How did a method created for marginalized children in Rome's slums become primarily accessible to affluent white families?
Emily Bloyd exposes this painful irony as Head of School in a Montessori program exclusively serving children experiencing homelessness. Her work reveals what happens when we return Montessori to its revolutionary roots instead of treating it as classroom decor for the privileged.
Emily challenges the comfortable lie that some children aren't "ready" for freedom. As she puts it: "If Montessori only works in private elite bubbles, then it doesn't work at all." The only prerequisite for freedom is freedom itself—children learn to use it only when they have it.
Traditional education teaches sitting when told, speaking when permitted, trusting adults over yourself. Montessori flips this completely, creating what Emily calls the self-governing children—which makes administrators break out in hives because "once a child learns to govern themselves, they become much harder to govern by force."
This connects directly to Emily's viral manifesto "Montessori Is My Political Party," where she declares education is never neutral: "It either serves liberation or it serves domination." Her article traces how Maria Montessori's Peace Education—designed during global fascism to raise children who would "look at authoritarianism and say 'Absolutely not'"—has been reduced to laminated feelings charts and meditation bells.
Listen to discover how Emily built a five-star program despite being told it could never work with “those kids,” why she believes Montessori is an act of rebellion, and what happens when we finally serve the children this method was originally designed for.
Follow Emily's revolutionary work as
on social media and consider donating to support her program that proves Montessori works for all children.Donations specifically go to supporting her teachers as they complete their Montessori credentials in the residency phase of their programs. If you donate, please mention “teacher residency” when you do so the money goes directly into that fund.
Thanks, Emily, for a revolutionary conversation!
You just heard another conversation that mainstream education won't have.
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