Academic

Mad for
Montessori
What do you call a group of five dads who got
together five years ago because of a huge shared
passion for Montessori education? And what do you
call that same group who decided last April to fly a
large banner over Manhattan with a cryptic message
for the mayor: “Bill de Blasio, make it Montessori.”
And finally, what do you call these five guys who call
Montessori teachers not teachers, but “artists” and
“alchemists?”
You call them “Montessori Madmen,” of course.
Trevor Eissler, chief madman, who when he’s
not piloting corporate planes is tirelessly tooting the
Montessori horn for anybody who will listen, says
the innovative academic philosophy that has been
at GPA longer than any other school in Michigan is
“simply the best way to educate children, period.”
In an interview earlier this year with The Grosse
Pointe Academy, it is clear Eissler remains very
passionate about Montessori, even though he said
his own three kids have “aged out of their local
Montessori school in Texas.”
He talked about how the Madmen got started.
It began about five years ago, he said, with a group
of four other “Montessori men” he actually had never
met in person. These dads had read Eissler’s book,
“Montessori Madness,” and got in touch with him to
say how fired up they also were about Montessori.
“Each seemed surprised that they weren’t the only
crazy male out there in the seemingly 99%
female-dominated world of early childhood
education,” he said. “My book targeted
dads and explained Montessori education
from a dad’s point of view. These dads
were enthusiastic, and wanted to make a
difference. We’ve since added a few more
dads.” Plus, a few women have infiltrated
the fraternity, he said.
Eissler said his loosely assembled group
works in spurts, not talking for several
weeks or months and then all of a sudden
doing “some wacky Montessori ad project like
flying a banner plane over NYC or putting up road
billboards.”
It’s not all wackiness, though, for the 41-yearold
Eissler. He’s dead serious when asked about
Montessori and where he thinks it fits in the overall
spectrum of elementary education.
Is it progressive? Traditional? Somewhere in the
middle?
“It’s not really on that spectrum,” he said.
“Montessori has something revelatory for everyone
on the spectrum. And, it can appear contradictory
to all those folks. Independence AND community?
Structure AND freedom? Self-directed AND teacherguided?
Group work AND solitary work? Leader
AND follower?”
And where does he think Montessori works best?
Younger early school students? Middle school? All of
the above?
“Maria Montessori thought the first six years of
life were the most critical,” he said. “I don’t have any
information to contradict that.”
ACADEMY GRAD NAMED A TOP LAWYER
Megan Bonanni, a 1980 graduate of The
Grosse Pointe Academy, was named one of 30
members of the Class of 2015 “Women in the
Law” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, a West
Bloomfield-based publication that reports on legal
news in Michigan.
The Women in the Law awards program
salutes high-achieving women lawyers in
Michigan and their accomplishments. These 30
women were honored at a special luncheon on
Sept. 10 at the Detroit Marriott in Troy.
Bonanni is a partner at Pitt McGehee Palmer
& Rivers, a Royal Oak law firm that specializes
in employment law, personal injury and criminal
defense.
Bonanni has been recognized by Best Lawyers
in America and rated by Crain’s Detroit Business
as one of the leaders in her field. And she was
recognized by The American Lawyer publication
as a “Top Lawyer for 2011.”
In addition to specializing in employment
law for Pitt McGehee, Bonanni volunteers as
an attorney and speaker with the Epilepsy
Foundation and a mentor with the Women
Lawyers Association of Michigan. She also helped
co-sponsor and build a home in Veracruz, Mexico,
as part of the Jimmy Carter work project through
Habitat for Humanity.
Bonanni obtained her B.A. in political science
and French literature from Kalamazoo College,
where she graduated with honors, and she
attended law school at Wayne State University.
THE GROSSE POINTE ACADEMY / FALL 2015 33