Educating for Peace is Never Neutral

Emily Boyd’s article, Montessori is My Political Party (And Other Inconvenient Truths): Why Teaching Peace is Never Neutral, that resonated with Montessorians nationally, serves as the impetus for this webinar and the discussion that will examine the inherently political nature of Montessori education. Ms. Boyd will analyze the impact of current national policy on authentic Montessori practices. Drawing from her experience serving unhoused children and the knowledge she gained from her examination of broad institutional practices, she will challenge the sanitization of Maria's revolutionary framework. She will also expound on how education for peace must consider current political realities when serving society's most vulnerable children and its future elite. Participants will be encouraged to engage in dialogue regarding how current policies may force compromise of Montessori principles and practices and what educating for peace looks like across all socioeconomic contexts.

Emily Boyd spent her early years navigating poverty, addiction, and repeated exclusion from school systems. While working in a Montessori classroom, she experienced an educational pedagogy built on trust, respect, and autonomy. She is now a credentialed Montessori educator, preschool director, and passionate advocate for accessibility to early Montessori education for all. Ms. Boyd serves as Head of School at Pathways Early Learning Center, a non-profit, tuition-free, Montessori primary school that exclusively serves children and families that are unhoused. She has developed a model that challenges the gatekeeping and gentrification of Dr. Montessori’s method while proving that the Montessori method is a powerful educational approach when serving children facing systemic marginalization. Her digital platform Montessori Miss Emily reaches over 175,000 educators. Her writings highlighted on the The Montessori Mafia site have gained national attention for its unflinching analysis of how current educational policies force Montessori leaders and educators to make compromises that attenuate the strength of Montessori pedagogy.