Chances

Montessori is a place where chances are paramount.  

A frustrated parent once asked me: “How many chances do they get?” At that moment, it occurred to me I’m in the “chances” business. And in a Montessori community, “chances” live at the very heart of our work. 

Chances. 

It’s a small word with extraordinary reach. 
We use it casually: “Take a chance.” 
We whisper it in hope: “There’s a chance.” 
We guard against it: “Not a chance.” 
We measure it: “What are the chances?” 

The Chance to Try 

Children are not built through instruction alone; they are built through opportunity. 

A child is given the chance to tie their own shoes. 
The chance to carry real glass. 
The chance to speak in a circle. 

The chance to say “Sorry.”  

Every carefully prepared environment is, at its core, a landscape of chances. 

A chance to choose. 
A chance to persist. 
A chance to become. 

Second Chances 

There may be no more powerful version of the word. 

Second chances acknowledge something deeply human: growth is rarely linear. 

A harsh word spoken in frustration. 
A misjudgment on the playground. 
An assignment not completed. 

In a Montessori setting, discipline is not about punishment, it is about restoration.  

A second chance says: 

You are more than your mistake. 
You are capable of repair. 
You are still becoming. 

Second chances build character far more effectively than consequences delivered in isolation. 

Taking Chances 

This version feels riskier. 

Trying out for the musical. 
Presenting your work to classmates. 
Traveling to a New York City. 
Sleeping in a tent for the first time. 

Growth requires calculated risk. Not recklessness, but courage. 

When we ask adolescents to engage in internships, class trips, work presentations, or leadership roles, we are asking them to take chances in structured, supportive ways. The goal is not comfort. The goal is capacity. 

Taking chances builds resilience. 
Avoiding them builds fear. 

By Chance 

Sometimes life unfolds unexpectedly. 

A friendship forms in a shared project. 
A passion emerges from a research project. 
A mentor, student or teacher, appears at just the right time. 

We often call it chance. 
But more often, it is exposure meeting readiness. 

When children are immersed in rich environments with art, science, nature, community, and meaningful work, “chance discoveries” happen more often. That is not accidental. It is intentional design. 

What Are the Chances? 

This is the language of uncertainty. 

As parents, we want guarantees. 
We want to know outcomes. 
We want to predict the trajectory. 

But education is not a guarantee. It is a probability shaped by environment, guidance, and effort. 

The chances of success increase when: 

• Expectations are clear 

• Adults are steady 

• Communication is strong 

• Children are both supported and challenged 

The chances decrease when structure is weak or trust erodes. 

This is why thoughtful planning and communication matter so deeply in a school community. They are not administrative details: they are trust-builders. 

A Chance to Begin Again 

Perhaps the most hopeful iteration of the word. 

Each morning offers a reset. 
Each semester offers recalibration. 
Each conversation offers repair. 

Schools, like children, are always becoming. Programs evolve. Systems strengthen. Communication improves. Reflection leads to refinement. 

The beauty of a living community is that it always has another chance. 

The Chance to Become 

Maria Montessori wrote about the child as a “spiritual embryo”, unfolding toward wholeness. 

Every prepared lesson, every field trip, every internship, every circle conversation is ultimately about this: 

Giving children the chance to become who they are capable of being. 

Not perfectly. 
Not instantly. 
But steadily. 

And perhaps that is the deepest meaning of the word. 

A chance is not a promise. 
It is an opening. 

And when we steward those openings wisely, extraordinary things can unfold. 

— Nora Shuart-Faris, Head of School