@kherman
Active 5 days, 18 hours ago-
Kyle Herman replied to the topic Montessori Cosmic Education and the Planes of Development in the forum Deep Time Journey Forum 9 years, 2 months ago
Andrea,Thank you for sharing such a thorough explication of each plane of development, how one builds on the other, and how an understanding of evolution in a Montessori environment seems quite natural rather than bizarre or foreign. I really like the idea of the child in 3-6 first experiencing the planet through the sandpaper globe of land and…[Read more]
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Kyle Herman wrote a new post, Perspective, Gratitude, and Wonder: Revelations in Big History 9 years, 2 months ago
This is an article that will soon be published in our school’s newsletter, the Community Times. It was inspired by my student’s final essay reflections in the Big History of Earth and Space Science seminar that […]
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Kudos, Kyle, on your inspired and inspiring work! Your article is terrific! I especially like the clarity with which you address the need for relevance in our lives and the way Cosmic Education addresses and fills that need–particularly for teenagers. The students’ comments are phenomenal. Your article gave me chills. Thanks for sharing. Keep up the Great Work you’re doing! I hope your essay will result in Cosmic Education being taught in more schools.
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Thanks for taking the time to read the article, Imogene! I really appreciate your feedback, and I’m glad to hear that it’s not just me who feels so moved by my students’ responses. When I first tried to read them to my wife, I couldn’t make it through without getting choked up. So powerful. I also hope we can get Cosmic Education taught in more schools, but I especially hope we can get more Montessori schools to go past elementary and take the leap into the world of secondary. Teenagers need a Montessori environment just as much as children do! Thanks again for taking the time to share your comments.
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Kyle Herman posted a new activity comment 9 years, 2 months ago
Orla,
Thank you for your comment! I have to say that the “connective tissue” metaphor is David Christian’s, so I can’t claim any creative responsibility for that. However, I find it to be an extremely accurate image to convey the purpose of Big History. I will soon be posting a link to the video in which David Christian uses that very…[Read more]
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Kyle Herman wrote a new post, The What and Why of Big History, a talk by David Christian 9 years, 2 months ago
This lecture given by David Christian defines Big History and details its most essential component parts. Additionally, he offers his philosophical justification for why Big History should serve as a model for […]
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Kyle Herman wrote a new post, Big History as Connective Tissue 9 years, 2 months ago
This table is meant to be a quick reference guide for Montessori high school teachers in a public school setting trying to teach otherwise isolated courses through the unified and deep time perspective of Cosmic […]
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Thank you Kyle for assembling this chart and I love the name ‘Big History as Connective Tissue’
It both is our connective tissue and about our connective tissue- and a crucial gift wrapped in tissue we ‘teachers’ offer to generations to come…embellished with what else they find! -
Orla,
Thank you for your comment! I have to say that the “connective tissue” metaphor is David Christian’s, so I can’t claim any creative responsibility for that. However, I find it to be an extremely accurate image to convey the purpose of Big History. I will soon be posting a link to the video in which David Christian uses that very metaphor, so be on the lookout!
Thanks again,
Kyle -
Kyle,
Have you ever used Brian Swimme’s Powers of the Universe at the secondary level. It’s a terrific way for students to personally related to the larger context and see the powers within themselves as the same powers within the universe. Carol Kilby and Daisy Radigan, DTJN members, did a program in a Catholic high school in which they put a spiral on the floor and put the powers inside of boxes. Carol dressed up as Mama Universe and opened the boxes, explained the powers and how they relate to the students. It was a big hit. Here’s the link on Amazon. I need to put this resource on the Network since a classic being used by many.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Powers-Universe-Brian-Swimme/dp/096503657XJennifer
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Kyle Herman replied to the topic Montessori Cosmic Education and the Planes of Development in the forum Deep Time Journey Forum 9 years, 9 months ago
I can’t help but chime in here because it seems to me that the main sticking point is the association of Montessori’s conclusions about human development with popular psychology when the two are in many ways at odds. Jonathan, your “rebel” approach to questioning the validity of all prevailing theories and challenging the rigid notion of One…[Read more]
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Kyle Herman replied to the topic Montessori Cosmic Education and the Planes of Development in the forum Deep Time Journey Forum 9 years, 10 months ago
Betsy,
Thank you for sharing these resources with me. I’m eager to research them and see how they can support our school in our mission to maintain Montessori authenticity. It’s fair to say that I’m frustrated with our school district, but there are no surprises – getting the industrialized model of education to recognize anything other than…[Read more] -
Kyle Herman replied to the topic Montessori Cosmic Education and the Planes of Development in the forum Deep Time Journey Forum 9 years, 10 months ago
I’ve not heard of the Earth Charter before, but from what I see after poking around a bit, it appears as though it would dovetail with Big History’s “unofficial” 9th threshold, Futures. The entire curriculum of Big History leads the student to the present day, in order to appreciate where they came from, how they got here, and what their…[Read more]
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That’s a very encouraging response! Earth Charter could become the binding force to “dovetail” the efforts.
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Kyle Herman posted a new activity comment 9 years, 10 months ago
That’s great that your training program for adolescent teachers has such a strong focus on Cosmic Education! I’ve always wanted to get away to Houston and take that training, as I’ve heard it is the best in the country.
My personal experience with Montessori training was enlightening and inspiring, but in my mind, we did not spend enough time…[Read more]-
Kyle, you are obviously very frustrated with the demands that your school district makes on your program. There is work to be done at every level of Montessori when it comes to navigating the testing culture. The National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector (www.public-montessori.org) supported by AMS and AMI has been formed to advocate…[Read more]
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Kyle Herman posted a new activity comment 9 years, 10 months ago
I am in total agreement with you, Michael (and Betsy, too!). Even given the demands of a public school setting, there are many creative ways to find practical applications for Cosmic Education, and adolescents need that kind of work to fully actualize the ideal outcomes of this plane of development. No amount of intellectual exercise can…[Read more]
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Cosmic education in Montessori is a spiral curriculum. We carry forth the sensorial experiences of first plane to the elementary plane and then take both the sensorial and intellectual work to the adolescent programs. In our adolescent programs and teacher education course we revisit all the great lessons again each year from different…[Read more]
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That’s great that your training program for adolescent teachers has such a strong focus on Cosmic Education! I’ve always wanted to get away to Houston and take that training, as I’ve heard it is the best in the country.
My personal experience with Montessori training was enlightening and inspiring, but in my mind, we did not spend enough time…[Read more]-
Kyle, you are obviously very frustrated with the demands that your school district makes on your program. There is work to be done at every level of Montessori when it comes to navigating the testing culture. The National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector (www.public-montessori.org) supported by AMS and AMI has been formed to advocate…[Read more]
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Kyle Herman replied to the topic Montessori Cosmic Education and the Planes of Development in the forum Deep Time Journey Forum 9 years, 10 months ago
How exciting to see this forum making the explicit connection between Big History and Montessori’s Cosmic Curriculum. This is the most important work that needs to be done in Montessori education right now because the philosophy and practice for primary and elementary is well established and fairly consistent, but the same is not true for…[Read more]
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Kyle Herman posted an update in the group
Deep Time Education at the Secondary Level 9 years, 11 months agoAlthough most Montessori schools are private, the school where I work is a public charter school, so a persistent challenge for us involves synthesizing Montessori philosophy and practice with the antithesis of state standards and standardized testing. In other words, our identity depends on our staff finding creative ways to stay true to our…[Read more]
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Dear Kyle,
Fantastic that you started this group! A person you may want to contact is DTJN member Dr. Betsy Coe of the Houston Montessori Center. They have a high school program and are using Big History. The other person who comes to mind is Ginger MacKensie at Xavier in Ohio. She’s not a member of the Network yet but I will write to her…[Read more]
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Kyle Herman created the group
Deep Time Education at the Secondary Level 9 years, 11 months ago -
Kyle Herman replied to the topic Launching Cosmosis1: A new Big History App in the forum Deep Time Journey Forum 10 years, 1 month ago
Rich,
I can’t imagine how swamped you must be, so I’ll just tantalize you with an excerpt from Montessori’s “Keys to the World” below. However, if I had to recommend one work of hers to you, it would be To Educate the Human Potential. This is a short book (85 pages), but it is dense, and it explores the philosophy and practice of Cosmic…[Read more]
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Kyle Herman replied to the topic Launching Cosmosis1: A new Big History App in the forum Deep Time Journey Forum 10 years, 1 month ago
Rich,
I am a teacher in a Montessori high school program, and two years ago, we began the process of integrating Big History into our curriculum. This app that you’re developing could very well be an integral component of how we use Big History next year. Dewey’s philosophy on education as AN Experience sounds very consonant with Montessori’s…[Read more] -
Kyle Herman is now a Contributing Member 10 years, 3 months ago
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Kyle Herman became a registered member 10 years, 3 months ago
