Thanks for your answer, Bob. But I think your use of the word "politics" and "political" is incomplete.

"Politics: the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power."

I.e. it means how people organize themselves, in many different ways.

Many thanks for your kind words, Marsha. This is my first week in the Gulch & I appreciate your suggestions.

Yes, you are correct, this thread is about education, specifically the Montessori Method & Rand's work in that area & I'm in complete agreement with Rand on the Montessori concepts.

I mentioned separation of education & State as the most effective means to encourage more entrepreneurial activity in the area of education, such as that provided by Maria. And I provided the links to learn how & why for those interested.,

I've zero interest in discussing politics, since politics is only concerned with confiscation of choice, property, life & freedom and inevitably causes regressive domino effects leading to lasting war, poverty and servitude. However, since you contributed a few statements that could cause confusion for others, I'll reply to them:

1--Far as I know, no "anarcho-capitalist premise" claim ANY "moral basis' for politics, since politics is an immoral system of confiscation that does not exist in a free an-cap society.

2--Galambos' Volitional Science, Snelson's :Human Axtion Principles' & Molyneux's concepts of a free society HAVE been proven ... and are the tools we need to build the Gulch world-wide ... including the facilitation of more educational approaches like Maria Montessori's.

3--YES, there are "forms of government" in a free society, but they are not political and there's no State.

Again, Marsha, many thanks for your understanding.

Mr. Freeman, I couldn't agree with you more that education should not be government-run. But it would be much preferable if you specifically addressed issues in the article rather than used it merely as a jumping-off point for advertising your political point of view.

BTW, I disagree with the anarcho-capitalist premise that theirs is the most moral point basis of politics: whatever best supports individual human life is the most moral basis. That the views proposed by Galambos, Molyneux etc. best do that are yet to be proven. Aside from the fact that they are, in fact, proposing forms of government, but not exactly calling it that.

But if you would like to engage in a discussion of these points, please start it on your own thread about politics.

If our goal is peace, prosperity and freedom, we must have separation of education and State [http://www.schoolandstate.org/home.htm], health care and State, child care and State, charity and State & economics and State, as we should have separation of church and State ... and for the same reasons.

Let's replace our coercive State with the "Natural Republic" (aka “Free stateless Society”), in which all humans have 100% control of their lives and property. To do that, there must be a group of humans who thoroughly understand the solution. Please help as many of your thinking friends as possible to experience Jay Snelson’s “Human Action Principles” lectures, now available on the MP3 drive at http://www.suscivinst.com/store/.

That’s presently the BEST source for the SCIENTIFIC approach to the Voluntary Society. (Lou & I have no financial interest in this product but we have a STRONG intellectual interest in helping as many people as possible understand the Win-Win Paradigm.).

For FREE information on the SCIENTIFIC approach, Fred Marks’ book-in-progress, based on the work of Andrew J Galambos and others, is available at www.CapitalismTheLiberalRevolution.com.

FREE information covering EVERY aspect of the Voluntary Society from mosty a MORAL basis is available from Stefan Molyneux at www.FreeDomainRadio.com.

There are some reported things about him I like, but I seem to 'have differences' with dam' near every candidate that pops up. :(

Oh my, what a story! But it's so, so frequent - we have many city students at Council Oak Montessori school who are rarely allowed to go outside, often because of danger. Sometimes because the parents are too busy! They flourish with the walks we take to learn about nature, and our camp program. They're so delighted to be outside.
In the Montessori world, there's a real concern about this trend to keep kids inside - it's thought to result in a "nature deficit." Being out in nature can be very calming as well as enlightening.

Great to hear on all counts!

That's wonderful to hear.

My grandchildren are as different as can be. The girl is competitive, top of the class type, the boy is bored no matter what the subject If he had gone to public school, he would have gotten no education at all. As it was, he has done well in school and in life.

Then Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin should be a man after your own heart.

Relax, Rob ... no, I won't... :)

:) I learned basic reading and alphabet from Pat Michael's Magic Cottage on TV when I was pre-K.

Got to Kindergarten knowing 'my alphabet' and how to read. The Dick and Jane books were so boring that it set a bad precedent for me of easily getting bored and distracted at school...
Add some OCD and ADD and the combination doomed me to mediocre grades for my entire school 'career.'
Some things improved when I got some 'real jobs.' :)

Thank you Marsha and very well written.
This year i care for a city boy who up till 3 weeks ago had never seen a live animal other than pet dogs. We took him for a 2 hour trek in hills and caves. I showed him how to drink from a waterfall. His highlight was holding a farm chook. And all his questions. You are on track Marsha.

Yes, thanks for sharing!

Both of my kids are in Montessori and we love it. Mainstream schools and their teachers' unions hate it.

I'm so glad to hear you've had a great experience with Montessori education. It can make a huge difference in childrens' lives. Over the 25 years since I opened Council Oak Montessori here in Chicago, I've gotten many, many letters from parents telling me how much their children loved school: so much, that the children lie when they're sick so they won't miss school! And they want to go on the weekends. The happiness and engagement of the child is the bottom line on what's working.

I've seen that kind of behavior in Rand circles for 40 years - don't really care. They're wrong.

We discovered Montessori too late for our kids but not too late for the grandkids. I cannot praise it enough. I'm just slightly prejudiced but the kids turned out pretty damn good, if I do say so myself. And I do. I used to dread having to do anything that would put me in touch with my children's school. I was always just inches away from arguing or fighting with most teachers and all administrators. With the Montessori school, I actually enjoyed visiting there. True, the responsibility had shifted from me to my son but I no longer felt as if I needed to get those people's heads screwed on straight.

I think you're right and Common Core is the latest, and may be one of the worst, programs yet.

Thanks for the information. Doman's methods are extremely valuable.

I read "The Comprachicos" in 1970, when it first
appeared in "The Objectivist" magazine. It has
a very powerful meaning. When I started school,
the pupils started by the "Look-Say" method. Luck-
ily for me, my mother, who was a high school drop-
out, had already taught me phonics, so I learned
to read without much difficulty. I don't like these
government attempts to get children into school
early, I think it is a way of mangling children
and trying to subject them to statism.

There is plenty to learn from both of those thinkers, despite their philosophical issues.

Yes, they do! Thanks for your kind comment.

That's for sure! The idea of the Comprachicos applies to so many things happening in education today, from pre-school through graduate school. Thank you especially New Left.

This is probably Rand's most important contribution to practical philosophy.

In addition to Maria Montessori, I'd like to introduce another innovator: Glenn Doman, M.D. A pediatric neurologist by training, he sought a way to teach letters and words to heurologically impaired children. But his methods are the best methods to teach reading to everyone.

That is how I learned to read. So by the time I got to my first school and began with "Fun with Dick and Jane," I already knew how to read.