generations.
Also, looking at generation populations, NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, stated, “The Millennials, they’re taking over according to the folks at Pew. Based on population estimates, there are now 75.4 million Millennials in the US versus 74.9 million Baby Boomers, meaning Millennials, not Boomers, are now the largest generation in our country.” 3
It is important to keep in mind that while the most prominent generations are the most populated Millennials and Boomers, we have to be sensitive to the GenXers who are caught in the middle of these two generations. Many are the children of the Boomers and they have children who are Millennials and iGens.
One of the overall changes that has had a significant impact on generational differences over the past 50 years is technology and social media. I remember in the 1990s, when I was driving a van to take a group of students to an athletic event, I made certain that I took the portable phone that was the size and weight of a brick with me. Today, so many things have changed . . .
• I have to remind myself that the iPhone I have in my
pocket should not be used while I am with my grandchildren;
modeling respect and proper human interaction is
important.
• I look forward to when I talk to AND view my distant
grandchildren via video chatting.
• I pay for my groceries at the check-out register by tapping
my phone next to a device near the register.
• I no longer use a paper map to find out how to navigate to
a new location. My phone will talk to me—with precise
detail—through the trip.
• When I am trying to recall an address of a restaurant, I hold
up my phone and say, “Hey Siri. . .”
If you told me in 1955 when I was the age of an iGen child that this was how things would get done, I would have thought you
were crazy.
Keeping Montessori Moving Forward Assuring Its Preservation and Growth:
As I reflect on the generations as they are defined today, I cannot help but think how similar they are to how Maria Montessori lived her life. As one of the first female physicians in Italy, she moved society and the medical profession forward like today’s Millennials imagining life with technology, constantly pressing humanity to grow and learn. Then there is the stability she brought as she transitioned from medicine to child care and education, much like we see in our GenXers raising their families with both parents working away and yet, making sure that their children have the best care and education possible and striving to make the international world a part of everyone’s life. Maria Montessori would be the quintessential Boomer with the experience, knowledge, and wisdom to move life along in spite of wars, struggling economies, and social changes. She had it all in one miraculous lifetime, and today, with all three of our adult generations working together, they will continue to move Montessori education forward the way Dr. Montessori did in her 82-year lifetime— from August 31, 1870 to May 6, 1952.
As our current generations evolve in this second decade of the 21st Century, we in the 100-year-old Montessori world are navigating to make sure that her principles and pedagogy stay intact in spite of all of the many differences and changes that have taken. . . and are taking place.
I believe that some of the top priorities of Montessori education were—to name a few:
• Always staying focused on the child; supporting planes
of development in three-year cycles so the older children can model for the younger children in the same level.
• Showing, not telling, the child a lesson.
• Watching the child’s engagement after a lesson has
been presented.
These priorities are the same today and will be the same in 2030. In order to preserve Montessori for another 150 years, we do have to be sensitive to who is and will be leading our schools.
Probably one of Maria Montessori’s biggest accomplishments—to me—is how she prevailed in international education over 100 years no matter what the generation was at the time, bucking the sage-on-the-stage approach to teaching with a
guide-on-the-side philosophy. One of my favorite Montessori quotes is, “The greatest sign of success for a teacher. . . is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.’ I know the children are doing their best when they do not know when I am in the room.” 4
Where generations can unite is in the beauty and truth of the pedagogy and philosophy of Dr. Montessori. For example, Millennials and GenXers often take the blame for “helicoptering” or “snow plowing” in the care of their children. This is eloquently explained in the book How to Raise an Adult, by Julie Lythcott-Haims. Modeling for the child, whether it is in a three-year plane of development where the older children are modeling for the younger children or it is adults, like a teacher, modeling for the child and the parent on how to interact with one another. Remember, Millennials, GenXers, and Boomers learned from their parents, but as explained in the book, the world is different in each generation, eg., wars, the economy, the cost of education, prejudices, etc. all play a large role in molding parent actions. Nevertheless, Dr. Montessori made it clear how important it is for adults to be sensitive to their actions in front of children. “A child is an eager observer and is particularly attracted by the actions of the adults and wants to imitate them. In this regard an adult can have a kind of mission. He can be an inspiration for the child’s actions, a kind of open book wherein a child can learn how to direct his own movements. But an adult, if he is to afford proper guidance, must always be calm and act slowly so that the child who is watching him can clearly see his actions in all their particulars.” 5
Generations Working Together Preserving Montessori Education:
Working together rather than in competition for who is right and who is wrong, not unlike how our current political system is operating right now, is the best way to preserve and promote Montessori education. We are fortunate to have such a strong base for Montessori education throughout the world. It is so well established. What has kept it so strong are the principles that Dr. Montessori established over 100 years ago.
On a grander scale, it has been miraculous to see how the Montessori Foundation, International Montessori Council, Center for Guided Montessori Studies, American Montessori Society, Association Montessori International/USA (AMI), and state and regional independent school associations have been working together, especially at a time when Montessori education is taking hold in charter and public schools.
At the same time, Millennials—when they were the age of now the oldest iGens—have been struggling to navigate a world of wars, faltering economies, and having to pay for college tuitions. . . to name a few. To get a clearer picture of all of their challenges, I once again refer to the book How to Raise an Adult.
To receive another perspective, watch the TED Talk, “What baby boomers can learn from millennials at work—and vice versa.” Presenter Chip Conley closes his talk capturing the essence of what we need to do together to keep Montessori education growing strong: “In sum, CEO [of Airbnb, Inc.] Brian Chesky brought me in for my industry knowledge, but what I really offered was my well-earned wisdom. Maybe it’s time we retire the term ‘knowledge worker’ and replace it with ‘wisdom worker.’ We have five generations in the workplace today, and we can operate like separate isolationist countries, or we can actually start to find a way to bridge these generational borders. And it’s time for us to actually look at how to change up the physics of wisdom so it actually flows in both directions, from old to young and from young to old.” 6
Taking advantage of Boomers’ age and experience in leading our Montessori schools, that now go well beyond just private—proprietary and independent nonprofit—schools to include charter and public schools. It is important to point out that the Millennials who are arriving on the school scene “[Millennials] are the most diverse adult generation in American history. About one-third are foreign born and almost half are non-white.” 7 “Millennial teachers value four key attributes: being mentored, learning from peers and colleagues, improving themselves to have impact, and achieving financial security.” 8
Over its century of existence, Montessori schools have kept up and often surpassed traditional education, as author Julie Lythcott-Haims stated in her book, “Take Montessori education, for example, which for over 100 years has applied student-centered, active-learning approaches to K-12 classrooms. Students guide their own learning, particularly figuring out what steps to do next on their own. Assessments depend on well-trained teachers, not standardized tests. Montessori ‘unfolds students’ instead of ‘molding them.’ Montessori graduates are known for their creativity and free thinking.” 9
Generations working together will make a difference for the positive in our Montessori life and in education.
