{"id":941,"date":"2018-01-16T20:35:22","date_gmt":"2018-01-17T03:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yycmontessori.ca\/?p=941"},"modified":"2018-01-16T20:35:22","modified_gmt":"2018-01-17T03:35:22","slug":"the-long-black-strip-a-lesson-in-humility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yycmontessori.ca\/the-long-black-strip-a-lesson-in-humility\/","title":{"rendered":"The Long Black Strip: A Lesson in Humility"},"content":{"rendered":"
It just might have happened like this:<\/p>\n
One hot, dry afternoon in Madras, India in 1939, Maria Montessori was talking with a group of children in the shade of a great, old Banyan tree. A boy, about ten years old, proudly proclaims the wisdom of his Indian civilization, one of the oldest in the world. Perhaps he even wonders out loud how much he can learn from Dr. Montessori and her far less ancient culture.<\/i><\/p>\n
Later, over afternoon tea, Montessori reflects on the boy’s words, wondering how best to respond. She notices telephone workers laying long black cables on the dusty road as she takes another sip of her strong tea. She and Mario have been working for many months on the elementary curriculum; the Great Lessons have recently been shaped. Motivated by the boy’s comment, Montessori creates”A Lesson in Humility.”<\/i><\/p>\n
A few weeks later, after enlisting the help of a local seamstress,Montessori invites the boy and his classmates to meet her. Following Dr. Montessori’s instructions, two teachers on bicycles position between them a long wooden dowel, upon which is rolled a huge spool of narrow black cloth. Without a word the teachers begin to unroll the black strip of fabric, laying it on the ground, as they slowly ride their bicycles down the street. Montessori and the inquisitive children follow behind and many neighborhood children join the procession, asking,”What is this? What is it for?”<\/i><\/p>\n
Montessori is very quiet. Perhaps she says “Wait and see.” Perhaps she does not say a word until the end, when the long black strip has been completely unwound and now at the very end there appears a surprise: a narrow strip of white cloth.<\/i><\/p>\n
Montessori finally speaks: “This little white part represents the entire time that human beings have been on Earth. Compare it to the black strip, which represents the age of Earth.”<\/i><\/p>\n
The children gaze back down the street where the black strip has disappeared from sight, and then look again at the tiny strip of white in Dr. Montessori’s hand. Perhaps Montessori smiles at the boy who inspired her to create this lesson.<\/i><\/p>\n