Silence Isn’t Neutral

Montessori and the Politics of Peace

Welcome to Part 2 of our series: Montessori Hot Takes: Power, Peace, & Privilege

Peace Is Political

Montessori education is often associated with serenity. We think of a quiet classroom, a gentle tone, the child’s inner calm. We imagine peace as the stillness of a well-ordered space.

But Dr. Montessori’s own life was anything but quiet.

Maria Montessori lived through two world wars and saw what happened when people in power stayed silent in the face of oppression. And she refused to do the same. She spoke out against Mussolini and Hitler. She rejected nationalism in her schools and lost government support as a result. She went into exile because she would not allow her method to be used as a tool of fascism.

Dr. Montessori’s vision of peace was not about protecting comfort. It was about preparing children to create a more just world. A world where war and domination would no longer be seen as inevitable. She wrote of education as the path to dismantling war, injustice, and oppression.

So why do so many Montessorians today believe that peace means being silent? In many Montessori spaces, we treat peace as a mood, not a mission. We avoid difficult conversations in the name of neutrality. We steer clear of “controversial topics” in the classroom. We worry more about saying the wrong thing than about what silence teaches.

We tell ourselves that we are being objective, balanced, calm. But silence is never neutral. It always says something. And in a world where inequity, injustice, and harm continue, saying nothing often says, “This is fine.”

Montessori Was Never “Neutral”

There’s a deep tension in our schools: we say we prepare children for life, but we often avoid the parts of life that feel too messy, too political, too uncomfortable.

We don’t talk about racism or injustice because “we’re not allowed to get political.”
We don’t correct misinformation because “we want children to think for themselves.”
We don’t speak up in meetings or communities because “we want to keep the peace.”

But here’s the truth: silence isn’t neutral. It protects the status quo.

When we say nothing, the loudest voices, often the ones with the most power, fill the void. And children are listening.

Peace, for Montessori, wasn’t passive. It wasn’t the absence of conflict. It was the active formation of just, empathetic citizens.

“Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.”
- Maria Montessori, Education and Peace

The Prepared Environment Prepares Citizens

Montessori guides often speak of “preparing the environment” with beautiful materials, clear boundaries, and purposeful choices. But what about preparing the social environment?

If the classroom is a child’s first experience of community life, then the lessons we model, in conflict, in fairness, in power-sharing, matter more than the ones we plan.

When a child witnesses exclusion and the adults say nothing, they learn something.
When a child asks a hard question and we deflect it, they learn something.
When fairness is sacrificed for convenience, they learn something.

Children are always absorbing. The only question is: what story are we telling them about justice, power, and voices?

A child who learns that keeping quiet keeps the peace will carry that belief into future classrooms, future relationships, future civic decisions.

But a child who sees adults address conflict with courage, respond to injustice with clarity, and create space for multiple perspectives, that child learns something different. That child learns that peace isn’t the opposite of struggle. It’s what grows through it.

The Legacy We Carry

Dr. Montessori was not a passive observer of injustice. Her books were burned. She was exiled by fascists. But she refused to let her pedagogy be weaponized and wrote tirelessly about peace as a political act.

In Education and Peace, she described a vision of a “new humanity” in which children are raised with a sense of global responsibility, moral clarity, and the courage to stand against violence and oppression. Montessori’s peace was active, not abstract. It was about shaping the kind of world we want to live in and preparing children to do the same.

So what does it look like to honor that legacy today?

Here are some ways Montessori educators and leaders can take action:

• Include anti-bias and anti-racism work in adult preparation and ongoing professional learning
  Make it a baseline, not an optional extra.

• Use stories, songs, and materials that reflect a wide range of voices
  Ensure children regularly see themselves as well as people of different races, cultures, languages, and identities represented in joyful, complex, and powerful ways.

• Talk with children about justice in developmentally appropriate ways
  Even primary-aged children can discuss fairness, kindness, and how to stand up for others. Older children can go further by learning about history, activism, and social change.

• Make space for children to name and solve problems in their environment
  When a child says, “That’s not fair,” take it seriously. Invite dialogue, not dismissal.

• Normalize mistakes, reflection, and repair, even for adults
  Model what it looks like to say, “I was wrong” or “I’m still learning” when it comes to privilege, power, or social issues.

• Speak up in school-wide conversations about equity and inclusion
  Don’t leave it to someone else. Your voice and your values matter. Make yourself heard in hiring decisions, curriculum choices, policy discussions, and parent communications.

• Challenge curriculum materials that center dominant culture perspectives
  Ask: Who is centered? Who is missing? Who always plays the role of “helper” or “problem”?

• Partner with families in ways that honor their cultural knowledge
  View families as co-educators and culture-bearers, not recipients of expertise.

• Acknowledge and address inequities in access to Montessori education
  Work to remove financial, linguistic, and systemic barriers to enrollment, training, and leadership.

These are not small steps. But they are the work. Neutrality often feels like the safe choice. But Dr. Montessori didn’t choose safety. She chose truth. And so can we.

A Courageous First Step

If this feels overwhelming, start here:

• Reflect on a time you stayed silent in your classroom, your school, or your community

• Ask yourself: Who did that silence protect? Who did it leave behind?

• Choose one moment this week to speak. To ask a better question. To name what you notice.

Maybe it's in a team meeting. Maybe it's during a classroom discussion. Maybe it’s in a quiet moment with a child who feels invisible.

It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be real. Your courage is contagious. And your voice matters. Not just to the children, but to the community we’re all shaping together.

Peace is not a vibe. It is a practice. And Dr. Montessori showed us what it looks like to practice it with courage.

Let’s Keep Building Together

What’s one moment you chose to speak up, or one you wish you had?

Drop it in the comments. Let’s normalize these conversations and remind each other that being a Montessori educator isn’t about being neutral. It’s about being bravely prepared.

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Next week stay tuned for “Representation Isn’t Enough. Who Has the Power in Your Montessori Community?”

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