Until now.

Recently I found out that several of my family members are dyslexic. Some are children, one is an adult. Seeing their struggles – at various stages of life – has triggered an interest in me to find out more about dyslexia.

One of the first statistics I came across is that dyslexia affects many children (as many as 1 in 5), so if my research can be helpful, I want to share.

What Is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a recent word but not a new concept. For centuries, people have described children who are bright and developmentally normal in every way but can’t learn to read. An older term for dyslexia was “word blindness” which is a pretty good way to sum it up.

A more modern way of describing dyslexia is “lack of phonemic awareness”, which basically means that the dyslexic child is unable to effectively connect letters (symbols) with their sounds.

Dyslexia as a whole is actually a complex set of issues that can include:

~ Difficulty recognizing letters and their sounds
~ Difficulty holding a pencil and forming letters (dysgraphia)
~ Difficulty with reading comprehension, i.e. determining the meaning of a sentence
~ Difficulty with spelling
~ Vision or eye tracking issues
~ Irlen Syndrome – sensitivity to black text on a white background

The World Federation of Neurology defines dyslexia as “a disorder manifested by difficulty in learning to read despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence and sociocultural opportunity.” In other words, if a child has every opportunity to learn to read, and is smart enough to learn to read, and can’t, they are probably dyslexic.

Here is a helpful checklist of dyslexia symptoms:

~ Can read a word on one page, but not on the next page
~ Knows phonics, but can’t—or won’t—sound out an unknown word
~ Slow, inaccurate reading of words in isolation (when there is no story line or pictures)
~ When reading aloud, reads in a slow, choppy cadence and often ignores punctuation
~ Becomes visibly tired after reading for only a short time
~ Reading comprehension is low due to spending so much energy trying to figure out words
~ Listening comprehension is usually significantly higher than reading comprehension.
~ Directionality confusion shows up when reading and when writing (confusing b,d,p,q)
~ Misreads, omits, or adds small function words such as an, a, from, the, to, were, are, of
~ Omits or changes suffixes, saying need for needed, talks for talking, or late for lately
~ Substitutes similar-looking words, even if it changes the meaning of the sentence, such as sunrise for surprise or house for horse
~ When reading a story or a sentence, substitutes a word that means the same thing but doesn’t look at all similar, such as trip for journey, fast for speed, or cry for weep

In spite of these and other challenges, dyslexics are known as a creative group of people who often excel in science and the arts.

The Neurological Component

Studies have shown that the human brain is not actually wired to read. The brain is wired to learn to speak and understand spoken language. When we learn to read, we hijack those language areas and use them for reading. This is why speaking comes so naturally, without instruction, whereas reading is much more difficult.

There are two areas of the brain used for reading: the first, for sounding out words and the second, for recognizing words as a whole entity, on sight. The dyslexic child never switches to the second area of the brain – they use the “sounding out” area throughout their lives, even to recognize sight words. This means that the process of recognizing words on sight is always difficult, as they are using the wrong area of the brain to do it.

Can this be corrected? There is research to show that with early intervention and specific instruction, the dyslexic child’s brain can be re-wired to process written language correctly. (See bottom of the post for resources).

Famous Dyslexics

There are many famous scientists, composers, and artists who were dyslexic.

A short list of famous dyslexics includes: Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, Pablo Picasso, Beethoven, and Albert Einstein. That’s pretty good company.

These people weren’t brilliant in spite of being dyslexic; they were brilliant because they were dyslexic.

How could Leonardo da Vinci draw sketches for a submarine centuries before it was possible to build one? How was Albert Einstein able to develop his theory of relativity based on a vivid dream, while today’s scientists still struggle to understand it? How was Beethoven able to compose sublime melodies after becoming almost completely deaf?

Dyslexia enabled these men to think primarily in pictures, not words; to make lightning fast connections between seemingly unrelated ideas; and to think outside the box – really, for dyslexics, there is no box.

Many very successful people in today’s world have dyslexia, including Tom Cruise, Jay Leno, the actor Henry Winkler, and the playwright Wendy Wasserstein. If you read interviews with them, they will all report that they became successful because of their dyslexia – it motivated them to work harder than other people because they were told so many times that they would never amount to anything. They worked to prove their detractors wrong.

It is very helpful to talk to a child with dyslexia about famous, successful dyslexics. It helps them to feel that they are not alone, and that they can still achieve great things in spite of the challenge of dyslexia.

The Gender and Age Myth

Many people believe that only boys (or men) are dyslexic, but that is proving to not be the case. In centuries past, many women were never taught to read, so dyslexia never arose as a problem.

In today’s world, girls are often well-behaved in class, and as long as they do not call attention to themselves, it’s easier for them to slip by undiagnosed. Both boys and girls with dyslexia are good at coming up with coping mechanisms to get around their reading difficulties. Teachers and parents have to be vigilant in observing both boys and girls for signs of dyslexia.

Another myth is that dyslexia cannot be diagnosed until 2nd or 3rd grade, since frequently, it is not diagnosed until those grades.

However, ultra-observant teachers and parents can find signs of it sooner, as young as age 5, which include:

~ The inability to rhyme words or to hear rhyming sounds
~ A mild delay in learning to talk
~ Pauses when talking, such as “um” (more frequent than normal)
~ Difficulty breaking words into syllables
~ Family history of dyslexia

Early Intervention

Commonly, children with dyslexia do not receive intervention quickly enough. Because the inability to read is frustrating, resulting in a reluctance to read, teachers and parents may conclude that the child just “isn’t interested in reading”, “isn’t mature enough”, “isn’t focused enough”, etc. These excuses result in a “wait and see” approach which is devastating for the struggling child.

In order to make the dyslexia diagnosis as early as possible, it’s important for educators to know that lack of interest and lack of focus are generally symptoms of reading problems, not causes of reading problems.

As soon as dyslexia is suspected, intervention is necessary. The sooner intervention begins, the better. It’s better to take action and find out it’s not necessary than to take no action at all. The dyslexic child can sense that they are struggling and they need an advocate, someone to stand with them and help them through the tricky maze of sounds and letters.

Dyslexic children do not benefit from a “wait and see” approach. Time is of the essence. Dyslexia does not go away or get better with age. The younger children are when intervention begins, the greater the chance of success due to the pliability of the brain. When intervention is delayed, the child’s brain becomes less pliable and reading success becomes more difficult.

The dyslexic child knows there is a problem. There is no way to hide it from them or pretend it doesn’t exist. Usually, when they are told that they are dyslexic, they feel a huge sense of relief that their problem has a name. Their reluctance to read turns into a willingness to work once they know that there is help to be found.

What Can Be Done?

There are many resources available for children with dyslexia. In the public school system, parents or teachers can request testing to verify the dyslexia diagnosis, at which point the child will receive special services. Many private schools have reading specialists who provide additional tutoring (beyond regular classroom work) for dyslexic children.

Parents can and should educate themselves, even if their child is receiving specific help in school. There are numerous books, websites, training programs, and clinics where helpful information and programs can be found.

Here are ones that I’ve found helpful:

The Gift of Dyslexia by Ron Davis – This book is interesting but should not be seen as a scientifically-based look at dyslexia. It is mostly the first-person account of a man with dyslexia as well as many other stories and anecdotes about dyslexia.

Ron Davis also runs The Davis Dyslexia Centers found across the US, which offer programs to help children with dyslexia. His book contains many of the exercises used at the centers, in case you’d like to try them at home or in the classroom.

Checklist of 37 Symptoms of Dyslexia – taken from the Davis method

Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally E. Shaywitz – This book is mostly scientifically-based, taking a look at dyslexia from a neurological perspective. The science section is quite helpful, but the practical suggestions for working with a dyslexic child fall short.

This article with Sally Shaywitz provides a good overview of her approach and might help you decide whether or not to read her book: A Conversation with Sally Shaywitz, Author of Overcoming Dyslexia

Neither of the above-mentioned books are a perfect look at dyslexia, but both have their strengths so I do recommend reading both if you can. They can easily be ordered online (just Google their titles for sources) or at your local library.

Orton-Gillingham Reading Method – This multi-sensory approach offers training for teachers and parents in using their method. Training workshops are available around the US. Is often used by reading specialists in both public and private schools.

Bright Solutions for Dyslexia – World-renowned dyslexia expert Susan Barton has her own version of the Orton Gillingham Method (the Barton Reading System) and her website is full of information, including videos, about dyslexia

Easyread – This online program consists of over 200 lessons for the child to complete over a year or so. Using their unique “trainer text” (pictures that represent sounds, shown with the accompanying letters), children with reading issues are able to sound out words right away and see a dramatic improvement after 3-4 months. You can also visit their Facebook page: Easyread Facebook.

Dyslexia – Not Just About Reading and Writing – a helpful look at other symptoms and characteristics of dyslexia

Any other helpful experiences or resources to share?

What happens when a child who has never been in Montessori sees Montessori materials for the first time? What happens when a child who has never been in Montessori is treated with respect?

Recently I talked with a customer who is a teacher in the public school system. She is Montessori trained but her public school is not a Montessori school.

As often as possible, she tries to bring Montessori methods and materials into her classroom. Some may claim that this could do more harm than good, but I don’t think so.

Listen to her story:

“When I took the job teaching Social Studies to 6th graders in the public school, I told the principal that I was going to do things differently than she had ever seen before. She was okay with that, so I started teaching.

Every day I found ways to bring Montessori into the classroom – the children worked mostly independently, rather than me monitoring them closely. When I gave them assignments, I made them open-ended so the children could choose how and when to complete them. I tested as infrequently as possible and used the tests as a way to see where I had failed to make sure they understood the material.

The state curriculum told us that we should study South America. I bought the South America Continent Kit from you, Lori, and printed and laminated it. I cut the cards apart and put them in labeled envelopes. On the outside of each envelope, I wrote the number of pieces that belonged in it (pictures, labels, etc.)

In my Montessori training, one of my trainers had sat down at the rug with all of us in a circle. She was presenting something amazing – like the Geometric Solids – and she began by holding one of the solids in her cupped hands, stretching her hands towards us, and saying “I have a gift for you.” It made the work precious to us and even more interesting.

So I decided to do this with my class when I was introducing the South America materials. I stood at the front of the class and held the envelopes containing the nomenclature cards in my cupped hands. Stretching out my hands towards the students, I said, “I have a gift for you. I have made this for you.”

I showed them each envelope and told them what to do with the materials. I placed the envelopes around the room and let them choose which one to work on and for how long. I simply asked that when they were finished, they count the cards to make sure none were missing.

I watched as the children reverently, gently, opened the envelopes and worked with the materials. Some of them came to me with tears in their eyes, saying, “Miss Stacey, did you really make this for us?” One little boy said solemnly, “No one has ever made anything like this for me before.”

As they were working, if a piece was missing, every child fell to the floor to search for it until it was found. No pieces were ever bent or damaged even though the entire class worked with each set of cards several times. We also studied Asia the same way.

At the end of that year, the students came to me and told me how much they loved the projects we did, how much they appreciated having the freedom to make their own choices. For some children, it was the first time a teacher gave them a gift – not so much the gift of the materials themselves, but the gift of respect.”

What an amazing story! It makes me think of an email I once received – from a Montessori school director – who was asking me for tips on how to make the materials sturdier. The school used heavy laminate on the materials, but the children were so rough with them that they were always ruined by the end of the year. I’m not saying it’s like that at every Montessori school, but it may be more common than we realize.

How often do any of us take the time to really instill a reverence in the children for the materials and how they treat them? I think it’s something we could emphasize more. No child can resist being told “I have a gift for you.” The Montessori materials are a gift to children, just as the Montessori philosophy has been a gift for all of us.

There are several things about the Montessori philosophy and materials that make it a wonderful option for children with special needs, and several things that can cause some difficulty also. Please note that I am speaking in generalities; every school is different so there’s a lot of variation out there.

Pros when considering Montessori for a special needs child:

1. The materials and the environment: The Montessori classroom is filled with beautiful materials that engage all of the senses. The materials are hands-on, therapeutic, enticing, and include a built-in control of error. In most cases they teach only one skill (or salient point) at a time. They offer a wonderful chance for children with special needs to use their hands to explore and learn.

2. Multi-age classrooms: In Montessori, children are put into multi-age classrooms, so they can learn from older children, and help the younger children in the classroom. If a child needs to repeat a grade, they can do so without being “held back” while watching their friends move to a new classroom.

3. Following the child: Montessori children are encouraged to work at their own pace, without the burden of competition, test scores, and grades. They are also encouraged to follow their own interests when it comes to reading, writing, and research. This kind of freedom allows the special needs child to flourish.

4. Consistency: The multi-age classroom means a child is with a teacher for a 3-year cycle, allowing the teacher to build a strong relationship with the parents and the child. As well, the child doesn’t have the stress of always starting in a new classroom at the beginning of each school year.

5. The philosophy of Montessori: In Montessori, there is an emphasis on peace, cooperation, and respect, making it much less likely that a child with special needs will be teased or ostracized. Instead, the other children usually make an effort to accept, befriend, and encourage a special needs child.

Cons when considering Montessori for a special needs child:

1. Class size: Class sizes in Montessori tend to be large, so that children can help each other rather than rely on the teacher. This means, however, that a special needs child who needs a lot of one-on-one adult direction may not get as much attention as they need.

2. Independent work: In Montessori, children are encouraged to work independently after brief presentations from the teacher. Again, a child who needs more help may not be able to get that teacher/child interaction. The child with special needs may find it difficult to focus, concentrate, and work on his/her own.

3. Lack of information: Most Montessori training centers do not include information on working with special needs children, so unless the teacher has studied this topic elsewhere, or has previous experience with other special needs children, they may not know very much about working with a special needs child and how to integrate them into the classroom.

4. Lack of special services: Because many Montessori schools are private, they are not able to offer extra services to the special needs child and his/her family. Public schools are required to offer services to any child in their district (whether the child attends public school or not), but it can be harder to coordinate and/or receive those services when the child is attending private school.

5. Starting late: Many times, parents of special needs children try Montessori when other options have failed. This means that special needs children are often starting Montessori at a later age, and they’ve missed out on foundational work that is necessary to succeed in Montessori. It’s hard for any child, regardless of ability, to start Montessori after the age of 3 and gets harder as each year goes by.

6. Not all Montessori schools are created equal: In some cases, a school may call itself “Montessori” but is not equipped with the correct materials, trained teachers, and accompanying philosophy. This can lead to disillusionment with Montessori on the part of the parents, as well as an unpleasant experience for the child. Parents should always observe at a Montessori school before enrolling their child; here’s what to look for.

What is a parent to do? Is Montessori really an option for the special needs child?

Yes, I think it can be. But it takes a lot of work on the part of the parent and the teacher to make it successful.

Here are some ways it can work successfully:

1. Communication is key: The parent and teacher must establish an open relationship with clear guidelines. They may want to meet more frequently than the usual twice-a-year parent/teacher conferences. The parent may want to observe (many Montessori classrooms have one-way observation windows), see what their child is doing, and talk to the teacher about how to help their child succeed.

2. Bring Montessori home: Parents should bring in Montessori materials and related hands-on materials for their child to use at home. Two places in particular, For Small Hands and Michael Olaf Montessori are great places to find Montessori items for the home. The home should be modified to make it more “Montessori” including child-accessible shelves for books, puzzles, and materials; lots of time spent outdoors; little or no TV; and clear logical consequences for misbehavior. Just as in the Montessori classroom, the child should be given tasks he/she can succeed at and the parent should never do something for the child that the child can do themselves.

3. Outside help: The parent should pursue therapy for the child from people qualified in working with special needs children, in addition to Montessori school. This can include but is not limited to physical therapy, speech, behavioral therapy, individual and family counseling, and medical care. The teachers should be aware of any outside therapy the child is receiving and if possible, speak to the child’s primary therapist or doctor.

4. Homeschooling with Montessori: Using the Montessori method and materials at home gives the child the best of both worlds: lots of one-on-one attention from the adult, as well as use of the hands-on materials.

5. Public school Montessori: In this scenario, the child gets the benefit of the Montessori method and materials, as well as public school programs and therapies that are in-house and can take place during the school day.

Is the Montessori method being used successfully with special needs children?

Yes, it is. The most successful programs seem to be those that are geared specifically towards special needs children, where the class sizes are small and the teachers are also credentialed in working with special needs children. One great example is The Lane Montessori School of Autism run by Michelle Lane. You’ll want to read the interview I did with Michelle for a lot of helpful information about Montessori and autism.

Another great resource is the book Children Who Are Not Yet Peaceful by Donna Bryant Goertz. I used this book as the basis for my blog post Soothing Work for Troubled Kids that outlines the way the “hands-on” materials of Montessori can literally be therapy for children with behavioral or emotional issues.

Any words of wisdom from a parent or a teacher who has seen a special-needs child thrive in Montessori would be most welcome! Or, if you have seen a case where this has not worked out, any lessons learned would be helpful too. I’ve rounded up some helpful links, but please add any that you think might be helpful.

Blog Posts & Articles:

Montessori Education for Sensory Processing Disorder
Interview with Michelle Lane of the Montessori School for Autism
Bringing Montessori Discipline Into the Home
Montessori Basics: Homeschooling with Montessori
Can the Montessori Method of Teaching Help a Child with ADHD?

Montessori-related Materials for Home:

For Small Hands
Michael Olaf Montessori

Successful programs combining Montessori & special needs:

Montessori Autism Programs and Services
The Lane Montessori School for Autism
Broad Horizons Montessori
Shelton School

Books:

Autism: A Montessori Approach – a book by Michelle Lane outlining presentations of Montessori materials in a way that works with autistic children

Children Who Are Not Yet Peaceful – targeted towards elementary but applicable to primary as well

How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way – helpful information for parents on how to bring Montessori principles into the home

Also, I recommend Googling “Montessori ADHD” and “Montessori autism” for a lot of interesting results, including discussion forums where parents share their questions and experiences.

While I love sharing information there, one negative is that as links move down the page, they eventually roll off the page and it’s hard to go back later and find them.

So, I took some time to assemble this list of all the helpful links I’ve shared on Facebook. Keep in mind this list is not meant to be an exhaustive list of online Montessori resources – not at all. Instead it’s just all the Facebook links I’ve shared, easily accessible in one place.

There were some things I did not include – for instance, links to my own blog (use the categories or search box on the right) as well as questions and discussions that have taken place on Facebook. I’ll try to put some of those into a blog post when I have a chance.

In the meantime, enjoy!

Albums

My Montessori House

Primary Guide from Info Montessori (online albums)

Montessori Teacher’s Collective (online albums)

Shu-Chen Jenny Yen’s Montessori Albums (online albums)

Charities & Foundations

Operation Christmas Child

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

TOMS Shoes – One for One

Crafts & Activities

Enchanted Learning

Montessori Mosiac

Montessori Made – Photos at Flickr

Handbook of Nature Study

Making Montessori Objects for Reading

Montessori iPhone Apps

Education Today

The Good Student – What Do Grades Mean?

The Coming Meltdown in Higher Education

Traditional Education Kills Creativity

The End of the Best Friend

Stereotypes in the Classroom (video)

Florida Teacher’s Essay Becomes Rallying Cry

Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling

The Case Against Summer Vacation

Cash as an Incentive for School Attendance

Award Winning Teachers’ Advice for Improving Schools

What Makes a School Great

Employment

Get Montessori Jobs

Health & Safety

The Safe Side DVDs

Life, Death, and Parenting

Delay in School Start Times = Big Benefits

Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning

Kids and Media

Learning & The Brain

Bloom’s Taxonomy – Learning in Action

Your Baby is Smarter Than You Think

Studying Young Minds and How to Teach Them

The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (video)

The Creativity Crisis

Age Distorts ADHA Diagnoses in Kindergarteners

Literacy

Home Libraries Provide Huge Advantage

Father and Daughter Bond Through Reading

Montessori

Happy Birthday, Maria Montessori!

AMS Conference Handouts

Google Founders Talk Montessori (video)

Montessori – Preparation for the Real World

Montessori Blogs

50 Must-Read Montessori Blogs

Montessori for Everyone Blog

Montessori Teacher Training Blog

MariaMontessori.com

Montessori Materials, Toys & Activities

Museum Tour

Montessori Services

Michael Olaf

Etsy – Handmade Crafts (search for “montessori”)

Alison’s Montessori

Stages Learning Picture Puzzles

Online Training

Montessori for Everybody

United Montessori

North American Montessori Center

Science & Math

FETCH with Ruff Ruffman Science Activities

Chemistry for Kids

Educators Re-think Science Teaching

Shattering Common Science Myths

The Widening Gap Between High School and College Math

If you’re not already a fan of our Montessori Facebook page, we would love to have you!

Recently, they have begun to develop iPad and iPhone applications based on Montessori materials, specifically the sandpaper letters and wooden math materials like the red rods. Called Montessorium, this idea has been met with some skepticism on the part of Montessori teachers and parents. I decided to talk to them about this new combination of Montessori and technology.

Lori: What is the main idea behind the development of the Montessorium apps?

Bobby & June: Montessorium was created by Montessori parents and an AMI-accredited Montessori teacher. The aim of this collaboration is increasing awareness of Montessori education by making the materials of Montessori available to children everywhere.

Lori: How did you conceive of the idea for Montessorium?

Bobby & June: While the Montessori community may be divided over what the next step in Montessori education should be, the world our parents, children and educators face every day is continually evolving with advancements in technology, as they drive to school, search on the internet, and communicate on blogs and forums.

We do not advocate or intend to replace the Montessori classroom; instead, we see this as a tremendous opportunity to address the convergence of technology with the tested and proven philosophy of Maria Montessori. We conceived of Montessorium as the next continuum in thinking about these complex issues.

Lori: What is the aim of the Montessorium apps – what do you hope they accomplish?

Bobby & June: Our commitment to education extends beyond the scope of any technology. It extends into an examination of the very ways in which we learn. We want to expose an entirely new generation to Montessori. We understand that our ideas are controversial, but we also see an unprecedented moment in the history of learning. Montessori education should not stop when the child leaves the classroom. It is our hope that Montessorium will education parents as well as children.

Lori: When I posted a link to your site on Facebook, many people responded negatively. They felt that “hands-on” materials can’t be translated to a screen. How do you answer this kind of objection?

Bobby & June: Anytime you combine a one hundred year old proven method of education with a ‘magical and revolutionary’ new device there is bound to be some discussion. We want to let our people know that we appreciate their comments and concerns and would like to take this opportunity to address them.

First, we do not advocate the replacement of the Montessori classroom. On the contrary, we are trying to introduce new families to the Montessori approach to early childhood education. We hope to highlight the importance of Montessori by exposing a new generation to the force of her thought. There is no substitute for the actual, physical materials or the social interactions that comprise a Montessori environment.

Second, we have carefully and thoughtfully translated the Montessori materials into iPhone and iPad applications. They are adherent to the Montessori philosophy of education. These applications are kinesthetic and proprioceptive, and use the audio, visual, and tactile senses of the child. They also address the sense of balance that Montessori found so important. Additionally, positive feedback systems are delicately put into place, and control of error offers the child an authentic Montessori experience.

Third, if Maria Montessori were alive today, we think that she would be at the Apple store, playing with an iPad, thinking hard about these complicated issues. She would be writing Steve Jobs letters, asking for advice. “What is this new gyroscope feature?” “Can we really duplicate the feel of sandpaper letters?” “Is it possible to create a positive feedback system?” In our opinion, Maria Montessori would be trying to open up and discover new ways to think about how we learn.

Lori: Something that occurred to me while thinking about this issue is that Maria Montessori would apply her scientific mind to this issue – rather than jumping to conclusions about the limits of technology, she’d observe children using the iPhone and iPad and draw conclusions based on their behavior rather than her own personal prejudices.

Bobby & June: Exactly. It is our belief that these apps will bring a new found awareness to the Montessori revolution in education. Montessorium will also allow an entirely different population to experience the brilliance of Montessori. Parents will Google Montessori and want to learn more. Existing Montessori students will return to the classroom with a renewed sense of joy and wonder. This could truly become Montessori for Everyone!

Lori: I like that idea! What will children specifically learn from your apps?

Bobby & June: Intro to Math is specifically designed to introduce children to a concrete understanding of sequence, order, and ultimately, the basic components of mathematics, such as addition. Intro to Letters is meant to help children learn the alphabet, how to write, and ultimately, how to read.

Lori: What kind of feedback are you getting from other people?

Bobby & June: A parent summed it up best, “I look forward to this app since our children are VERY adept at using our iPad and iPhone – especially during long car trips and long waits at busy restaurants, doctor’s clinics, and in airports and on airplanes…all of which we have experienced in the past weeks. Our iPad has been engaging, educational, and fun – and if Scholastic can make some apps for preschoolers, why not Montessori? Hurry up! Get it done!”

As you can imagine, comments have ranged from one end of the spectrum to the other.

Lori: I’ve faced similar challenges when it comes to updating the Montessori materials. Sometimes people have a hard time with that.

Bobby & June: In our estimations, the relevance of Montessori no longer rests with Maria Montessori. It rests with us. Are we willing to engage in serious and complicated discussions? Are we willing to reassess the very ways in which children learn? What is the future of Montessori?

Lori: I can see that this goes beyond the development of Montessori-based apps and touches on the future of Montessori and technology. I think it deserves more discussion so maybe in the future we can talk again. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me about the thought process behind your new apps.

Bobby & June: You are very welcome!

Please visit Montessorium if you’re interested in learning more about this project. From their website you can follow and fan them on Twitter and Facebook.

The Math App is now available at the iTunes store: Montessorium Math App for iPhones.

It seems like Montessori-for-the-iPhone is becoming very popular; here are two other sites that are developing apps using Montessori (I don’t have any information about the availability or quality of these apps; please email the site owners if you have questions):

Montessori Tech
Montessori Apps
Montessori Revolution

Pretty much all I can think of when I see this picture of us is how young we look:

As we celebrated our anniversary, I was reminded of a friend of mine who always takes notice of milestones. She’s really good at noticing them, and not just the birthday and anniversary kind – she’ll point out things I wouldn’t have noticed, like how I’ve grown as a mom or a new realization I’ve had about myself.

I appreciate her noticing things like that, because it’s easy to skip over them if you’re not paying attention. It helps me to say, “Yes, I am growing and changing” when sometimes I feel like I’m stuck in one place.

One of my son’s last projects this school year was a book report, and he worked on it for several weeks before he was satisfied with it. When finished, he proudly read it aloud to our family and one of my first thoughts was, “He couldn’t have written a report like that at the beginning of the year”. It’s neat to see how far students come from autumn to spring.

Heading into summer, it’s nice to look back on the year and think of where we’ve been. You might have a milestone of your own to celebrate – a college degree or Montessori certification, or the successful completion of your first year of teaching at a school or homeschooling (or your 20th!)

Whatever it is, take a minute to think about where you’ve been and how far you’ve come. Chances are you will be pleasantly surprised when you compare the current you with the you of the past.

The child’s progress can be evaluated in many ways (observation, checklists, portfolios, self-assessment) but the easiest and most common ones have always been grades and tests. The debate rages on as to whether grades and test scores are an accurate picture of the child’s true understanding, but they produce data that can analyzed and categorized and because so many policy decisions rely on data, they continue to be the holy grail of student evaluation.

In the years since the No Child Left Behind act was passed, grades and test scores are routinely used to determine funding, bonuses for teachers, and even whether or not teachers keep their jobs and schools remain open.

In Montessori, we’ve generally rejected the traditional notion of evaluation, seeing grades as generally subjective and often unhelpful, and tests as being no more than a way to test how well the child can take a test. We’d rather have a child work repeatedly on a certain skill or concept until it’s mastered without having to worry about having their progress graded or tested.

Paying for Grades

In the public school realm, the need for high grades and test scores has produced sense of desperation among teachers and administrators, who are finding that children are not responding well to the traditional method of top-down education: the teacher at the front of the class, telling the children what to learn and when.

Rather than address the actual problems of top-down education – and seek out alternatives like Montessori, where education is child-led and individualized – many school districts have resorted to paying children cold hard cash to try and motivate them to do better in school.

While this has already been done for years informally, Harvard economist, Roland Fryer, Jr., recently decided to formalize it and conduct a scientific study on the results of paying children for improving their test scores.

The results of his experiment have been written up in a recent article in Time Magazine called Should Kids Be Bribed to Do Well in School? (A better title I could not have chosen myself; kudos to the writer who did away with the less-offense “reward” and went straight to the very accurate “bribe”.)

The Economics of Education

Fryer and his team of researchers faced an uphill battle. Many schools that they approached about trying this program resisted. He received quite a bit of criticism from teachers, and from psychologists who’ve studied the negative effects of offering rewards for learning. Still, he persisted and was able to get 143 schools to participate.

The results of the year-long study were very interesting. Generally, offering children money for higher test scores did not cause a noticeable increase in higher test scores. Children were interested in the money, absolutely, but it didn’t lead to them being able to figure out how to do better on tests.

However, in one school district, offering the children money did work. In that school district, children were given money for reading books, not for getting better grades or higher test scores. However, children paid to read were able to get substantially higher grades.

“If you pay a kid to read books, their grades go up higher than if you actually pay a kid for grades,” Fryer says. “Isn’t that cool?” Yes, it is cool, and it is also a truth so basic that it’s shocking they needed a team of researchers and several million dollars to discover something teachers have known for decades: children who read more generally do better in school.

The mentality behind this kind of study generally assumes that the fact that children are getting low grades and low test scores because they lack motivation. If they’re more motivated, they’ll do better. What the study didn’t address at all was why American children are so unmotivated (if that is indeed the reason for poor grades and test scores). If the monetary compensation had worked better than it did, it would still be a band-aid over a much larger problem.

Can Kids Love Learning?

Fryer is aware that the problem goes deeper: “Kids should learn for the love of learning,” he says. “But they’re not. So what shall we do?” I found this quote fascinating, because it’s a great question but ultimately led him in the wrong direction to try and answer it.

What if the money used in the study as bribes had been used to turn traditional public school classrooms into Montessori classrooms? Classrooms where learning is “the lighting of a fire and not the filling of a bucket”, as the famous quote goes. Classrooms where the process is valued more than the product, where children learn because they love to do it and not because they are paid.

My experience as a Montessori teacher and homeschooler is that children absolutely can love learning without being bribed or paid. Shouldn’t researchers be looking at what does work and trying to emulate it?

The Real Lessons of School

John Taylor Gatto, former Teacher of the Year in the New York State school system, pondered the lessons he was forced to teach children in a monumental essay called The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher. These are some of the lessons he discovered children were being taught; no wonder they don’t love to learn:

“Only I [the teacher] determine what curriculum you will study. (Rather, I enforce decisions transmitted by the people who pay me). This power lets me separate good kids from bad kids instantly. Good kids do the tasks I appoint with a minimum of conflict and a decent show of enthusiasm.

Of the millions of things of value to learn, I decide what few we have time for. The choices are mine. Curiosity has no important place in my work, only conformity.

Bad kids fight against this, of course, trying openly or covertly to make decisions for themselves about what they will learn. How can we allow that and survive as schoolteachers? Fortunately there are procedures to break the will of those who resist.

This is another way I teach the lesson of dependency. Good people wait for a teacher to tell them what to do. This is the most important lesson of all: that we must wait for other people, better trained than ourselves, to make the meanings of our lives.”

Looking Beyond Bribes

You can pay children to stay in school, to get good grades, to get better test scores, to read more books. What you can’t pay them to do is love to learn for learning’s sake, which of course is so much more important than test scores (as Gatto rightly observes in his essay, test scores are almost meaningless in the real world anyway).

After reading about this study I felt a sense of despair. It seems that after all these years, after the failures of the public schools and the successes of alternative methods of education like Montessori and homeschooling, that traditional education and alternative education are moving further apart, not closer together.

I can only hope that the negative results of this study lead educators in a different direction when it comes to improving the public system of education in the United States.

As the discussion continued (with some positive comments added to the negative), I realized that I don’t know very much about how online training works, and maybe others don’t either. I decided to find out more.

I sent an email with a list of questions to John and Trudy Shepard (left) of the United Montessori Association (UMA) and Dale Gausman (below) of the North American Montessori Center (NAMC). They were kind enough to respond, and answered my questions with detail and care. I think this information is very helpful, especially if you are considering online training – and based on the emails I get, many of you are.

Montessori Online Training Q & A

Lori: What, if anything, makes online training appropriate for people seeking a Montessori career?

Dale Gausman of NAMC: Not only was Maria Montessori part of a movement to reform traditional ways of educating children, she understood the importance of educating teachers in new ways to support this transformation. “Teachers must be trained and schools transformed at the same time” – Maria Montessori, The Discovery of the Child

Online/distance training is a wonderful option for anyone who wishes to begin or enrich their Montessori career and cannot afford either the time or financial commitment that on site training requires. Since our inception in 1996, distance training has become an increasingly popular choice because it offers the benefits of flexibility and customization to meet the unique scheduling and educational needs of students.

John and Trudy Shepard of UMA: People who have commitments to family and work, or who live on a very limited income and/or live in a remote region of the world are being given the opportunity for a Montessori education. They are not simply exposed to it, but receive excellent training in the philosophy and materials presentations!

Besides the lives of children they influence, we see how they themselves change, having gone through an inner transformation of mind and spirit due to this marvelous (and often considered radical) way of looking at life and how one learns.

Lori: How does online training work?

NAMC: As many of your readers know, Montessori is taught in three-year age groups, which is why we offer our diploma programs for ages 0-3, 3-6, 6-9 and 9-12. New students are welcome to enroll online, via fax, or mail. We process enrollments on a daily basis, so students may enroll anytime and begin their studies right away. As soon as an enrollment is received, it is processed and study materials are shipped directly via UPS courier expedited.

A typical NAMC student is a working parent – a very busy person! We realized from the beginning that distance education must be uniquely designed for student achievement and success. To that end, our diploma programs deliver manageable work schedules, quality training materials, effective and interactive communication between students and mentors, and straightforward, quantitative evaluation mechanisms.

UMA: Each student’s lesson plans center on unlimited one-to-one counsel from a senior staff evaluator – a seasoned, Master Montessorian. This personalized guidance helps students feel deeply connected with his/her course of study, and fully prepared for his/her career in Montessori education.

The student is assigned one primary and one co-evaluator. This provides consistency, a balanced perspective, and allows the student to establish a personal rapport. UMA evaluators are committed to each student’s success by offering individual encouragement and guidance. Students may also chose to have a UMA graduate as a mentor. They use Skype for face-to-face dialogue with their evaluators and mentors.

Lori: What kind of curriculum does your training center use?

NAMC: One unique feature to our programs compared to other Montessori training programs is the inclusion of full-color, professionally developed and designed curriculum albums. These manuals are excellent study guides for our students to learn the concepts and activities, and they become valuable lifelong classroom resources. NAMC now publishes more comprehensive, full-color Montessori albums than any other Montessori organization in the world. Each of our programs also includes a CD-ROM of printable items for classroom use and teacher record-keeping purposes.

UMA: Each student is provided a well-balanced core curriculum, based upon the original tenets of Dr. Montessori’s philosophy. The didactic material presentations are in-depth and involve hands-on participation.

All students receive UMA Teaching Manuals and unlimited viewing of the UMA Video Library as tutorials. Combined, the manuals and videos provide hundreds of Montessori material demonstrations, covering all the areas of the curriculum. The UMA Teacher’s Manuals also provide a liberal amount of master sheets for classroom use, booklets for classified nomenclature, and theme outlines for curriculum planning.

Lori: What process do the students go through to complete their work?

NAMC: NAMC diploma program schedules are designed for a student time commitment of between one-half hour and one hour per day, five days per week. Each program is divided into three components, and each component has a series of written homework assignments generated from the course material we provide.

For the NAMC Infant/Toddler (0-3) and Preschool/Kindergarten (3-6) diploma programs, each component is 10 weeks long for a total of seven months. For the Lower Elementary (6-9) and Upper Elementary (9-12) diploma programs, each component is 3 months long, for a total of nine months. In keeping with Montessori philosophy, NAMC students who have more time to devote to study are allowed to work at an accelerated pace. Those who need to set up customized schedules for a longer duration are also accommodated and supported by the NAMC team.

UMA: Lessons are emailed in the form of Microsoft Word attachments and may be downloaded and printed up as hard copies for use in each student’s personal albums. Lessons include detailed essay notes, charts, and assignment templates for easy submission.

Each assignment is comprehensively evaluated for effort in research and thorough understanding of the Montessori philosophy, method, and application. Unsatisfactory work will be addressed and resubmitted. The “final” is an open-book review. (No exams.)

The most significant difference of the UMA Teacher Training curriculum is our focus on the inner preparation of the adult, along with a thorough understanding of the Montessori philosophy. Our training is comprehensive, requiring a serious commitment on the part of the student…and staff!

Lori: Do you require a practicum as part of the training requirements?

NAMC: We always encourage those students who do not already have an affiliation with a Montessori center to seek a volunteer internship. However, there are two reasons why we do not require a practicum at NAMC:

1. Many of our students earn income to support themselves and their families, and simply cannot stop working to student-teach on a volunteer basis.
2. We are very aware that few if any schools hire newly-graduated teachers to act as lead teachers in a Montessori classroom.

Indeed, Montessori described experience toward the perfection of the educator in a scientific way – with continual experimentation, observation and analysis being necessary parts of the process. The initial training of the Montessori educator provides an important foundation, but the perfection of any educator is not in the initial training, it is in the years following.

Almost every Montessori teacher starts her/his career working with an experienced Montessori guide. It is our opinion that this first year of employment under an experienced Montessori teacher will be the most profound learning experience a Montessori teacher enjoys. Such an arrangement is also of great benefit to the employer, as new Montessori teachers can be mentored in accordance with the unique values and mission of the Montessori school.

When you consider how many wonderful Montessori educators may potentially be excluded from the profession based on completing an unpaid practicum, we simply consider the price too high. Fortunately, many Montessori schools hold a similar view. This allows people to pursue their dream of becoming qualified Montessori educators by taking the training online and then working under a lead teacher for a year or years to come.

UMA: The reality is, there are not enough Montessori schools in the world for every student’s training, and therefore internship for everyone is not a possibility.

We offer distance learning to a significant segment of the world population that:

1. Have no access to a classroom site
2. Have family commitments that require time at home
3. Live on a limited income and need to work to provide for their families
4. Live in a remote region of the world

If a practicum was required:

1. It would be impossible to validate the quality of all schools offering a practicum site
2. Training center visits by UMA would be cost prohibitive.
3. A fee for licensing would be required in every state where a physical training site was established. Passing on that expense would make tuition no longer be affordable for our students.

Lori: What kind of certification does someone receive after they complete their training? Is it recognized by any official Montessori organizations or other educational boards or institutions?

NAMC: NAMC graduates receive a Montessori teaching diploma, which is recognized around the world by qualified Montessori educators. NAMC is a member in good standing with the National Association of Career Colleges, the Canadian Association of Young Children, and the International Association of Montessori Educators.

UMA: UMA is licensed by the State of Washington to provide Montessori Teacher Training and Certification, in the USA and worldwide, since 1988. Our graduates have had excellent success in securing employment, due to the global demand for well-trained Montessori educators.

UMA is also an approved educational institution by the US Department of Defense for the Military Spouse Career Advancement, and an approved provider for Independent and Public School Districts in the US, to train teachers for teacher certification in the Montessori method at the primary level.

Lori: As I mentioned at the beginning, some of the comments on Facebook were negative. Do you have any response to someone who might hold a negative view of online training, especially concerning the need for a practicum?

John Shepard from UMA: Let me respond to the concern of the need for a practicum or internship for students. There is no question that one cannot fully grasp the use of the hands-on, didactic materials outside of a properly prepared environment. We go to great length in emphasizing this to our students. That is why we encourage our students to find a nearby Montessori school or set up a Montessori environment in their home where they can apply what they are learning.

Regretfully, because of constraints like distance, time, and money, an internship is not a possibility for some. It is for these individuals that we provide a thorough on-line certification in Montessori education.

Think of the positive results to this. People who have commitments to family and work, who perhaps live on a very limited income and/or live in a remote region of the world are being given the opportunity for an excellent Montessori education.

Therefore, let us in the Montessori community not criticize or dismiss a program simply by our own self-centered biases or uninformed judgments. Rather, we should be discussing how we can help each other with the same goal in mind: to train adults who provide the child with opportunities for proper educational growth and awareness of the world.

Are we not making a clear statement to the rest of the world when we confine a Montessori education to adults who happen to live within a certain locale near a Montessori school or training center? And when schools or centers are located in predominately middle to upper middle class/wealthy neighborhoods, are we not saying something loud and clear to the rest of the world’s population?

The answers to these questions are clear and, in effect, we speak volumes when we don’t offer more affordable and useful alternatives to centrally located centers for learning. I don’t think that is the kind of narrow, inaccessible Montessori community we envision both here in the United States as well as abroad.

Lori: Strong words, John, and I can sense the strong feeling behind them. I haven’t ever considered how outsiders might view Montessori based on the limitations of physical training centers and schools. But more importantly, if some of us decide, after thorough investigation, that online training is not an option we would personally promote, how important it is to allow others the freedom to make their own decisions based on their circumstances rather than insisting on a “one size fits all” Montessori education.

Thank you, Dale, John, and Trudy for your insightful, helpful information! If you have any questions for them I’m sure they’d be glad to answer. You can also visit their websites for more information:

North American Montessori Center
United Montessori Association

The featured speaker this year was John Taylor Gatto, a former New York state public school teacher who now speaks out against traditional schooling. The values he espouses are very much in line with Montessori philosophy; you can read my take on the Montessori/ Gatto connection in my previous post If John Taylor Gatto and Maria Montessori Could Meet.

Mr. Gatto is a hero of mine, and I was thrilled to hear him speak. I got to shake his hand and talk to him briefly afterward, which was very exciting. The topic of his talk was “How to Get an Education in Spite of School”, which immediately tells you where he’s at when it comes to education.

Mr. Gatto’s thoughts are radical and he makes no apology for that fact. I most appreciate that he calls us to question our long-held assumptions about education and learning. He finds interesting information from unlikely sources.

What’s Really Important for College?

Gatto has spent some time talking to the admissions directors for both Harvard and Princeton. They told him that every year they turn away hundreds of students who have perfect SAT scores and perfect GPAs. What are they looking for, then? The answer might surprise you.

At both schools, they are looking for evidence that the student in question made a difference to society (as one of the admissions directors put it, “Special people usually distinguish themselves before the age of 18”). They look at hobbies and special interests, because that’s where children make their own choices about what they do with their free time.

How can someone under the age of 18 make a meaningful contribution to society? Some ways include:

• starting and running a successful business
• serving in the community
• founding an organization that serves others (especially those in need)
• completing an apprenticeship

Mr. Gatto repeatedly says that there is no significant correlation between grades, test scores, and real life achievement. He listed many extremely successful people who dropped out of school at some point and didn’t attend college, including Bill Gates and his partner Paul Allen, co-founders of Microsoft; Michael Dell (founder of Dell Computers); and Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook).

Life Skills that Really Matter

He also suggests that we re-think what we teach children based on our own life experiences. He asked us to take a week or two to reflect on the skills that have served us best in life, and then make sure we are introducing children to those skills and giving them a chance to exercise them.

Some of his top life skills include:

1. Being able to successfully convey yourself through the written and (publicly) spoken word
2. Being able to spend time in solitude without feeling uncomfortable
3. Finding ways to be useful to others
4. Developing connections with other people that can be used for their benefit and your own
5. Being able to read at a high level (not just the skill of reading but being able to understand what you’re reading and internalize it)

As he points out, the things that serve us best in life are often not taught in school. Children often graduate without these life-skills, having instead spent dreary hours memorizing dates and filling in workbook pages.

Real Life Lessons

He also shared some remarkable examples of how he gave students a chance to really “stand out from the crowd” even within the confines of the New York public school system. For example, one girl in his class dropped a glass bottle with a note inside into the water off of Coney Island. The bottle was found by a New York police chief who read the note and contacted the girl.

With help from Mr. Gatto, the girl met with the police chief to discuss environmental issues like littering. Seeing where her bottle ended up was a practical lesson for her, and her meeting with the police chief was covered by a local newspaper which led to a meeting with the head of an environmental action group.

He had children running up and down New York state completing internships with politicians, businesspeople, newscasters, and all sorts of other accomplished people. Children in his classes influenced legislation, mobilized public opinion, wrote newspaper columns, and volunteered in their communities.

What Makes a Person Educated?

Mr. Gatto ended his presentation by talking about traits that a truly educated person possesses; they bear little resemblance to traditional school curriculums:

• An educated person writes his/her own script in life; destiny is self-determined
• An educated person is never at a loss for what to do with his/her time
• An educated person has a blueprint for personal values, a philosophy
• An educated person understands his/her own mortality and learns throughout life, right until the end
• An educated person has the capacity to create new things, new experiences, and new ideas

Even as a Montessorian, I was inspired to re-think how I approach education. I never want my focus to be on “achievement” in things that are easily measurable. Real life skills are harder to measure, harder to pin down, but so much more beneficial.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on Mr. Gatto’s ideas and how they might be compatible (or contradict) the Montessori method.

Helpful links:

The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher
Things You Really Need to Learn
The College (and High School) Dropouts Hall of Fame

I felt like talking to Andrea could help us, as parents and teachers, better understand how Montessori shapes a child’s mind, and what kind of adults our Montessori children will turn out to be.

Lori: Hi, Andrea! Thanks for taking some time to answer my questions.

Andrea: You are very welcome!

Lori: Let’s start at the beginning. Where did you attend Montessori school and for how long?

Andrea: I attended Westside Montessori Center in Toledo, OH from the age of 3 1/2 through 6th grade.

Lori: Wow, so you were in Montessori for a long time! Why did your parents choose Montessori for you?

Andrea: I learned how to read on my own by the age of 2. My parents were running their own business, and my younger sister had just been born. They realized I needed stimulation. A family friend recommended Montessori to them. My father says that as soon as he walked in, he knew it was right for me.

Lori: What are some favorite memories from being in Montessori school?

Andrea: I loved the feeling of independence and following what I wanted to learn. I loved the close relationships and mutual respect I had with my teachers. I always got my work done so that I could also sit and read in the book corner. The owner of the school had a golden retriever who came to school every day and served as a surrogate pet for years.

For French class we got to go to both Canada and France for true cultural experiences. In 6th grade, I wrote a play and we put it on for our parents. I still have the videotape somewhere.

Lori: That sounds amazing, like you truly had the freedom to study what appealed to you. I know you love all the Montessori materials, but what was your favorite?

Andrea: I was a total math nerd, and I loved the spindle boxes when I was little and the test tube division in Elementary. As an educator, I love the moveable alphabet and the golden bead material.

Lori: Now for the nitty-gritty. How do you feel that Montessori impacted you – academically, emotionally, psychologically?

Andrea: For both my sister and me, Montessori taught us to be independent studiers and thinkers. If we want to know about something, we dive into learning as much about it as we can. We can question authority when appropriate, yet are respectful of rules and boundaries. I don’t want to sound like a rebel, but I’m not a conformist, either.

We both have been able to do whatever we set our minds to and be successful. I also learned how to be an observer of people, which as a Montessori educator is essential.

Lori: Would you choose Montessori for your own kids and why?

Andrea: Yes, I definitely would! Having grown up in Montessori, it is just the most natural route for me to go. Plus, the home I grew up in was naturally Montessori, even if my parents didn’t realize it at the time. For me, there is no other option.

Lori: What’s something helpful that Montessori parents and teachers should know about what it’s like for a child to be in a Montessori program?

Andrea: I find that parents often worry that children will have too much trouble adapting when they leave Montessori. While there is a period of adjustment, it’s no different than any time you change schools, churches, or move to a different neighborhood.

Usually, we Montessori children have been given tools to help us adapt well to different circumstances, or at least how to cope with change. It’s often the parents who have trouble adjusting.

Lori: That’s a great point – we sometimes project our own fears about change on our kids, don’t we?

Andrea: Yes, we do. It helps to realize that.

Lori: Someone on my Montessori Facebook page asked a great question. They wondered if children with a Montessori education have a hard time adjusting to life in the workplace.

In other words, is it hard to follow a schedule, deadlines, etc. when you’ve had so much freedom to pursue learning on your own timetable?

Andrea: I think we become used to thinking outside of the box, and it can be frustrating if and when we end up working for more rigid people. Just like with any job, it’s important to find the job within the career that best suits your personality. There is usually someone out there who respects and appreciates your unique way of thinking.

Often we are able to bring more to the table because we have learned how to work with other people, negotiate, plan, and bring out our creative sides. My sister and I were both taught how to be leaders in our own rights, and have gone on to do so in our respective careers.

As deadlines are a part of the natural world, we are used to following and meeting them. Schedules can provide an outline of what we need to do with our time. I personally function best with having a routine, and the freedom to do what I want within those parameters.

I think each individual in general will have their own issues, but not necessarily because they are Montessori children. We just get singled out because we are a subset of society.

Lori: Andrea, thank you so much for your time. This has been awesome, and for me, it’s only confirmed that I am doing the right thing by promoting Montessori and by having my own children in Montessori education.

Andrea: Thank you for having me at your blog!

Just a note: I’m pretty sure Andrea will come by to check on comments, so if you have any other thoughts or questions for her, please go ahead and leave a comment!