Newton Montessori school closes in the wake of blackface activity with toddlers

[sheshe2]

The teacher responsible for the incident has reportedly been fired.

A Newton Montessori school has closed its doors indefinitely after news spread that a teacher had toddlers make and wear blackface masks as part of a Black History Month activity.

snip

The Facebook post indicated that there may have been protests at the school as a result of the incident. Because of this, the school has closed indefinitely citing the “risk” to children. The school is directing families of enrolled children to other child care centers nearby.

The school said that were it to reopen, staff will receive diversity training and the school will seek out more minority staff.


https://www.boston.com/news/schools/2022/02/14/newton-montessori-blackface-toddlers/?s_campaign=bcom%3Asocialflow%3Atwitter

[DURHAM D]

1. GHFC - I would not be surprised if this happened

in Newton, Florida but Massachusetts? SHOCKING

[EYESORE 9001]

7. Here's hoping everyone gets over being surprised

and that everyone ceases turning all incidents like this into an excuse to bash some other place. It happened in Massachusetts. Accept that possibility and recognize that bigotry is nationwide.

[ms liberty]

8. Most Floridians are from a different state. Bigotry and racism live in

The hearts and minds of morons and assholes, not a particular geographic location.

[Deuxcents]

2. Good grief

[Catherine Vincent]

3. What the heck was that teacher thinking?

[Historic NY]

4. You suppose too much...

[brer cat]

5. K&R

[Hekate]

6. I'm glad they closed "indefinitely." I thought Montessori teachers all had special training...

…in the “Montessori way” of teaching and learning. The principal needs to get their act together, big-time.

Long ago when I was at university I sales-clerked alongside a woman whose husband was a foreign student in grad school. She said that back home in India she was a certified Montessori teacher, but couldn’t get a job in her field in the US, hence the sales-clerk job. I have to say I was impressed at the overall level of education she would have brought to teaching; but that was true of all the Indian, Pakistani, and Nepali women I encountered at my job — they were all wives of graduate students, and very bright and well-educated themselves.

That’s it. I was left with an overall positive impression from that and a few other encounters — but this story from Massachusetts is just grotesque.

[Dorian Gray]

9. Teacher was stupid beyond belief

This isn't a Montessori issue. It's a teacher issue. When someone isn't taught to consider consequences and perspectives, they're left to have hair brained ideas that foster division rather than inclusion.

If they had a more diverse AND communicative staff this would have been tagged earlier as problematic.

Toddlers making masks to emulate black skin is a weird activity, and any outside voice with a modicum of self and cultural awareness could have given pause to this dumb addle-brained idea.