50 years ago, December 1975, five teachers came together to create the North American Montessori Teachers’ Association.
Now, 50 years later, NAMTA’s board of directors is examining our history. With the assistance of Montessorians across the US, we hope to co-create the future of our organization.
The purposes for which NAMTA was organized remain our constant guiding light:
- To propagate, maintain, and further the rights of the child in society
- To provide an opportunity for a continuous research and study in depth of Montessori as a means for continual improvement of Montessori teachers
- To provide a loyal body in support of the aims of Association Montessori Internationale
- To stimulate professional attitudes and ethical conduct and maintain standards of our profession
- To develop greater public understanding and support for the essence of Montessori philosophy and method
- To improve understanding and cooperation among the teachers, schools, and the community
- To assist in the organization of Montessori teachers associations at the local, regional, and state levels
The first publication of The NAMTA Quarterly was Fall, 1975, “Day Care and the Montessori Experience.” In Fall, 1986, The NAMTA Quarterly was renamed The NAMTA Journal with Volume 12, No. 1, “Montessori Frontiers: Adolescence, Infant-Toddler, and Daycare.” David Kahn was the editor of The NAMTA Journal and executive director until 2019.
Our most recent publication is Volume 46, Spring 2024, “A Montessori Legacy in Retrospect: Selected Writings of David Kahn.” This invaluable collection of David’s writings reflects across these 50 years.
NAMTA has been an important voice and contributor to the evolution of the Montessori movement. Besides the journal, NAMTA’s workshops, parent-education publications, and videos provided multimedia support to schools. The development of the Montessori adolescent vision was one of the most significant elements of NAMTA’s contributions to that evolution. Our conferences and journals have provided important contributions from AMI trainers, across the planes and across the world, as well as leaders and spokespersons outside of Montessori: David Orr, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Brian Swimme, John Merrow, and many others. A key component of every NAMTA conference was the afternoon workshops that featured teachers talking with teachers, sharing their ideas, their experiences, and details of their implementation of Montessori principles in their daily life with their students. We often hear grateful memories of how our conferences impacted so many across all locations and practices.
Many of you have accompanied NAMTA on this journey. Regardless of your years in Montessori, your training, your past and current experience as a teacher, parent, administrator, support staff member, we would love to hear from you.
What role might a teachers’ organization have in our Montessori world today? As you reflect on our founding principles, are we missing anything? How would you like to NAMTA evolve to best support you?
If you want to share your thoughts, please email us at info@montessori-namta.org
As we celebrate that history, please enjoy this article by David Kahn: “Montessori Education: An Interactive Idea for Human Understanding.”