Children Who Are Not Yet Peaceful: Preventing Exclusion in the Early Elementary Classroom

Life changing book!! I am a homeschool mom of a “normalized” 6 year old and, although I am not the intended audience on any front, I gained so many strategies and tactics for handling my child’s emotional swings and inspiring her intellectual curiosity as she enters this exciting new plane of development.The author is a master Montessorian whose love, compassion and creativity in handling embracing extremely disturbed, disruptive and/or learning challenged children into her classroom community brought tears to my eyes many times. The first-person anecdotal accounts make it so much easier to understand how to put these practices into real-world use than a typical “how to” parenting or teaching book could ever offer.These techniques work for normalized children as well, and I believe they would work beautifully in the upper elementary classroom as well. If I have one critique or request it’s that I would like to know what daily spiritual or psychological preparation Donna Bryant Goertz uses to keep her heart open and her wits sharp as she engages with challenging children. Thank you, Montessori Services for carrying this amazing work!

I had the pleasure to read and comment on this book before publication, and I have been waiting impatiently for its appearance on bookstore shelves.For over 30 years, Donna Goertz has been painstakingly building a classroom culture that begins to resemble the ideal described in the works of Dr. Maria Montessori. While many settle for a diluted form of Montessori practice (e.g., accelerated math with fancy manipulatives), Goertz's aim is to serve Montessori's ultimate vision of a peaceful world inhabited by adults whose best impulses for creativity, altruism, self-knowledge and moral integrity had been supported at every step by a system of education based on the universal developmental needs of the child. To realize such a vision requires an uncommon level of skill and personal reflection on the part of the teacher.Goertz has a reputation for taking on the "difficult" children that have not been successful in other educational settings, and much of the book is devoted to case studies of these children as they are gradually transformed by the Montessori classroom environment and Goertz's own masterful interventions. She calls these children "weathervane children" because they are the ones who "show which way the wind is blowing" in the classroom; i.e., being vulnerable themselves, they tend to be the first to show the effects of some aspect of the classroom community that is out of alignment with the true needs of the children. In this respect, says Goertz, they are the teacher's best friends, doing a great service to the community of those more robust children who may suffer in relative silence. (It has been said that the greatest impediment to the advancement of pedagogy is the resilience of children.)During the 1998-99 school year I assisted Goertz in her classroom, and it is gratifying to see that she has to a remarkable extent been able to capture in words the atmosphere of the school, the "feel" of the classroom, and the personalities of the individual children about whom she writes.This book is not a handbook of "classroom management," a teacher's self-help book, a "how-to" of Montessori techniques, a critique of traditional education, or an educational memoire. I see it as a lovingly detailed report on the progress of one long-term experiment in creating peaceful, peace-loving human beings through education of the whole person in community. Richly textured, it invites reading on many levels.The book should be of interest not only to classroom teachers, but also to parents (especially parents of "difficult" children), spiritual leaders, school counselors, psychologists, sociologists, peace educators, and those interested in studies of community formation and life.

Donna Goertz changed the course of my life over 40 years ago when she introduced me to Montessori education. As a friend of such long-standing, I’m sure I was among the first to read this book when it was published in 2001. Now, 13 years later, I have just read it again. This time, as a former school administrator now working with teachers in training, I found myself reading with new eyes. I used colored notes to mark significant passages, until I realized I was marking almost every page! My book was literally bristling with squares and scraps of neon purple, pink, and green!Donna’s experience, insight, and wisdom shine through on every page of this book. Like Dr. Montessori herself, Donna sees “the child who is not yet there.” She trusts absolutely in the transformative power of the beauty and dignity that shelter deep inside even the most difficult, disruptive, and defiant child. And she trusts absolutely that this child will offer a treasure to his community as he peels away the protective and defensive layers that obscure his inner light.What a priceless gift it is for children to have the opportunity to recognize and respect the value of the “other.” Donna describes this beautifully when she says, “Deep down, each child knows he is only as worthy as any other child. Casting some children in negative roles puts the very being of each and every child at risk. If even one child can be cast aside as unworthy, no child is truly safe. He feels keenly insecure at the ground of his being.” It strikes me that this is as true of adults as it is of children. If only all our parents, teachers, and yes, even our politicians understood this profound truth, what a different world it would be!

My nearly 4 year old recently started a Montessori school. We tried one previously when he just turned 3 that just didn't work for either party. One of the things I noticed in both schools is the expectation for conformity. Now, my spirited boy is anything but. I came across this book when I was agonizing about our son's experience at the schools. I read all there is about "normalization" and "deviations" in a Montessori setting. What Donna writes in this book are those special cases where some kids take time to find their "flow". Donna talks about helping a child find the work that will in turn help find his/her inner peace. She also highlights about how what happens outside the classroom affects a child's psyche and their overall behavior. In this age of wanting to label every child and somehow fixing issues/challenges with medicine, this book is such a refresher! Some of her observations and additional recommendations are invaluable to both parents and teachers. This book is no "how to" manual but just a record of her observations and actions.Montessori environments often tend to treat children as little adults but they certainly aren't. It is imperative that parents, caregivers, and teachers have the wisdom to understand that while little kids have infinite potential, maturity and executive functioning take time to blossom. People like Donna inspire such wisdom. However, I have to admit, Donna seems almost unreal to me since in my short journey as a parent, I am yet to find teachers who are willing to give kids the time.

One of the most inspiring books and a great reminder for Montessori teachers on why we approach the child as observers not controllers.

A brilliant book. It really helps us to think about the "problem" child as an asset and an opportunity for the whole community to grow. I was not able to put the book down. It contains a rich collection of anecdotes from Ms. Goertz' 30 years of experience in the classroom.

Parents out there, please read this book. AMAZING. It's a life changer. You are going to see children from a whole new point of view. I'll be reading it again and again while my baby grows up

I think this book is a beautiful book that should be read by the entire planet. I really am happy to have read this.