: About Me

Elliot is an Early Childhood & Elementary Education and English double major at the University of Missouri. He has taught preschool in the local school district for four years under the auspices of Jumpstart for Young Children, an affiliate of the national, federally sponsored volunteer organization known as Americorps. His work as an early childhood instructor using the HighScope preschool curriculum has made him intimately familiar with the fields of human development and family studies and developmental psychology.

Elliot’s contributions to the growth of preschool-age children go beyond the classroom as well. He is very involved in community development efforts and is interested in a future career that influences policy pertaining to the quality of life of children in particular locales through both grassroots initiatives and the public education system. Through his research, Elliot also plans to study the impacts of early childhood educational institutions on the various demographic indicators of cities and towns in his home state and the world at large.

Elliot’s writing and media credentials include nearly a decade's worth of experience penning opinion editorials on current events topics for online publication. Elliot has also worked as a professional photographer and freelance journalist.

My passion is ...

education

I know too much about ...

politics and college football

My parents always told me ...

be confident in what you have achieved, learn about what you have not.

My childhood ambition ...

become the next John Stuart Mill, but actually put my ideas into action.

My favorite memory ...

working in the public preschool.

Why I write ...

it is fun.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

Slate.

My first job ...

political commentator for my grandpa's family news site/blog.

My best moment ...

where I am now.

My inspiration ...

people who find success helping other people

Parenting & Pregnancy > Childhood Development Best education tools for early childhood

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Famed teaching philosopher and early childhood education reformer Maria Montessori claimed that she only felt successful during a day of classroom instruction if she could unequivocally state, “the children are now working as if I did not exist!"  Montessori communicated in this assertion that her pupils had effectively grasped the expectations of her classroom and recognized its paths to learning; they could thus engage in their respective pursuits without the need for further instruction. Contrast this “catch and release” approach with common portrayals of early ch...

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