Maria Montessori was an advocate for equality and respect for all human beings. She emphasized the vital role educators play in sustaining lasting peace for future generations and recognized the heavy weight of such a responsibility. In her words, “An education capable of saving humanity is no small undertaking; it involves the spiritual development of man, the enhancement of his value as an individual, and the preparation of young people to understand the times in which they live” (1949).
East Cooper Montessori Charter School (ECMCS) is doing their part to continue Maria Montessori’s human rights initiatives with the completion of their second social justice endeavor, “Brave” Project. “Brave” Project is a mural of self-portraits painted by ECMCS adolescent students surrounded by text reading “Do you see what I see?” “Brave” Project developed as a continuation of ECMC’S’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights work.
Faculty and staff recognized the most visible impacts of the pandemic with their adolescent students. Given the pre-existing mental health crisis amongst teens in the United States, former assistant principal, Nikki Hollander, shares that this recognition led to a desire to “create a project that could give [adolescent students] courage and inspiration around a topic they are already wrestling with—their identities.” ECMCS faculty and staff “wanted students to entertain the thought of saying, “Do you see what I see in myself?” and also, “Do you see what I see in you?”
The opinions expressed in Montessori Life are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of AMS.