Montessori Madness!: A Parent to Parent Argument for Montessori Education

We recently ordered this book after wanting to know more about the Montessori education our child receives and to help us decide how long we would keep our child enrolled at his Montessori school. The book really catches your attention as Trevor Eissler tells the story of his family's journey to Montessori education and as he describes the environment where his children attend school. The book is written with a light touch: the author is full of engaging ancedotes of his own life experience that are both relevant and humorous. In the end, this book helped us understand more about why this educational approach has worked so well for our child. It also provided a well-reasoned explanation of why Montessori education should be available to all children, and why that is not an unreasonable goal. Now we need Mr. Eissler to write a how-to manual on where to go from here!

As a Montessori teacher for over 30 years, I was thrilled to read Trevor Eissler's book Montessori Madness. This book is not the usual dry treatise on education, but an entertaining, thought-provoking insight into Montessori philosophy. A father of three children and a pilot by profession, Mr. Eissler uses his own interesting life experiences to illustrate the basic tenets of Montessori philosophy. His colorful and descriptive analogies paint a picture so moving, so profound, and yet so entertaining, one cannot put it down. Montessori Madness is not only an informative book for Montessori parents; it is an impassioned plea for a complete paradigm shift in education. I'm ordering a copy for President Obama!

I love this book. Trevor Eissler has an easy, conversational writing style, and a gift for translating academic jargon into something useful. He walks readers right into the Montessori classroom and provides the details they crave when trying to compare schools, programs, and philosophies. As a great storyteller with a sense of humor, he entertains as he enlightens. The book is packed with meaty anecdotes and the best of what critics and educators have had to say on the subject of school reform. It held my attention from the first eight word opening sentence to the very last page. Montessori Madness! not only discusses what's gone wrong in other schools, but also identifies what exactly about the Montessori classroom goes so delightfully right. It inspires parents to experiment and innovate and actively participate in the design of the education of their children. My sense is that Montessori Madness! began as a father's private investigation and evolved into a call to action. I have not found another book out there that gets to the heart of the Montessori education like this book does. Thank you, Trevor Eissler, for a great offering.

So many people don't understand what Montessori is all about. As a Montessori teacher, I've often seen families disagree about whether or not Montessori is right for their children. This book gives a great explanation - totally understandable to a Montessori newcomer - of why it's such a great way to educate children. I hope schools give this book to parents, who then pass it on to their friends and families!

Trevor Eissler has hit a homerun with this book. It should madden for just the reasons Eissler desires: parents and educators need to know about Montessori in order to serve the children of the world in the best manner possible. His voice, that of an informed Montessori parent, rings off the pages with passion, concern and a solid understanding of the Montessori approach- not just for his children or yours, but for the culture. Eissler uses folksy tales to illustrate some of the fundamental principles that define Montessori and these go a long way to creating clarity for parents or any reader of his book. After twenty years as trained Montessori teacher and administrator, having done my share of writing and speaking about Montessori, I was very pleased to see this book come out, read it cover to cover, ordered a couple dozen copies to hand out to folks, leave in airports- whatever. We need to get the word out about Montessori, however we can, and Eissler's book is an excellent way to do that. It is not "heavy" or laden with technical terms or Montessori jargon. It is accessible to all. What are you waiting for? Order it already!