A considered investment...

Invest in adaptability

‘Adaptability - this is the most essential quality’… ~Maria Montessori

Montessori devised a method of education premised on the notion of adaptation. It is fundamental to who we are as humans, engaged in a dependence upon each other, in an intricate network based on mutual exchange. Humans have the capacity to consciously adapt and change and not wait for evolution to make those changes.

The adults doing the work of educating, are charged with the responsibility of allowing the spontaneous development of children and adolescents to naturally unfold by providing just the right environment, resources and support, at just the right time and in just the right way such that increasing levels of independence are attained; such that adaptation occurs. It is our imperative, in a world faced with exponential increasing complexity, to ensure that we understand the makings of adaptation so that we can adapt ourselves and so we empower a generation of young people to realise their potential, contribute and thrive in this time; adapt to their time.

Adaptability can be seen as both a capacity and a characteristic, it refers to the ability to adjust and thrive in different situations or environments. It relates to how well an individual or system can modify their behaviour, strategies, or characteristics to fit new circumstances or challenges. Adaptability requires cognitive flexibility, the ability to learn from experience, and the capacity to adjust based on new information. Individuals or systems exhibit adaptability when they possess the mental resources and abilities to analyse, understand, and respond to changing situations. 

…”for the progress of the world is continually opening new careers, and at the same time closing or revolutionising the traditional types of employment.” ~Maria Montessori

It's astounding that when Dr. Montessori penned these words in 1948, the information technology revolution had not yet taken place. At that time, a "computer" referred not to a device, but to a person who calculated figures for a living. The concept of "outsourcing" had not yet emerged and most people anticipated that one good job would sustain them throughout their entire lives. How prophetic her words seem, when we view the explosion of "supranature" in interceding years! Adaptability; a concept that we need to understand and invest ourselves in now more than ever.

“The first thing to be realised is that adaptation is a relation of mutual exchange between every living being and its environment...each animal behaves in a particular way, not only for his own good, but because he works also for the environment. He is an agent who works for the harmonious correlation of all things.” ~Maria Montessori