#031 - Matt Bateman on Montessori, Pedagogy, Capability, & The Good Life

Matt Bateman is the Vice President of Pedagogy at Higher Ground Education. We talk about a pedagogy, Montessori, capability and agency in children, experimentation in education, how young education is as a science, the importance of work, and a conception of the good life.

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(00:42) Leaving academia (02:35) Why Montessori & seeing a classroom for the first time (09:24) Children are capable (12:27) We underestimate children because they’re alien to adults (15:28) Creating an environment for children to thrive (19:38) Agency is not just about picking from the menu, but also about how you eat (25:52) Teaching backflips & the expert decomposition of tasks (29:46) Can most things be learned through systematized instruction? (35:03) Lots of things are instructional design problems, but education as a field is young (37:51) Experimentation & innovation in education; conservatism (44:03) Homeschooling (48:48) The role of the parent vs teacher (52:11) The importance of work (57:27) The good life (01:02:54) Matt’s final question for listeners

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Matt’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/mbateman

Higher Ground: https://www.tohigherground.com/

Montessorium: https://montessorium.com/

Spencer’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/SP1NS1R

Spencer’s Blog: https://spencerkier.substack.com