Editorial

You will already have received the first issue of the AMI bulletin and have read the Communications Committee’s plans for our publications. An Editorial Board has been created to review content, encourage submissions and ensure the continued high quality of contributions.

The members of the Editorial Board are: Kay Baker Ph.D., Mary Hayes, Alexander Henny, Professor Harald Ludwig, Renilde Montessori and Rita Zener Ph.D.

Their combined expertise is vast and will allow Communications to evolve even further as a scholarly journal.

With this first issue of Communications in its new mode, we are bringing you the whole spectrum of Montessori education covering the ages 0-18, which should have an appeal to parents, teachers and scholars alike.

Dr. Montessori speaks to us about “Child Character” and the development of order and work, and the phenomenon of concentration. She argues that ‘…by concentration and attention, by contemplation, which one might say is the digestion of the concentration, the individual fortifies himself and once strong, he can finally do more than we would venture to ask of him.’

Dr. Silvana Montanaro Quattrocchi provides much food for thought about how prenatal time and a child’s first years after birth are so important for the foundation of the human being. She reminds us of our commitment to the child and the importance of protecting and defending his great inner powers.

Pamela Nunn takes us on a journey through another dimension of Montessori and explains—with the help of much research—how the prepared adult is the key to the Montessori approach for Indigenous communities in Australia.

And as we move through the Four Planes of Education, we find ourselves in the Third Plane. David Kahn, champion of the adolescent and Montessori education, provides a clear and interesting account of the accomplishments of the Third International Colloquium on adolescent studies.

David’s article is a perfect introduction to “The Role of the Disciplines for Cosmic Education”—an article where Baiba Krumins Grazzini shows us the wonders of “cosmic education”. She stresses the significance of catering to the nine-to-twelve year-olds. She says ‘If we are interested in adolescents, don’t the nine-to-twelve year-olds become terribly important?’

From France, we bring you the lecture delivered by Albert Jacquard at the Colloquium organised by Association Montessori de France to celebrate its 55th anniversary, Mr. Jacquard, a scientist and essayist known for his witty and imaginative approach, enlightens us about aspects of science and our place in the universe.

For our Question and Answer Section, Jean Miller, Ph.D. has provided a clear and concise answer to a question on music for the 6-9 year-old child. She demonstrates how music is an integral part of the integrated curriculum in the Montessori environment.

Communications also reflects on the year 1906—a century ago—when Maria Montessori stood on the threshold of a monumental occasion, one that has contributed to the lives of a century’s children. It is our responsibility to carry her work and vision forward into this century. We have to ensure that one hundred years from now, our children’s children’s children will be able to look back on a century that has been truly committed to the welfare and development of children everywhere in the world.