SUSAN MAYCLIN STEPHENSON
Educator, Trinidad, California

I live in heaven. My home is a sphere that travels around the sun. It is called Earth. —Maria Montessori, MD

Susan as Artist

Return to home page: Art and Education combined

(above) Susan, third from the right, in China as an examiner for the 2012 birth-three Montessori course, with staff and fellow examiners.

At the end of 2011, the Stephenson family created a Holiday song and slide show for family and friends. It includes many photographs from Susan's work around the world, including Montessori work in Bhutan, Holland, India, Israel, Nepal, Palestine, Russia, Sikkim, Sweden, Thailand, Tibet and the USA. It was shared by many people and ended up in the news locally, and on web sites in Asia It is available to view on YouTube here: .
A Christmas Prayer for the Earth

EDUCATOR

NEWS: The latest Michael Olaf Montessori Newsletter, this time on "Grace and Courtesy," is just out. See it here: Manners

I have traveled in more than 70 countries, constantly learning about culture and education in the world. Working in other countries provides a valuable perspective on education, specifically Montessori education, and an understanding of the meaning of life. I have consulted in a variety of countries including the USA, India, New Zealand, Thailand, Nepal, The Bahamas, Bhutan, Peru, Albania, The Netherlands, and Russia. I have taught students from birth through college, worked as a counselor for juvenile delinquents and as a school founder and administrator of the Petoskey Montessori Children's House in northern Michigan. I presently serve as an examiner for the Association Montessori Internationale.

Undergraduate studies: Denison University (Granville, Ohio), Indiana University (Bloomington, Indiana), The Semester at Sea program (University of Virginia; previously knows as "The University of the Seven Seas" a shipboard study/travel trip around the world, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia), De Pauw University School of Music (Bay View Music Festival, Petoskey, Michigan), Alliance Francaise (Paris, France), San Francisco State University (San Francisco, California, double degree, Philosophy and Comparative Religion, 1969)
Graduate or extension courses: San Francisco State University, The California Institute of Integral Studies (San Francisco, previously known as The California Institute of Asian Studies), University of the Virgin Islands (USVI, St. Croix), The Berkeley Psychic Institute (Berkeley, CA), University of California (Berkeley, CA), Loyola College in Baltimore (degree 1996, Harvard Graduate School of Education (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
Degrees: BA, Philosophy; MA, Education
Post-graduate diplomas: AMI (Association Montessori Internationale) diplomas:
Birth to three (TMI, Denver, Colorado, and Rome Italy, 1991-1992)
Age 2-7 (MMI, London, England, 1970-1971)
Age 6-12+ (WMI, Washington, DC, 1976-1977)

My Montessori teachers and lecturers included Mario Montessori, Mario Montessori, Jr., Renilde Montessori, and several others trained by Dr. Maria Montessori.

CONSULTANT & SPEAKER

Dear Susan
Your experiences of working in so many diverse environments and with all age groups gives you a depth of knowledge that is rare to find. You build on the experiences of the people and the environment that exist, focusing on their strengths and not making them feel their weaknesses are failures. Your suggestions do not feel like criticism; you have a unique way in passing on direction in a very supportive way.
At 2 Voices we have felt that your suggestions have made a big difference already as we slowly work towards the goals we set. Some of your suggestions were small details but they have had a big effect. It was a fresh eye coming into the working environment that gave the already hard working teachers a boost and stimulation to go further. Susan, you have a keen eye for what is disrupting the environment and your solutions were clear, simple and, most importantly, easy to apply. Thank you!!
—Heidi Philappart, 2 Voices Montessori School, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Dear Susan,
From all of us here in Moscow we would like to thank you for the work that you have done! I am so happy to know you and we all feel that this is a beginning of a new friendship and we do think we'll meet again soon! One teacher says they all felt extremely enlightened, as if they all came out of a church!
I've been hearing more comments about your lecture and how people were happy to be able to ask questions and get their answers —both parents and teachers from other Montessori schools told me that.
—Valentina Zaytseva, Moscow

Montessori Overviews
The Joyful Child birth-3 Montessori overview
Child of the World 3-12 Montessori overview

Birth to Three Child Development Video clips and information: Video Clips 0-3

International Projects supported by Michael Olaf Montessori: Projects

More Montessori Information: Michael Olaf