Near North Montessori #2

This is the second in a series of six raw tapes where videomaker Anda Korsts visits Near North Montessori School in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood of Chicago to learn about how it works.

0:00Copy video clip URL Anda and Mark are now interviewing a girl named Selene from the 6-9 class. Miyako explains that in the 6-9 class, the afternoon generally features individual creative work, such as drawing. She shows an area of the wall where there are little wooden cards with each child’s name on them. She explains that when students wish to go to the restroom or the library, instead of asking for permission, they simply move their name tag to the appropriate category on the wall (such as “restroom”) and then leave without needing to ask permission. This gives the children a sense of autonomy and responsibility.

3:37Copy video clip URL Introduction to Judith Lesser, another teacher in the 6-9 class. She is being interviewed in the language area, where the students are learning the parts of grammar. She explains some of their teaching methods, including the use of pneumonic devices to help the students learn, such as different colors for different parts of speech. She also shows the students’ personal timelines, which list milestones in their lives.

7:03Copy video clip URL Anda goes to talk to a group of girls (one of whom is her daughter Tia) who are drawing and writing independently.  She then goes around the classroom talking to more students about their drawing.

11:00Copy video clip URL Anda’s daughter follows her into the hallway to give more opinions about her school.

11:53Copy video clip URL Anda, Mark, and Miyako go upstairs to see other 6-9 children in gym activity. They do calisthenics with music, followed by some stretches, and then gymnastics.