The individual human life, fully lived, is an end in itself.
Montessorium articulates a philosophy of education that explores this idea and its implications.
Montessorium, Higher Ground's think tank, is aimed at understanding human potential through the lens of its underpinnings: knowledge, work, agency, and humanism.
What is Montessorium?
Montessorium crystalizes and encapsulates the philosophy of Higher Ground Education.
Higher Ground is a growing network of Montessori schools, trainings, and services. Montessorium is the think tank of that network. It is a research project, premised on diving deep into the philosophy of Montessori and offering it a fresh articulation.
Our core principles are:
- A humanities approach to defining our core principles: history and philosophy are unapologetically at the foundation
- An uncompromised centering of the individual agency of the child
- A commitment to transcending the false alternatives between more classical and more progressive educational approaches
Featured Content
The History of Education
Benevolence Without Compromise
A core benevolence is a foundational pillar of good character. It underwrites all thought, all action, all relationships. It’s the ultimate “secure attachment”.
This is what school shootings threaten.
Emerson on Education
Though he worked briefly as a schoolteacher, Ralph Waldo Emerson rarely gave concrete teaching advice. As he believed in lifelong learning, formal or informal, Emerson rarely spoke about the logistics of schooling, sticking to more general principles. His philosophy of education, like all his other philosophies, can only be gleaned from reading through his essays and lectures and synthesizing relevant remarks.
Plato's Allegory of the Cave: Part III
In this, the third part of our discussion of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, we will see the character of Socrates discuss how and why those who have ascended to daylight and seen the sun will return to the darkness of the cave and its prisoners.
Explore the Montessorium Initiatives
The History of Education
There is no why or wherefore without whence. An ongoing project to understand the history of education, particularly its intellectual history: pedagogy, philosophy, and ideological patterns and arguments across the timeline.
Frederick Douglass on Education
June 24, 2021Tutelage in Greek Culture
January 11, 2022The Organization of Ancient Education: Part I
Browse The History of Education articlesAgency and Identity
Identity without identity politics. An educational approach to identity from a perspective of agency. Drawing on Montessori herself, we define a sense of identity primarily grounded in meaningful work and our common humanity.
The Persona of an Educator
July 18, 2021Everything is for Everyone
December 1, 2020Higher Ground’s Approach to Identity
Browse Agency and Identity articlesThe Pedagogy of Progress
The story of material progress plays a central role in education. It explains the modern world, illustrates the potential for human progress more broadly, and offers countless exemplars of thought, work, and heroism.
Human Achievement and Human Development
August 23, 2021We Need a New Philosophy of Progress
July 12, 2021A Golden Age for Investigating Progress
Browse The Pedagogy of Progress articlesMontessori in the Digital Age
Montessori, traditionally considered a deliberately low-tech approach to learning, is in fact the pedagogy most suited for the digital age. This project envisions a future of technology-enabled learning—done right, drawing on Montessori principles.