Wednesday, January 14, 2009

AMI's 26th Montessori International Congress,2009,part 2

AMI’S 26TH INTERNATIONAL MONTESSORI CONGRESS.
ADYAR, MADRAS, TAMIL NADU-INDIA, 2009.
This article is giving very important messages given by many delegates during the presentation time, breaking sessions and making us to think about the child’s life. Dr.Madeswaran has chosen these points as the important message to all adults of the globe those who are interested in the PEACE OF MIND, which can be seeded through a child as Dr.Montessori and Mahathma Gandhi said.
· The emergency has arrived for all parents and tutors to work for the child’s personality towards a peaceful harmony life. The Montessorians must dedicate them self without thinking about financial support, time and other materialistic commitments to shape the personality of the children to have a peaceful humble life on this globe.
· Montessori principles have to be followed by all of us in families also to make the children about the challenges of the modern world. Because this education is the urgent need for the child and it will be most effective program for creating peace on this Earth.
· Modern child is getting lazy and timid because of many issues. So parents and schools must try activities which must awake them to be physically ever fit and ever thinking.
· Our plans must make the child to practice the actions and reflect with total potentiality for his own success.
· Please make the child to come out of the materialistic life. In the past 10 years the parents have spoiled the children just fulfilling with materialistic needs and comforts alone.
· Child’s human tendencies must be brought out with spirituality.
· Abilities of today’s child are vanishing with expectations of parents and media’s suppression.
· Montessori system must cultivate only the self confidence within the child but not the adamancy and arrogance.
· We must prepare the child to face the modern challenges with out loosing the traditions and culture of the nativity.
· Prepare the child to reason, question the society with courage.
· The child must be able to give proper information to the society and also must be able to stand against wrong information.
· 2 enemies of modern education are: tolerance of parents for any unacceptable attitude of the child and appreciation.
· Montessori system must consider the villages of Eastern world.
· Try to show the Gandhian way of practical way of simplicity and life along with Montessori system.
· Our children must be trained to first listen to others and that will make the multiple changes within them which will change the society.
· Women has to change them self from the materialistic pleasure to a normalized motherly hood to cultivate positive children for this society. The modern women who has educated and earning have neglected the child care and there came all problems within the society. This is not the feminism defined by Dr.Montessori.
· We are cultivating the false sense of peace by being timid in the past 20 years especially in India in the name of secularism. We must be able to stand against wrong powers.
· When we help our children to work peacefully and reach the total potential, they express the service to the society.
· Proper education can’t be given only by school. It is the mother’s total role to educate the infant from the 3rd week of pregnancy. Hence she is recognized as ‘’GODDESS’’.
· A school can give only 50 percent to a child’s education and make him to evolve.
· All our actions must help the child to reason out with good sense of questioning without any rigidity of mind. But it is the adult’s responsibility to make the child to understand the need for the movement which must be very reasonable and purpose.
· DANCE AND CLASSICAL MUSIC AS A SADANA: The child who is enjoying and learning the classical dance and arts especially music, painting, sculpture will be able to coordinate his body, mind, thoughts, intelligence, mind and make the real spirit of learning through his practice and this gives the perfection to life. Dr.Montessori has designed all her apparatus based on this logic after working for 9 years in India.
· Perfection of all movements of us will progress towards perfection.
· When 1000s of unknown microbes are able to live a hand full of sand why we the human beings are unable to live in harmony?
· Education must be very affectionate and it is not happening today. It is very important for us to connect the child with the modern materialism but where is the ‘’ peace and spirit’’?
· So do not offer any thing to the child without affection and humanity. Make the child to feel the importance of every action rendered by every man and organism on this earth for the joy which he is enjoying.
· Parents are requested not to pass any emotional blackmail on the children.
· At every age the child’s movement and every action is perfect. But the adult’s ego is unable to accept that. There comes the friction. Try to accept the reality of the age and evolution.
· Allow the child to express his mistakes without fear.
· Fact behind the action is greater than our appreciation.
· The moment we have lost our perfection in role modeling, our relation changes with the child.
· Just the true lovable presence of the adults alone will make the children to work and evolve well.
· Teachers are the most suppressed people by the school, syllabus, parents, media, challenges and finally by the child himself.
· Do not disturb your child unless he is disruptive, harm to the environment.
· The various deep emotional healthy thinking makes the child to perfect his thoughts.
· Right parenting at the right age of the child is very important which is vanishing because of materialistic challenges.
· Please do not treat the child as the ‘’adult’’ with the goals and future.
· Language, Independence, mastering the body control, practice will bring perfection within us.
· Recognize every action of the child [especially the mother] with accomplishment but do not bribe them.
· Man alone is the only species on this earth that is highly evolved but when he comes to the Earth, he is the worst dependent living being who has to be nourished and cared by the adult and this care gets vanished soon because of adult’s expectations.
· Movement of the self and mind in the home, school, society and nature will perfect the thinking and makes the child perfect.
· GREAT ENEMIES FOR THE MODERN CHILD:
· Religious harmony
· Ecology
· Nuclear family setup
· Divorce cases
· Mother’s time bound job
· Quality of life
· More materialistic needs
· Vanishing self contentment
· Spirituality which is very weak
· Modern food habits
· Modern child is very rajasik [rigid] or thamasic [ dull]. We must bring out the child to act with more pure sathvic – energetic life.
· Dr.Montessori’s needs:
· Parents, teachers role modeling.
· Education to love and affection.
· Child’s individuality.
· Single human family.
· Make the child to perform the dharma – right act for the comos.
· Finally every body accepted Gandiji’s saying,
''be the change, which you want to be’’.
So let us respect the child, parenting and give time in family and educate the child. Let us make children to live happily in the home and schools. I wish even we all follow any few of these thoughts within our homes and schools, our children will be evolving in good spirit!
PLEASE! MAKE THE MODERN CHILD TO ACCEPT THE LAW OF LOVE AND AFFECTION AND TO APPRECIATE THE RARE AND ORDINARY THINGS WHICH IS AVAILABLE. LET HIM NOT IGNORE THE HAPPINESS WHICH ARE AVAILBALE EVERY WHERE AND SEEK ONLY FOR THE THINGS WHICH ARE VERY DEMAND TO GET.

'' Today, all the dedicated teachers are the doctors and nurses taking care and medicating the children who are very badly injured by the family and media.......''
Thankyou!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

AMI's 26th International Montessori Congress-2009,part 1

AMI ‘S 26TH INTERNATIONAL MONTESSORI CONGRESS,
KALASHETRA – MADRAS, TAMIL NADU, 2009 part 1
We are proud and thankful that the 26th International Montessori Congress took place in India. It is very special that the congress was conducted in the great college for classical dance and music. It is KALASHETRA in Madras. This institution was found by SreeRukminiDevi Arundael.
She and her husband were the cause for Dr.Montessori’s arrival in 1939 to India. So we have the history of 70 years of Montessori education in this great land of spirituality and wisdom. So AMI has taken this city and place where Montessori lived and evolved her self with her education.
We thank many officials of AMI and others who all worked for the past 1.5 years to put up the successful congress show. We are also thanking SAKTHI FOUNDATION AND ABACUS MONTESSORI SCHOOL – MADRAS, for making all arrangements with financial support and moral support for Dr.Madeswaran.M who has represented NAMMA VEEDU MONTESSORI HOUSE OF CHILDREN- SENDURAI.
This article and further articles will be clearly giving the minutes and important events of Montessori Congress which happened from January 5th to 8th of this year. The important messages and minutes of various paper presentations will be given in very simple way in the following articles.
Uniqueness of the Congress:
1. AMI has embraced all Montessori schools without any discrimination. We were happy to see all our GURUs from INDIAN MONTESSORI TRAINING INSTITUTE- BANGALORE.
2. People from all over this great nation have arrived. There were Montessori tutors, school principals, directors, parents and educationalists. Around 1800 delegates from all over the globe has arrived.
3. We feel great to see our children who were acting as most responsible volunteers for 4 hard days from 7.15 A.M till night 8 P.M. We thank all adults from Navadisha, Abacus, Kalashetra, Patshala for training them. Children from these Montessori schools expressed the real inner order and service to the public and showed that they are unique. They were so humble, honest, lovable and most responsible.
4. Kalashetra has provided the auditorium, with 6 more classes for various activities.
5. We thank Dr.Leela Samson the director of Kalashetra for her humble help and participation. It is very rare to see such great personalities today with that humble and love to serve.
6. Most of ABACUS teachers were involved in this. Many of them were delegates. We thank the school for paying 90 percent of the Congress fees for the staff based on the seniority and Montessori interest.
7. We thank Kalashetra students for their involvement in this congress.

Interesting activities during the congress days:
1. We all have gathered at Kalashetra by sharp 7 in the morning to do yoga under the supervision of the great yoga guru Desikacharya and his staff. On 5th January we had various Montessori school visits.
2. Then we all left for a nature walk across the Kalashetra campus, beach and banyan tree.
3. By sharp 7.30 A.M, we had our delicious breakfast then we chatted and met many delegates.
4. We were sharing very important and unique moments, observations, questions and every thing was only about ‘’THE CHILD’’.
5. Then we sat for the morning talks given by various pioneers from all over the world. All the days began with the yoga chanting from Vedas with explanations especially in connection with teaching.
6. Few were very inspiring, few were dull to sit and listen. There were few important power point presentations, DVD shows about children and life.
7. Then by 11. 15, we had a good coffee break for 10 minutes.
8. Then we proceeded with talks and went for good grand lunch by sharp 12.
9. We too enjoyed the most colorful ALL INDIA FOLK HANDICRAFT EXHIBITION within the campus. We all have purchased many things for the schools.
10. Then by sharp 2.15, we had many interesting breakup sessions of our own choice in which we can talk and present our work.
11. Then again by 4 P.M we had one more talk and followed with beautiful classical dances, music, folk traditions from Kalashetra.

12. Then we ended the day with grand dinner and left home by 8 P.M.

13. We met 2 abroad Montessori material manufacturers from Holland and Italy. But I can’t offer to them. The cost is very much. We too had few Indian Montessori engineers who took us to see their products which were not allowed inside for exhibition.

THE MOST IMPORTANT ROOM FOR MANY OF US:
AMI from Hyderabad has presented the scared materials used by Dr.Maria Montessori in Adyar between 1939 to 1947. Most of the materials were allowed to see very near by and every one was touched in heart to see her own hand made materials.

Thank you!