There is an article on the Wall Street Journal blog that is causing a buzz in Montessori circles.
In The Montessori Mafia, author Peter Sims suggests that “the Montessori educational approach might be the surest route to joining the creative elite, which are so overrepresented by the school’s alumni that one might suspect a Montessori Mafia: Google’s founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, videogame pioneer Will Wright, and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, not to mention Julia Child and rapper Sean “P.Diddy” Combs.” An interesting idea.
Further along, Sims writes that “most highly creative achievers don’t begin with brilliant ideas, they discover them.” And what do you know? Montessori schools are places that are designed for children to engage in creative discovery every day.
Sims concludes his piece with “Perhaps it’s just a coincidence that Montessori alumni lead two of the world’s most innovative companies. Or perhaps the Montessori Mafia of [sic] can provide lessons for us all even though it’s too late for most of us to attend Montessori.”
The good news is that it’s not too late for your children to benefit from the kind of education that involves “increased experimentation and inquisitiveness. Those who work with Mr. Bezos, for example, find his ability to ask “why not?” or “what if?” as much as “why?” to be one of his most advantageous qualities. Questions are the new answers.”
What did you think about the article?