Baan Dek

Spotlight Grae Baker

Spotlights

We’re so excited to Spotlight Grae Baker, Head of School at Austin Montessori School. A Montessori educator and new parent, we were so excited to learn more about him. His words inspired us.

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Your background, your interests, your dreams?

I grew up in rural, northeastern North Carolina in a small town called Ahoskie. It had all the trimmings of a small town upbringing which, during my teenage years, I found everything in the world wrong with, but now in retrospect, appreciate tremendously. I was introduced to music at a young age and have been playing (bass, guitar, and piano) ever since. For a time, I played professionally and it was a band breakup during those years that opened the door to Montessori education for me. My primary band broke up one December and I was in need of a job. With no small amount of trepidation, I took a part-time job as an afternoon assistant in a Montessori Children’s House classroom. I was completely blown away by the experience. I had never been in an environment like that, educational or otherwise. I had always been interested in alternatives to the traditional education model but those ideas had not really taken form yet. That is, until I walked into a Montessori classroom. I went home and told my roommate, “These guys are on to something! I had no idea 3-6 year olds were capable of so much. And such joy!”

Q: Now that the hardest question is out of the way: What’s your favorite color?

Some days blue, some days green.

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Q: Do you have a favorite book? How about a film?

Now this is a hard question! I’ve never been one to claim a favorite of anything because I can always find a way to talk myself out of it in favor of something else. So in that spirit, I’ll list a few in both categories that are incomparable, not least of all because of the different genres.

Books:
Education and Peace, Maria Montessori.
The Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams.
Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman.

Film:
The Shawshank Redemption
Amadeus
Back to the Future
Most of the movies by the Coen brothers

Q: When you close your eyes late at night, and imagine waking up and starting a new adventure: what is that adventure?

What a great question. I no longer have to close my eyes and imagine – my new adventure of fatherhood has just begun and I am over the moon with excitement! My daughter, Kamryn, is now five months old. Everyday is a brand new adventure and that will continue to be the case for years to come. We have a universe to explore!

Q: What first appealed to you about Montessori?

Honestly, the first thing that appealed to me about Montessori before I knew much about it was the level of the children’s work and their exploration of advanced concepts at a young age (e.g. all four mathematics operations in Primary). I suppose this makes sense coming from a traditional, academic background and experience of education. Now that I’ve been in the work for over 15 years, the academics probably aren’t even in the top 10!

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Q: What advice do you have for new Montessori adults?

Know your potential as an obstacle. Be humble. Be patient. Observe. Observe. Observe.

Q: Did you have a “Montessori Moment?”

Not so much a moment as an experience that first half-year as an assistant in Children’s House. It was completely transformative. I experienced a different way of being with children, a way that resonated with how I approached life. That transformative experience, however, didn’t even approach the transformation I went through during my Montessori training!

Q: What’s your favorite Montessori quote?

An education capable of saving humanity is no small undertaking: it involves the spiritual development of man, the enhancement of his value as an individual, and the preparation of young people to times in which they live.
-Education and Peace

Q: What advice do you have for new parents trying to incorporate Montessori at home?

Parenting is so challenging today! Read this, read that, do this, don’t do that – all from “authorities” on parenting, all contradictory. We shall not even speak of the parent shaming that goes on in today’s culture. Parenting, in my opinion, is among our greatest and most important works as humans. I say this with true conviction and a dawning new perspective as the brand new father of a 5 month old girl.

“…I see Montessori as the flagship approach to human development that, at the very least, will serve as thought leadership to other educational systems…”

In terms of incorporating Montessori into the home environment, my advice would be to not try to set up an environment that mirrors the prepared environment in school with Montessori materials and so forth. Rather, research, observe, and inquire to discover the “what’s and why’s” behind what happens in the Montessori classroom and incorporate those principles into the home. Additionally, Montessori at home goes far beyond just preparation of the physical space. It incorporates all facets of living together; social, emotional, intellectual, etc. It encompasses a WAY of being together, all towards the end of developing functional independence in the child allowing for healthy and happy living together as a family.

Q: What do you think is the best introduction to Montessori?

Observing in a Montessori environment. Seeing is believing! Montessori is so vastly different from most people’s experience of “education” (mine included) that it’s very difficult to conceptualize Montessori from a presentation only or even reading one or more of her books. These things in combination are the best way to immerse oneself in Montessori.

Q: What continues to inspire you about Montessori?

Watching the children. Observing a child’s development across the years and observing their self-construction firsthand. It is miraculous in every single case. Dr. Montessori was a true genius and humanity owes her a debt of gratitude. This is true today and it will be true in 2116.

Q: In what ways do you envision the future of education?

The first thoughts that come to mind when considering the future is the accelerated growth and change that has occurred over the last 200 years. To oversimplify and paint with broad strokes, it encompasses the industrial revolution; the technological advancements from 20th century wars with accompanying social advancements; and the accelerating change brought on by the information age. This is all to say that change in the world, society, industry, government, etc. has put us in a position of not even being able to predict with accuracy what circumstances will be just five years from now. Think how much things have changed just since the year 2000. It’s literally mind boggling!

So, we must consider the future of education to be an approach to human development that prepares individuals to be positive, engaged, productive citizens in a world we cannot yet see. Montessori is just such an approach. Because we have children that are empowered to make choices that have significant impact on themselves as individuals along with the social community as a whole. Living and developing in community allows children to continue to grow into higher levels of independence and being at each developmental stage. It’s an act of co-creation; engaging as individuals for self-development thereby creating a vibrant culture and community. This, to me, is the essence of education for life. It is this experience that leads Montessori graduates to develop high levels of “soft skills,” to use today’s parlance, and be creative, adaptive, engaged individuals. This is what our ever-changing society needs thus must be the focus of education in the future.

Q: Where do you see Montessori in the next 100 years?
At the forefront of “progressive” education. By no means do I realistically expect every system or school to adapt the Montessori approach (though what a world that would be!). Rather, I see Montessori as the flagship approach to human development that, at the very least, will serve as thought leadership to other educational systems, who will be adapting many of the Montessori principles and practices into their classrooms.

Written by:

Baan Dek

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