Two years ago, Children’s Services Minister Laurel Broten stood on a stage and promised she’d spend $25 million a year to place more autistic children into therapy. At the time, autism rates in the province were one in 150 kids. Broten’s announcement provided nearly 8,000 more children with applied behaviour analysis therapy, a treatment that.. read more →

By Robert Gardner February 3, 2012 My first encounter with the iconic Maria Montessori was as a young writer/researcher for TV station CHCH in Hamilton, Ont. I was in my twenties. I was fascinated by her humane approach to education and, apparently, the influence was profound. I was working on an interview series with Donna.. read more →

By Robert Gardner November 9, 2011 In the first of this two-part series, educational consultant Robert Gardner writes about the crisis Maria Montessori faced when her son, Mario, was born out of wedlock and how that crisis contributed to the development of her thinking about the capacities of children. In this article, Gardner explores how.. read more →

By Robert Gardner September 22, 2011 Dr. Maria Montessori is one of the most famous women in the world and yet a key part of her life is all but unknown. Dr. Robert Gardner, working with colleagues at Clanmore Montessori in Oakville, Ont., took a new look at a time in Maria Montessori’s life that.. read more →

When Randi Chapnik Myers of Toronto wants her three kids, 10 to 16, to come for dinner, she resorts to sending texts or Facebook messages. Often, they are no farther than their own bedrooms, logged onto their laptops. “What’s happening is they’re having 40 conversations at once on Facebook, they’re posting things on Tumblr, they’re.. read more →