A fresh, comprehensive biography of the pioneering educator and activist who changed the way we look at children’s minds, from the author of Oriana Fallaci. Born in 1870 in Chiaravalle, Italy, Maria Montessori would grow up to embody almost every trait men of her era detested in the fairer sex. She was self-confident, strong-willed, and had a fiery temper at a time when women were supposed to be soft and pliable. She studied until she became a doctor at a time when female graduates in Italy provoked outright scandal. She never wanted to marry or have children—the accepted destiny for all women of her milieu in late nineteenth-century bourgeois Rome—and when she became pregnant by a colleague of hers, she gave up her son to continue pursuing her career. At around age thirty, Montessori was struck by the condition of children in the slums of Rome’s San Lorenzo neighborhood, and realized what she wanted to do with her life: change the school, and therefore the world, through a new approach to the child’s mind. In spite of the resistance she faced from all sides—scientists accused her of being too mystical, and the clergy of being too scientific, traditionalists of giving children too much freedom, and anarchists of giving them too much structure—she would garner acclaim and establish the influential Montessori method, which is now practiced throughout the world. A thorough, nuanced portrait of this often controversial woman, The Child Is the Teacher is the first biographical work on Maria Montessori written by an author who is not a member of the Montessori movement, but who has been granted access to original letters, diaries, notes, and texts written by Montessori herself, including an array of previously unpublished material.

What really happens inside a Montessori classroom? How do teachers teach? How do children learn? This fascinating day-by-day record of a year in the life of a Montessori classroom answers these questions by providing an illuminating glimpse of the Montessori method in action.

The first book in America to popularize the insights of Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Waldorf schools, regarding the developmental needs of young children, this revised and updated edition offers new ways for parents and educators to enrich the lives of children from birth to age six. Today’s society often pressures us into overstimulating young children with flashcards, workbooks, videos, and electronic gadgets in a well-meaning attempt to give them a head start. But children are not little adults—they learn and grow in radically different ways at different ages, and what we do to help could actually hurt instead. Some of the most important learning years happen before your child reaches school. In You Are Your Child’s First Teacher, respected Waldorf educator Rahima Baldwin Dancy explains the different stages of learning that children go through from birth to age six, giving you the wisdom and understanding to enrich your child’s natural development in the right way at the right time. A trusted classic for over twenty years, this newly revised edition contains updated resources and additional information on discipline, early childhood programs, toilet training, using home life as curriculum, and more. From language and cognitive development to appropriate toys and nourishing your child’s artistic abilities, Dancy speaks up for a rational approach to child-rearing, one that helps children be children while we fulfill our important role as parents and first teachers.

Over the past four decades, Paula Baack coached children through adult singers in addition to directing youth, collegiate and adult choral ensembles. Her work with solo singers and choirs received state, national and international recognition. Ms. Baack was invited to present her paper "Assessing the Singer, Making the Choir Accountable" to the Third International Symposium on Assessment in Music Education held in Bremen, Germany. Ms. Baack received the Colorado Springs Chorale Society 2017 Award for Excellence in Choral Education. In 2014 she was acknowledged as a Boettcher Outstanding Colorado Teacher. She was awarded Who's Who in Education (2007), Who's Who of American Teachers (2000 and 2004). Ms. Baack is known also for her work with Down Syndrome and special needs children. She received teaching accolades in Arizona and her home state of Nebraska. Continuing to present at state and national clinics fulfills her passion and dedication to teaching.Ms. Baack performed leading/supporting operatic and musical theatre roles in over 30 productions. She served as a Master Teacher with Sedona Jazz on the Rocks (Sedona, Arizona), where she also was a featured artist with her vocal jazz group. Talented former students include James Valentine, a guitarist and singer for Maroon 5, Nate Zuercher, banjo and singer for Judah & the Lion, Scottie Johnson, guitarist and singer for the Gin Blossoms and Scott Maclntyre, a Top 10 finalist in Season 8 of American Idol.

Nowadays parents are bombarded by any number of approaches about how to be with their children. YOU ARE YOUR CHILD'S FIRST TEACHER introduces a new way of understanding the human being so that parents can be best equipped to serve as their own children's best teachers. Chapters include: Caring for the Newborn, Helping Your Toddler's Development, The Development of Fantasy and Creative Play, Nourishing Your Child's Imagination, Rhythm and Discipline in Home Life, Readiness for School, and more.

The shortage of qualified teachers in our nation's classrooms is critical, and it is getting worse. This thought-provoking book reveals the reasons for the crisis and offers concrete, affordable solutions. “A practical vision of how our children can get the high-quality teaching they deserve—a vision worth pondering and even implementing.”—Ted Fiske, former Education Editor of the New York Times and coauthor of When Schools Compete: A Cautionary Tale “This book should be read not just by teachers and teacher educators but also by parents, citizens, and policy makers—by all those who need to speak out for children.”—Deborah Meier, Educational Leadership “Why do so few people go into teaching, or once they have begun a career in public school teaching, abandon it? Kitty Boles and Vivian Troen, teachers both, investigate that question and then propose considerable and thoughtful changes that would bring great benefit to our beloved profession.”—Theodore Sizer and Nancy Faust Sizer, authors of The Students Are Watching: Schools and the Moral Contract