Sandra Nickerson, our Head of School and Elementary II Art History and Studio teacher, has been at our school since the very beginning. One of the things that I love most about her is her resiliency coupled with her adaptability. Sandy is a fluid thinker….. a visionary for our school. ~S.L.
As Montessorians we spend a lot of time thinking about and practicing best ways to speak with children. Although we are older than our students, we are not more important. How we speak with children is one way we demonstrate our respect for them. We allow time for conversation- a dialogue between people who have the time and space to be heard and to hear. We speak softly, we make eye contact, and we always try to choose our words carefully. Our words should be clear, authentic, responsive and expressive. As we model respectful language, our students begin to practice it with us and their peers. In this way we create a safe and nurturing learning environment.
One morning I moved through our school and took pictures of teachers engaged in conversations with students. As I study these images, I am struck by each person’s focus and expression as they share words. Please enjoy the images.
For additional information on this subject, please follow this link to an article by Michael Dorer, PhD. He explains how we can “improve our language to foster respect, self-esteem and independence.”
