Charles Terranova
Observation and the Impact of Authoritarianism in Education and Cultures
In this thought-provoking session, Charles Terranova explores the vital role of Observation - a cornerstone of Montessori education - in addressing the resurgence of authoritarian practices in schools and society. The dominance of the adult in children's lives is a recurring theme in Dr. Montessori’s writings and lectures. Believing this is a thing of the past is an illusion. Today, adult dominance and authoritarian practices are once again flourishing - not only in America but in many parts of the world. Drawing on personal experience and the findings of others, Charles reveals how even Montessori schools can unintentionally become environments that foster these controlling dynamics.
AUDIO VERSION
Charles Terranova
Since 1972, Charles Terranova has been active, nationally and internationally, as a classroom teacher, teacher educator, administrator, and speaker. Charles has worked in both independent and public Montessori schools and has consulted with a number of Boards of Trustees, Heads of Schools, and teachers. He presents regularly at local and national Montessori conferences. Charles holds AMI and AMS Early Childhood and AMS Elementary I-II Certification. He is a founder of The Montessori Community School in Scituate (now the Inly School) and served as Head of School for 24 years, beginning in 1972. For the past 25 years, Charles has served as a field consultant, supervising teacher, and course instructor at Seacoast Center Montessori Teacher Education Program and Cambridge Montessori Institute Teacher Education Program. He also serves as consultant for EC at the AMS Instructor Academy. Since retirement in 2019, he has consulted with Montessori schools and conducted webinars in places as diverse as Massachusetts, Indonesia, Doha, and China. In 2022, Charles accompanied the Executive Director of AMS, Munir Shivji, and senior AMS administrators to unveil the statue of Maria Montessori in Perugia, Italy. In 2025 Charles received the 2025 AMS Living Legacy Award.
Discussion
Your questions will be answered after the conference.
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I love all the insights that you talked about about the Montessori lifestyle in a sense. How caring and nurturing the teachers are to help the children. It’s nice to see that someone is constantly seeing and impressed by how beautiful the Montessori system is. Thank you for your wonderful information And the wonderful stories that you had about Maria Montessori and many connections to the Montessori world. Thank you
Great to hear your journey to Montessori teaching and how you have discovery new way of thinking and being able to continue your new approach.
Children need connection and your story about the 7-year-old was beautiful to hear and you showed her respect and found a way to continue caring for her need to be heard and seen.
So many of the Montessori philosophy has been manipulated as a marketing tool and has become Montessori something.