Montessori Deep Dive: Teacher Cassandra Duggan on Her Homeschool Roots, Traditional Classrooms, and the Freedom to Learn

What happens when a child who once asked to be homeschooled grows up to become a Montessori educator, and a Montessori parent? In this episode, Montessori teacher Cassandra Duggan traces her winding journey from anxious second grader to public-school teacher and autism interventionist, through a brief stop in Waldorf, and finally into Montessori, where follow the child, intrinsic motivation, and multi-age communities transformed her practice and her own daughter’s love of school.

Hosts Biff Maier and Nicole Coman talk with Cassandra about:

• Advocating for herself at eight, learning at her own pace, and why comfort and autonomy in the environment matter
• Nannying, teacher prep, and working as an Autism Interventionist in inclusion settings
• The pressures of standards-based education (pacing guides, rushing, one-size-fits-all) versus following the child
• A mid-career reset: Waldorf, Covid, and discovering Montessori through her daughter’s school
• Starting at a Montessori school with no prior training, then embracing Montessori materials, student freedom, and the multi-age model
• Why she’d choose Montessori for her younger self, and how her daughter thrives (yes, even with a classroom dog)

Warm, candid, and illuminating, Cassandra shows how purpose and practice align when we trust children, and redesign school around their developmental needs.