Community Building 101: A Montessori-Aligned Approach

How are you feeling right now? How is your community feeling? I don't know about everyone else, but it feels to me as though things have just kept coming since the pandemic began. It's been roughly four years of world crisis after world crisis. If that isn't enough to weigh us all down, the pandemic also sent us into a state of living where we began to drift from our communities. We've all become this society of individuals with our own wants, needs, and ideals. In some ways, that is great. I don't think I've seen so much healthy self-advocacy and self-love in my life. However, there are also some challenges with living in such an individualistic way. We have gotten away from knowing and doing what it takes to live and work in community. In Montessori environments, in particular, this is the antithesis of how we should be functioning. We work tirelessly every day to support children to gain these skills of living and working in a community because we know that this is a necessary part of bringing about peace through education. So when it comes to adults living and working in community, why do we let our challenges get in the way of our connection?

The good thing is that it isn't an impossible feat to get things back on track. Recently, we developed the Convergence of Community Building for Montessori model. I'll explain it below:

The Convergence of Community Building for Montessori came out of an examination of Maslow’s Hierarchy for Team Building, modeled after Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs focuses on the needs that motivate people. However, in that model, particular needs need to be met before others, and self-actualization can only be realized once all other needs are met.

First Nations people teach us that human needs aren’t, in fact, hierarchical and are instead interdependent and holistic. One example: physiological needs don’t always come before love (we might think of a parent willing to leap in front of a car to push their child out of the way). Terry Cross, a First Nations member & scholar, came up with a nonhierarchical model based on how humans truly engage with the world. He pointed out that in hierarchies, most people do not have their needs met, and they do not know self-actualization. Montessori holds the idea of self-actualization at the center, as we honor the child’s ability to follow the self on their individual trajectory towards their highest potential. It makes sense that when it comes to community building, either at the classroom level with children or in a whole school community of adults, a convergence recognizes the whole being and the interconnected needs to thrive. 

In this depiction, the Intellectual, Physical, Emotional, and Psychic needs are all interconnected. The Intellectual needs are those that challenge our thinking and encourage us to grow through encouraged creativity, as both the individual and community are in alignment. Physical needs are ones of safety in roles and in work. When expectations are clear, and the culture is strong, community members feel safe in knowing what is expected from others and themselves. Emotional needs speak to the community’s ability to have strong camaraderie and comfort with speaking openly and honestly with other members. The Psychic needs are ones related to both the conscious and unconscious self. Community members feel valued because they experience and participate in constructive and honest feedback and are offered opportunities to develop professionally. 

In this model, there are a host of interlocking supports that are also interdependent. All supports are directly linked to a clear vision. Within this group of supports we find: 

• Clear Vision

  • The guide towards what the organization hopes to become and accomplish.

• Collaboration

  • A value placed on the “work” of teamwork and connectedness.

• Empathy

  • An ability to see, understand, and give grace to others for exactly who they are.

• Feedback

  • Open communication and discourse about work and relationships.

• Coaching 

  • Thought partnership that shares the weight of growth.

• Learning

  • Opportunities to grow.

• Modeling

  • Being who we wish for the community to be.

• Leadership Opportunities

  • Recognition that the community can learn from every member.

• Zone of Potential

  • The area between what a community member can do now and what they have the potential to do with growth.

If you notice that things are feeling "off" and that your community is finding it challenging to be as "in community" as we hope to be, please consider how you can use the Interlocking Supports to help everyone reach their maximum potential. Our children need us, and in order to give the best of ourselves to them, the adults need each other. As always, we can help. Don't hesitate to reach out if you need support. We are just a click away.

With gratitude,

Hannah