What are the radical roots of the Montessori vision? How do current scientific findings support and expand that vision?

In what ways can we bring a sense of community - local, regional and global - to the learning process?

How is the organization of the school community a further articulation of the Montessori vision?

How might cosmic education lead to systemic thinking, integrated learning and the creation of the new human as described by Maria Montessori?

Courses of study include core material --philosophy and content-- along with implementation strategies that form the practicum.

I. The Context
The context and vision are established during the colloquium. In addition there are Montessori and other context-setting readings throughout the program.

II. Montessori Insights
In these segments Maria and Mario Montessori’s world-view will be explored, including the major influences in their lives. “Love, Science and Spirituality” are the words Mario used to describe the approach. With these keystones there is an exploration of the role of observation, the formation of the teacher,normalization, human needs and tendencies, the four planes of development and the “prepared environment.” The prepared environment addresses the creation of the inside and outside physical environment as well as the classroom “atmosphere.” Also included are the ways that adults and young people work together.

III. Options

-Primary The core of this work includes the delivery of Montessori lessons for six to twelve year olds. Essential to this study is an exploration of the process of creating Montessori lessons that respond to the needs of the child. There are also introductions to each of the areas - math, language, geography, history, biology - as well as ways that integrate these focus areas. Cosmic stories form the foundation for all of this work.

-Secondary Students study the foundations of the Montessori approach along with their colleagues in the Primary track. The core of the continued work is an exploration of adolescence and the methods to integrate the knowledge of adolescence with an approach based on Montessori practice. Students and faculty design integrated learning experiences based on systemic and eco-cosmological principles.

-School Leadership This course of study is designed for lead teachers, heads of school, principals and members of school boards. The preparation of the adult who has leadership responsibilities in a Montessori school is dynamically different in scope to ones engaged in other forms of education. While short and long term planning, budgeting, relations with the community and other matters of governance may have much in common with different institutions, the Montessori school leader has a significant role in carrying out the mission of the Montessori movement. There needs to be cohesion and congruence between the administrative aspects of running a school and the values and vision inherent to the Montessori approach.

IV. Practicum

All students are required to complete a 150 hour implementation practicum.

Joint Enrolment in M.Ed. Program

Students enrolled in the TIME course can have all their work transferred for credit toward the graduate degree, M.Ed. in Montessori Integrative Learning. This program has been established by Endicott College, Massachusetts, USA. The diploma carries worldwide recognition. For detailed information about how this works visit www.ties-edu.org/partners. There is a special tuition for New Zealand students that is not reflected at that site. See Fee sections below.

Schedule

2-8 July 2006  At Christchurch: Primary, Secondary, School Leadership
The balance of the program for Primary is accomplished one week at a time during school holidays through January 2008.

The balance of the program for Secondary and School Leadership is completed on an e-Campus, specially designed for collaborative learning.

A final "in person" colloquium is attended in January 2008 with Primary students.

For details write to:
admin@time.net.nz

* The emergence of shared meaning

* Increasing awareness of our own and others assumptions

* Increasing sensitivity and willingness to "listen"

* The creation of space between our reaction and our response

* A willingness to experiment with the principles described

Philip Gang is author of Rethinking Education and Conscious Education: The Bridge To Freedom. He created the ecological game, Our Planet, Our Home, and he appears in the anthology, Towards a New World View: Conversations at the Leading Edge.

After a ten year career in engineering and business, Gang became a Montessori teacher. He has been a Montessori school head, consultant and educator of teachers. In 1978 he helped initiate the National Erdkinder Consortium - a group dedicated to founding Montessori secondary schools. During the next decade he worked with Mario Montessori Sr. and Mario Montessori Jr to establish parameters for Montessori "experiments" with adolescents.

In the early 90's Gang was on the faculty of California Institute of Integral Studies as a professor-mentor to students engaged in doctoral studies in the School of Transformative Learning. This was the first collaborative on-line distance learning program.

Today, Gang’s major interest is exploring eco-cosmological patterns and their implications for the human journey.

Marsha Morgan has worked as a Montessori teacher, school director, educator of Montessori teachers, consultant, and workshop leader. These initiatives have taken her through Europe, South America, North America and the Pacific Rim. In New Zealand she is Founder of Ripple Education Community the predecessor of Nova Montessori School. She has been active in the Kids Edible Garden Project -- a program to place permaculture gardens in government schools.

Before moving to New Zealand in 1982, Marsha was active member of the National Erdkinder Consortium in the USA.

The main focus of her work is perceiving systemic patterns in the design and creation of learning communities. She explains “We are storytellers, mythmakers and symbol designers. Addressing the present planetary crises through Montessori education may provide new possibilities for Gaian renewal.” Her graduate thesis was titled: "An Ecogenesis for Education: A Context for Learning."

The cost of each course of study is $4,500 (+GST), which includes all classes/workshops as well as an on site professional development visit (within New Zealand). It does not include the cost of books estimated at $250.

Individuals that seek the M.Ed. degree in Montessori Integrative Learning will pay an additional tuition fee directly to Endicott College. The normal tuition for this graduate program is $16,200 USD (approximately $26,000 NZD). With joint enrolment, the M.Ed. fees can be substantially reduced for New Zealand citizens. Write ties@ties-edu.org for details.