Breaking the Paradigm

What if the biggest barrier to student capability is our own fear of letting go? Sometimes we claim students “can’t” do things—but the truth is we stop them from doing things. When we step back from compulsory, coercive control and trust young people with real responsibility, they rise to meet it in ways that surprise us. In this inspiring conversation with Bruce Robbins- a secondary educator for...

What if the very structure of our schools prevents the transformation we seek? Sometimes the barriers to real education aren’t the teachers or students—they’re built into the system itself. When we fragment knowledge into isolated disciplines and organize schools around hierarchy rather than unity, we limit the understanding that’s possible. In this profound conversation with Bob Blecher—a former...

Why can’t you give an elevator speech about Montessori? What do quantum physics and indigenous research methods have in common? And how do 13-year-olds consistently operate at higher stages of moral development than most adults? Karen Kelley, doctoral candidate in the nation’s first Montessori doctoral program at University of Wisconsin River Falls, tackles these questions by arguing that Montesso...

What happens when you discover that the inner work you've been avoiding as an educator is actually the most critical component of serving children authentically? Koren Clark, founder of Know Thyself Inc and creator of the Liberatory Montessori Framework, exposes the uncomfortable truth that most Montessori educators know but rarely address: without transformed adults, we cannot create truly libera...

What if the only thing that mattered in a presentation wasn't eye contact or slide design, but whether you moved your audience to think and feel differently? What if instead of accumulating credentials that prove compliance, students earned recognition by making meaningful gifts to the world? Dr. Ben Freud, co-founder of the podcast Coconut Thinking and Head of Upper School at Green School Bali, c...

How did a method created for marginalized children in Rome's slums become primarily accessible to affluent white families? Emily Bloyd exposes this painful irony as Head of School in a Montessori program exclusively serving children experiencing homelessness. Her work reveals what happens when we return Montessori to its revolutionary roots instead of treating it as classroom decor for the privile...

Why do we focus so intensely on child flourishing in Montessori schools while burning out the adults who make it possible? If we believe in human dignity as our core value, how should we evaluate and support teachers? And what happens when we apply self-determination theory—autonomy, competence, and relatedness—not just to children, but to the educators who guide them? These are the questions Caro...

If freedom is our highest democratic value, why don't we give young people freedom in schools? Ellen Roche, my latest guest on Breaking the Paradigm, brings a unique neuroscience perspective to this question. Her research reveals something that should shake us all: we arrive in this world with agency already intact. Babies aren't passive sponges; they're active meaning-makers from day one. So what...

If Maria Montessori started her work with children who had learning differences, why does modern Montessori have a reputation for not serving neurodivergent learners? If we're truly following the child, what happens when that child doesn't fit our preconceived notions of what a "Montessori child" should look like? These are the uncomfortable questions Christine Lowry forces us to confront in this...

What if efficiency is actually the enemy of deep learning? When we prioritize productivity over process, we rob both educators and students of the momentum needed for genuine discovery and growth. Real transformation happens not in rushed 45-minute meetings, but in the spacious conversations that allow ideas to emerge organically. In this thought-provoking conversation with Taylor Henry, lead guid...

What if the key to transforming education isn't new curriculum, but radical love? When we center radical love, hope, and relationality in our classrooms, we create spaces where every student can rediscover the beauty of who they are and can thrive. In this powerful conversation with three of the co-authors of Pedagogies of Voice , Marlo Bagsik, Dr. Sawsan Jaber, and Crystal Watson, we explore how...

What if stepping back actually helps students step forward? Sometimes our impulse to control becomes the very thing that limits learning. When we create space for uncertainty and exploration, students discover capabilities we never knew they had. In this thought-provoking conversation with Jason Blair, an elementary art teacher and prolific education writer from Columbus, Ohio, we dig into what ha...

What if the key to global peace and understanding is dignity ? When we truly understand dignity as our birthright, rather than something to be earned, it points toward liberation for all. In this profound conversation with Kathy Minardi, founder of the Whole School Leadership Institute, we explore how dignity work offers a paradigm shift toward genuine global peace. This conversation reveals the s...

When we talk about education- what do we really mean? Last week, I attended an alumni event called Education at a Crossroads put on by the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. The event began with a call to preserve democracy, emphasizing that education is key to a flourishing society. The presenters, Ivy League professors, argued for more equity and access in education, framin...

“Montessori is only for affluent children.” Have you heard that one before? It’s one of many myths about Montessori that is propagated in the US about a Montessori education. The logic goes that because many Montessori schools in the US are private schools, they must only be successful as private schools. Yet, such an understanding leaves out the significant history of Montessori, and in particula...

The language we use has power- to restrict or to liberate. Ideally, our language points toward liberation for all, reflecting the inclusive potential of a Montessori education. However, that’s not always the case. In this thoughtful conversation with Justin Tosco, his fourth appearance on Breaking the Paradigm, we dig into the importance of rethinking and reframing the language used in Montessori...

Which of these have you heard before? * “My teacher trainer told me to do X when I did my Montessori diploma, and that’s how I’ve been doing it ever since” * “I presented this lesson the same way for 15 years and it’s “worked” every time” * “If a child is not becoming adapted to my environment, it must be that they’re not a good fit for it.” I would wager a guess that any Montessori guide, and per...

What is your emotional response to students “cheating” using technology? The New York Times recently published an article titled “Everyone is Cheating Their Way Through College.” In it, the prospect of students using AI to complete assignments is seen as a largely negative phenomenon. In response to a similar article, I saw a commenter on LinkedIn write that she “requires all work be hand written...

We live in an era where the term “education innovation” is thrown around constantly. New tools, techniques, apps, and trends are nearly abundant. Yet, despite all of these “innovations,” we don’t see the actual system of schooling changing in meaningful ways. The reality is, new tools or technologies won’t change the status quo of schooling which is fundamentally hurting our children; we have to c...

In Montessori education, it’s commonplace to discuss how to support young people toward independence. We prepare environments that are designed to for children and adolescents to experiment, to try and fail as they learn about themselves and the world. Through this process, young people also become integrated into into their classroom communities in a meaningful way. What if we also built these en...

I’ve spoken and written at length on this Substack about how Montessori cannot be separated from social justice. Montessori herself was a social revolutionary. She believed that if we fostered positive human development that our natural human tendency to live in interdependence with one another would flourish. Montessori believed that human unity already existed, but that we merely socialized ours...

We are in a time where issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion are seen as “divisive” and “harmful,” and teachers and students across the country are being persecuted for engaging in DEI work. It’s why, in this moment, those of us with privilege, who have the safety to speak without the repercussions that many others face, need to speak up on the importance of DEI in our schools and our society...

In The Absorbent Mind, Maria Montessori wrote the following: “Love, like that which we feel for the child, must exist potentially between man and man, because human unity does exist and there is no unity without love.” When Montessori describes love, she’s not talking about a feeling. She’s talking about a cosmic force that pulls humans toward interdependence. The force which would give us the abi...

When you observe your students, do you react or respond ? This is not just a semantic difference. When we react to our students, we engage on impulse. We are not considering the impact of our actions outside of the specific moment in which they occur. When we respond to our students, we often start with a pause to ask ourselves the following: How does this student action make me feel? How can I re...

What do parents really want to know about their child’s Montessori education? As a Montessori practitioner, I could talk about the importance of a developmental education for hours, but I doubt parents would want to listen to that. In my recent conversation with Kelly Jonelis and Isabella Cai, founder of Y Montessori, we examined the question of what parents really want to know through the lens of...