Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service in the Montessori Classroom

"If you want to be important, wonderful.
If you want to be recognized, wonderful.
If you want to be great, Wonderful!
But recognize that he who is greatest among you is your servant. That’s the new definition of greatness. This morning, what I like about it is that by giving it the definition of greatness it means everybody can be great because everyone can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know about Einstein’s Theory of Relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the Second Theory of Thermodynamics in Physics to serve! You only need a heart full of grace.
(A) soul generated by love. You can be that servant."

- Excerpt from Dr Martin Luther King Junior’s Speech “The Drum Major Instinct”

Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service in the Montessori Classroom

This year, January 16 marks the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service in the US. Montessori teachers everywhere, not just the US, have the opportunity to help students honor his legacy of service toward peace through activities that span every subject area of the Montessori curriculum.
Following are some web links for Montessori teachers to prepare and provide a rich selection of research and practical activities for their young students.

About Martin Luther King, Jr. and the MLK Jr. Day of Service:

• http://mlkday.gov/
• http://www.serve.gov/
• http://www.thekingcenter.org/history/about-dr-king/
• http://www.mlkonline.net/speeches.html
• http://www.infoplease.com/spot/mlkjrday1.html

Activity Ideas:

• http://www.scholastic.com/MLKDay/
• http://holidays.kaboose.com/martin-luther-king-jr-day.html

Related NAMC blogs:

• Montessori Students and Community Service
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day – January 18
• Montessori Peace Education: Martin Luther King Jr.

As much as possible, NAMC’s web blog reflects the Montessori curriculum as provided in its teacher training programs. We realize and respect that Montessori schools are unique and may vary their schedules and offerings in accordance with the needs of their individual communities. We hope that our readers will find our articles useful and inspiring as a contribution to the global Montessori community.
© North American Montessori Center - originally posted in its entirety at Montessori Teacher Training on Friday, January 13, 2012.