VOICES FROM THE FIELD

Montessori Life, Winter 2004

Dear Montessori Teacher Colleague:

We are soliciting your help with this project because we believe that the genesis of research about Montessori should rest on gathering firsthand descriptions by those engaged in the daily life of richly textured classrooms in Montessori schools. We hope you agree. With the support of the AMS we are embarking on a foundational layer of qualitative/narrative research in seeking "voices from the field." We hope that you will consider becoming one of those voices.

We are requesting descriptions of events that may not happen often, but that have significant meaning when they do. When these occur, we are likely to think "Oh, this is what Maria Montessori meant by a child's power to learn, or by the growth of independence in children, or by their ability to collaborate, or what she meant by the roles of teacher as observer, etc. I hadn't seen it like this before." Such moments lift our spirits, and confirm why we became Montessori teachers in the first place.

If you agree to participate in "Voices" we ask this: Please describe as fully as possible one incident in your present or past teaching experience that stands out for you like a jewel that highlights one or more aspects of Montessori philosophy. Give us the texture of what happened, the details. Paint a word picture for us. Make it a story; a vignette. First person is as acceptable as it is desirable. And yes, of course, if you are so moved, we'd love to have more than one of your stories.

After your vignette, tell us your feelings about the event. Your stories should be about two or three pages each but this is flexible. They can be written in any form that seems right to you and may be illustrated. Feel free to create. When we have collected several hundred stones, we will analyze them for themes and unique examples. The final products of this project will include some publications which use these anecdotal accounts to help articulate the essences of our profession. We will share pertinent findings from the data with you after they have been accumulated and analyzed.

The "Voices from the Field" vignettes should be sent to:

Prof Margot Ely, Dept of Teaching and Learning NYU Steinhardt School of Education, 239 Greene St. Room 635 * NY NY 10003 or faxed to: 212-995-4198

We hope you will join us in gathering and making known to the larger educational community the important data from your own classroom. We can't wait to begin reading your stories. Please write your vignette, respond to the questions that follow, and send everything back to us by May 1.

Many thanks,

Margot Ely, New York University

Marlene Barren, West Side Montessori School

Margaret Loeffler, Teachers Research Network

Belen Matias, New York University