Educating the Human Potential: The American Montessori Society Podcast

45 Episodes

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Freedom Within Limits: What Montessori Really Is

2026-10-0557:44

What does a Montessori classroom actually look like—and what is really happening beneath the freedom, movement, and choice? In this conversation, Biff and Nicole take on some of the most common questions and misconceptions they hear about Montessori. Is it a chaotic free-for-all? Is it overly strict? Do children get enough academics? Are Montessori students prepared for the “real world”—or for transitioning to a more traditional school? And does Montessori really mean no technology? Rather th...

School, According to 3rd Graders: Ishaan & Ayaan

2026-09-2130:56

What do children actually think about school? For this special conversation, we hand the microphones over to two very honest critics: nine-year-old twins Ishaan and Ayaan. After years in Montessori and a recent transition to a new school, the third graders have plenty to say about how they learn, what they love, what they miss, and what they would change. Their answers are funny, thoughtful, occasionally surprising—and often more insightful than adults might expect. They talk about choosing t...

Teaching in the Age of AI with Samantha Gleisten

2026-09-0753:59

What happens when artificial intelligence becomes part of how children learn, teachers work, and we relate to one another? Samantha Gleisten believes the answer isn't simply learning how to use new tools—it's strengthening the human capacities that should guide how we use them. Samantha brings her experience as a Montessori educator, digital citizenship teacher, and AI developer to a conversation about what education can contribute in an AI-powered world. She explains why relational int...

Finding Alignment, Not Balance with Katie Keller Wood

2026-08-2450:51

What if the problem isn't that we're failing to find work-life balance—but that we're chasing something that doesn't exist? Katie Keller Wood joins Educating the Human Potential to rethink one of the most persistent ideas in modern life. Drawing on her Montessori work and her book Alignment, Katie argues that our lives aren't a scale where work and life compete for equal weight. They're more like a mosaic: a collection of pieces that shift, grow, and change across different seasons of our liv...

Horizons National's Summer Advantage

2026-08-1041:12

Across the country, Horizons National is helping change that. With more than 70 affiliated programs, the national nonprofit partners with schools to provide high-quality summer learning experiences that help students stay engaged academically while opening doors to new opportunities. At Lexington Montessori School, Director Maricarmen Sullivan and longtime Horizons student Mayelis Burgos-Sanchez share what that looks like in practice—and why its impact extends far beyond the classroom. Togeth...

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Educating the Human Potential: The American Montessori Society Podcast