GS and Child Podcast | Season 2

Episode 56 – Montessori Series “Wrap-Up” with Claire Paglia

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:1

“Freedom is understood, in a very elementary fashion, as the immediate release from oppressive bonds; as a cessation of corrections and of submission to authority. This conception is plainly negative, that is to say, it means only the elimination of coercion. From this comes, often enough, a very simple reaction: a disorderly pouring out of impulses previously controlled by the adult’s will. To let the child do as he likes when he has not yet developed any powers of control is to betray the idea of freedom. The result is children who are disorderly because order had been imposed upon them, lazy because they had previously been forced to work, and disobedient because their obedience had been enforced.” Maria Montessori, Absorbent Mind

Claire Paglia joins us again today to discuss this Montessori Series with us in light of Freedom and Discipline. Claire Paglia is a child of the atrium. As an adult, she is an AMI-trained guide who has been in the primary environment for 12 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in education with a concentration in Montessori from Loyola University, Maryland. She worked for a year as a course assistant for the primary training center. In 2012, she received her Level I formation and has been a catechist at her church in varying capacities since then. She enjoys spending time with her family and particularly enjoys preparing Montessori-friendly spaces at home for her three children.