On October 19 and 20, Five Oaks Academy teachers and faculty will be attending the South Carolina Montessori Alliance (SCMA) State Conference in Columbia for professional development. This Montessori conference is a combination of private and public schools coming together to emphasize the best practice in Montessori schools.
Dr. Steven Hughes, a leading pediatric neuropsychologist based in St Paul, is the keynote speaker for the state conference and will be discussing the current challenges plaguing the educational system and the call for a revolutionary change in education. There will be an array of speakers and topics covered, some of which include: “Why Johnny CAN Read”, “Creative Extensions to the Montessori Curriculum for the Child and the Adolescent”, ” When the Light is Dim:Strategies to Ignite and Organize the Struggling Student”, “Embracing Mindfulness in the Montessori Classroom and the Benefits of a Middle School Montessori Program”.
Kitty Bravo, from The Center for Guided Montessori Studies, will be speaking at SCMA in two sessions, “The Parameters of Freedom” and “What About Wanderers”. The first session will delve deeply into the importance of balancing freedom with responsibility and how a well prepared environment provides clear limits as the parameters of freedom. The second session will look children who wander instead of engaging in work. It will discuss the different types of wanderers, why they wander and how to guide them into meaningful activity. Following the conference, Kitty will come to Five Oaks Academy and observe our teachers in their classrooms on Tuesday, October 23.
