foundation

today, chace and i met with the director of webster montessori for our official interview.
it went very well.
and i am happy to report that chace was accepted into the program.
once we sign all the paper work, it will be official.

he will start in september.

education is something that i feel very strongly about.
i believe with my whole heart
that it is my job as a parent to give chace the best possible educational foundation
so that he can achieve whatever it is he desires.

i believe that a montessori education 

will provide this foundation.

in a world that is full of technology,
information in sound bites,
and a desire for instant gratification,

i often wonder how much our children are learning?
if we are sucking the imagination out of our children
by overloading them with toys that blink, talk, and sing?
are taking the joy out of learning by having everything at our fingertips?

i want chace to love learning.
the way i loved learning.
i believe that montessori will help foster
his desire to seek knowledge.

one of the things that i noticed when
observing the toddler classroom last week
was the glaring absence of plastic, battery operated toys.
the classroom was filled with the most awesome wooden toys.

and the children were interacting with each other.
they were actively using their imaginations.
they were engaged in the learning process.
i could see there minds at work.

this is what i want for my son.
so, i will be cleaning house.
i will be removing all plastic/ battery operated toys from the house.
we will be a wooden toy only house.

of course there are a few exceptions.
like legos
or cars
and playmobile.

this was not a decision i took lightly
and i know not everyone will agree
but i believe in the montessori way
and that it will help chace soar to unimaginable heights.

4th wave

i don't have many regrets, which is a good thing. but lately i have been wishing i was back in academia.

when i was in graduate school i studied transitions to democracy. i was fascinated by the way countries became fed up with living under a dictator or military rule and started a revolution to overthrow the existing regime.  the area of the world that i was drawn to was latin america. during the 1980's there was a domino effect of revolutions and revolts, what political scientists refer to as the third wave of democracy. of course during that period, there was no internet, no facebook or twitter. you had to learn about what was going on through news media which was more often than not controlled by the regime. there was no way to have accurate, real time information. no way to know that people were being tortured and killed. of course everyone suspected that was taking place, but it wasn't until democracy was rooted and the old players were no longer players that we had a complete picture of what actually took place.

i watch the news every night and say to myself, "we are witnessing the 4th wave of democracy" in the middle east. and this time it is a warp speed thanks to social media. this is an exciting time to be a student of international politics, old school revolutions are merging with modern technology and the voices of the people are actually being heard. i suspect that there will be a number of countries who will have a regime change in the coming months.

watching all this unfold, makes me long to be in the classroom helping students understand what the world is witnessing. showing them that the people's voice does matter and that they can create change. i long to study how social media is shaping politics in countries where the majority of the population does not have a smart phone, use facebook or tweet their daily activities, yet these countries are using their voices along with social media to put an an end to their oppressive governments. sure all the unrest has some negative effects and we will probably pay more for gas. but to be honest, if i have to pay more for gas so that women are no longer tortured,  children can play without being afraid and people have a better quality of life, that is fine by me.

we are watching history unfold before our eyes. no matter what political party you claim, what the world is witnessing is inspiring, courageous and fascinating. i encourage you to take notice.