Cebu, Philippines – June, 2011

On June 11-12, 2011, Lee Havis conducted the IMS workshop Creating the New Education in Cebu, Philippines. Attending this first ever IMS workshop in the Philippines were teachers and educators from throughout the country, as well as from Pakistan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, and India. As always, Lee presented the unique IMS technology of scientific true natural Montessori teaching.

At the workshop, Lee pointed out the limitations of measuring the authenticity of Montessori teaching by objective standards alone. He said, “Ultimately, the truth of normal being in children is an internal experience which is beyond all human logic, language, or understanding. When we experience this truth, it resonates in others as perfect harmony and peace in the spiritual plane. With children, this may emerge most clearly in a moment of deep, intimate eye contact.”

While in Cebu, Lee met with several local political and education leaders to discuss the development of Montessori teaching there. One of these, Rhea Mar A. Angtude, Cebu superintendent of schools, suggested that IMS conduct a special workshop for her teachers at a suitable time in the future.

Meeting with the vice-mayor of Cebu City, Joy Augustus Young, Lee described the Character Teaching (CT) project and its purpose to overcome cultural poverty through the normal character development of poor children. Mr. Young suggested that IMS submit a proposal for training teachers in the 200 preschool centers operated by the city for low-income families. Following this suggestion, Lee proposed such a training program, consisting of several workshops and a series of self-analysis progress reports over a 12-month period of time.

While in Cebu, Lee also conducted informal tutoring with poor children in the streets. In this activity, he used various “low-tech” Montessori materials which he had prepared especially for this type of open-air teaching.

Michelle Wong, IMS colleague from Malaysia, used a video camera to record Lee’s tutoring as an example of one component of the CT project. The video can now be viewed at the IMS website as well as at the IMS youtube channel, leehavis1. On the video, Lee describes the CT project approach, focusing especiallly on its novel concept of “exchange of value.”

Manila, Philippines – September, 2011

In Manila, Philippines, IMS held its second workshop in the country on September 17-18, 2011. Parents, teachers, and other educators attended from throughout the Philippines, as well as from nearby Malaysia and Brunei.

In the Manila workshop, participants acted out several misbehavior scenarios, which allowed Lee to demonstrate more clearly exactly how to use such techniques as distraction, proximity, and clear direction in these situations.

In one role-play drama, several participants pretended to be disorderly children while Lee played the role of Montessori teacher using the IMS technology to resolve the situation. He used heavy polishing techniques, cooperative touching and clear direction, to have the “children” all sit down together in a circle with legs crossed and hands folded in laps. Then, he presented various body awareness exercises to help them return to a calm and orderly state of being.

Later, Lee explained that “If children can’t fold their hands and cross their legs to control their own physical bodies, they will almost certainly hurt each other and materials if given the opportunity of more complete freedom in the environment. So, anytime there is widespread disorder among children, it is usually best to call them together to sit in a circle to regain a sense of personal order and control.”

After the workshop, Lee visited several schools in Manila to apply the IMS technology to real-life classroom situations. During these visits, he explained the importance of quickly adjusting your behavior to fit the changing circumstances of each new moment in time. He also warned, “Be careful not to violate the least amount protocol by getting over-involved with the issues and activity of individual children. So, as soon as the danger of physical violence is reduced in a particular scenario, move away from the children to a stationary position outside their activity area. From that position, you can then easily use such light techniques as eye contact and patient waiting to resolve small misbehavior issues before they escalate into more serious problems of physical harm to children or materials.”

While in Manila, Lee met with several community leaders and government officials to discuss how best to improve the quality of free day care services that are provided for low-income families in the metro Manila area. He proposed a training program for teachers to learn the IMS technology.