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Montessori Educational Paradigm as a Critical Tool to Confront Climate Crisis

Afbeelding voor Montessori Educational Paradigm as a Critical Tool to Confront Climate Crisis
We are in the midst of a unique period in human history, one in which we are forced to think much larger and more interdependently than we have ever before. As the Head of the Ukrainian delegation to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Svetlana Krakovska, said, “Let me assure you that this human-induced climate crisis and the war against Ukraine have direct connections and the same roots.” The parallels between climate change and this war are embedded in the burning of oil, gas and coal.

It is 52 years ago today since the first Earth Day was held on 22 April 1970, marking the start of the ‘modern’ environmental movement.

You may recall that, at the United Nations climate change conference in Paris, COP 21, governments agreed that mobilising stronger and more ambitious climate action was urgently required to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and that action must come from governments, cities, regions, businesses and investors. In his landmark speech at Columbia University in December 2021,  UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said:

The state of the planet is broken

Humanity is waging war on nature.

Nature always strikes back – and it is already doing so with growing force and fury.

The fallout of the assault on our planet is impeding our efforts to eliminate poverty and imperiling food security.

And it is making our work for peace even more difficult, as the disruptions drive instability, displacement and conflict.

The Earth Day 2022 theme is #InvestInOurPlanet. But how can we, as Montessori Educators, invest in our planet?

The Montessori educational paradigm is more relevant than ever: an approach in which systems thinking and problem-solving are integrated with science, politics, history, social action, economics, ecology, and governance and the human responsibility to understand our unique cosmic task, the role we can take to create a more just and sustainable world. As educators, we need to be informed and stay informed and explore with our students what every one of us can do.

Judith Cunningham, Vice President of Montessori Europe and Founder of Montessori Model United Nations, joined us at a webinar in which she explored with us how Montessori Education is a key enabler and an integral part of creating a just and sustainable world for all. Her slides are available here.

Montessori gave us the tools to confront Climate Change. Interested?

Join the  accredited MMUN Climate Change course  designed to give teachers and parents the confidence to help young people understand the causes and consequences of climate change, how all current crises are interconnected and introduce them to people and movements working to make the world more just, more equal. The 4  three hour sessions are online: June 23rd, June 24th, June 30th, and July 1st. Click here for more information.

Resources to Inspire You

By Dr Montessori

  • Citizen of the World
  • Education for Peace
  • From Childhood to Adolescence