Today, January 18, 2010, is the 25th year that our nation has officially commemorated the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He would have been 81 years old. I spent much of the day thinking about Dr. King’s legacy, his desire to help others, and the human crisis in Haiti during the aftermath of a terrible earthquake. I deeply feel his call to help others resonating within me.

Explaining to my own child, the horrors of war and natural disasters is difficult. Shielding him from it in today’s world is perhaps even more difficult. I want him to understand that we are all human beings, no matter what our race, gender, age, religion, place of birth, and socio-economic circumstances may be. I want him to be compassionate, respectful, and peaceful.

Finally, my thoughts also turned to Dr. Maria Montessori and her own dream for creating peace. During the 1930′s, war throughout Europe caused her to engage in a passionate search for new human truths as she became profoundly concerned with the question of peace. She of course focused on the development of the child, stating, “The child is both the hope and promise for mankind.” (Education and Peace) This became her goal in educating the whole child. Dr. Montessori traveled the world, educating children and teachers, and opening new schools to follow the Montessori method. She presented many speeches worldwide to promote peace and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1949 and 1950, eloquently stating , ”Preventing conflicts is the work of politics; establishing peace is the work of education. We must work to convince the world of the need for a universal, collective effort to build the foundation for peace.” (Education and Peace)

Today, we humbly continue to follow in the footsteps of two great peacemakers, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Dr. Maria Montessori. We do so through our work in educating our children to embrace their dream for peace.