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With a lifelong interest in mathematics, Dr. Montessori's materials and presentations were certainly a beacon that drew me to this work. However, it was the reverence and care for children that truly captivated me about the Dr. Montessori's pedagogy and this work. After some time with the Elementary-aged children, the grandeur of cosmic education and its seemingly magic ability to inspire awe stood out as beacons drawing me deeper to this work.

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Cosmic education allows a child to appreciate the connections of a vastness of space and time. A volume of information that might fill a book by Bill Bryson, a few docuseries by Ken Burns, or a World Book Encyclopedia. This education begins with Five Great Lessons that provide a structure for the beginning to the universe to the current developments of language and mathematics. These five stories are partnered with scientific experiments, hands-on materials, beautifully detailed charts, and student-driven extensions. 

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Throughout the year, units of study help provide additional structure and finer details to the overall understanding of the Universe, Earth, Humanity, and beyond. The classroom shelves are filled with materials that teach the Elementary child topics in history, functional/physical geography, political geography, microbiology, botany, zoology, physics, and chemistry. Each subject and their subsequent components help demonstrate the complexity of the Universe and all that come along since its inception.

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Yet, cosmic education is vastly more than a collection of materials, lesson presentations, or data and information to gather. Its importance dramatically exceeds academic learning and the accumulation of knowledge. Cosmic education is commonly synonymous with an "interconnectedness of all living things." The goals of these Five Great Lessons, other impressionistic lessons, units of study, and countless follow-up work is to highlight how all things throughout the Universe, Earth, and Life are intertwined. 

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In my opinion, cosmic education is at the root of our work in an Elementary environment. One quote, I feel particularly embodies this sentiment comes from To Educate the Human Potential, "...the fundamental principle in education is correlation of all subjects, and their centralisation in the cosmic plan." (p. 82). With twenty-four books, numerous articles, dozens of speeches and presentations, an abundance of quotes can support most opinions on what might be the foundation of our work as Montessorians. So, what drives my opinion for the importance of cosmic education?

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To understand this, it's important to understand where the Elementary children are within their development. This time is characterized by:

• a transition to a social being,

• participating in larger communities,

• the growing ability of mental abstraction,

• a tendency to idol/hero worship,

• a passion for morality and justice,

• a desire to contribute to their community/society.

These traits quickly paint the image of a young person wanting to understand their immediate community and the greater world around them. The mental abstraction that develops allows for the child to consider other "worlds" that they may not experience in their day-to-day life. The child can begin to envision a life unlike their own. They can start to place themselves in the shoes of other people - consider their perspective, view the world as they might, and perhaps even feel as they do.

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Empathy develops in conjunction with this passion for morality and justice. Perhaps, even, because of it. Dr. Montessori imparts perhaps one of her most well-known call to actions in Education and Peace, "Averting war is the work of politicians; establishing peace is the work of education." (24). From her experiences in WWII Italy to supporting children in war-torn nations to her work in India, Dr. Montessori's life was marked by seeing the detriment of hatred and the benefits of peace.

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Suddenly we see that cosmic education is much more than just teaching the facts and figures and important dates of our Universe. Cosmic education is peace education. We must show the child the world around them and support their journey in promoting empathy and establishing peace. This is our ultimate purpose as caretakers of children.