Look, I will never be a "big" account.
I know that.
I know a quick way to get likes is to post pretty stuff where people feel like they are learning about Montessori.
In fact my recent post on disabilities saw me lose several followers on social media, disability is not "pretty."
Can we just for a minute think about what we are sharing on social media.
When we post about normalisation, planes of development and sensitive periods without acknowledging disabilities, we are basically saying that if your child is outside of these "norms" they aren't welcome and we don't know how to care for them in Montessori.
These posts are discriminatory.
Children with disabilities are missing from them.
Before you tell me that Montessori knew about ALL.THE.CHILDREN. stand back for a moment and ask yourself: 'Do I see Montessori as a person or as a demi god?' If you see her as the former you will understand that she was not infallible.
Here are a small set of examples that illustrate that a straight 'copy and paste' of Montessori's pedagogy does not always align with every child.
- ADHD children have brains that develop slower than their same aged peers. This may effect what 'plane of development' the child is on. Some brain networks take longer to develop or may be less efficient in kids with ADHD compared to their peers.
- Students with dyspraxia have motor difficulties which may include poor hand to eye coordination and spatial awareness, which can make it difficult for everyday functions such as writing, therefore when Montessorians present it normal for a child to 'burst' into writing in preschool and that the sensitive period closes at a certain age they neglect dyspraxic children and others with similar disabilities. Children with dyspraxia can learn to write, however they may need accomodations such as computer technology to help them write. Another list of accommodations along with challenges children with dyspraxia experience is here.
- Autistic Children often experience the 'double empathy problem' Dr Damian Milton states this is when "when people with very different experiences of the world interact with one another, they will struggle to empathise with each other. This is likely to be exacerbated through differences in language use and comprehension", this means that "one-size-fits-all" grace and courtesy lessons taken straight from an album are unhelpful to autistic children AND to all children as they teach one way of being empathetic.