It doesn't happen often but occasionally I get poetic.
It happened a couple of weeks ago in front of group of 100 Montessori Teachers and friends. Judith Cunningham, Executive Director of the Montessori Model United Nations program had inspired all of us with stories of the Cosmic Task our students strive for, and her own purpose to use the United Nations and Montessori students to create a peace keeping armada in a time when the world so desperately needs it.
Judith's program has inspired 25,000 students to seek peaceful global outcomes. I dared our Graduate students to do better.
And as I looked out across the room, I knew that they would.
I can scarcely believe the talent that I have been honored to work with over these past 4 weeks as Montessori Teachers from across the world have used Loyola to springboard their careers. They have dug in deep on important issues and every one of them is poised to bring these explorations back to their communities. Finding their way back to the child.
After 27 years as an educator (can that number be right?) I seem to have settled into my own cosmic task. I realize my purpose is to clear a path for thousands of Montessori practitioners, researchers, trainers and leaders; each one of them will have a mammoth impact on the children that I have spent my life serving.
Today is the last day of our summer program. I have instructed the students to enjoy the weekend and then to get straight back to work next week completing final papers and then redirecting their energies to prepare for their classrooms.
My schedule has me back on the road to St. Louis, San Diego and Portland to orient new students to our graduate program. It's a path I'm happy to travel.
When you spend a career in education you call amongst your colleagues some of the finest people in the world. I never take that for granted.
Peace,
Jack
