Marshie Boswell

Lead Lower Elementary Teacher

What is your favorite thing about RMS?

The community is hands down the best of any workplace I have ever been. We have the most emotionally intelligent people on staff here at RMS. Not only do I feel cared for, supported and listened to, I also know that my team will always rally together to make all of my crazy ideas reality and also, bring me back down to Earth when they are not realistic

What first brought you to RMS?

I was a nanny to an RMS student in the early 2010s. I observed his primary classroom and was amazed. Years later I was teaching yoga in afterschool programs to children. Darlene Marschak overheard my yoga/mindfulness lessons and told me I'd be a perfect fit to work at the school. I started as a sub and then a primary assistant to Mrs. Gupta

What’s one of your favorite memories from your time at RMS?

Every single talent show. Elementary and Middle School is such an internal time. Students are constantly thinking about how they can fit in with others and what might embarrass them. The talent show is such a beautiful representation of the courage and confidence that we work so hard to cultivate on display right before our eyes as students show off their skills, hobbies, interests, weird traits unapologetically as their peers cheer them on

What’s one Montessori principle that really resonates with you?

It’s hard to pick just one, but respect for the child is the principle that resonates with me most. Growing up, I often pushed back against teachers because they didn’t show me the same respect they expected from me. That experience shaped how I want to show up for students.

To me, that respect shows up across the Montessori classroom, especially in multi-age groupings and in giving children real autonomy. Outside of school, we almost never work only with people our own age. Yet our traditional school system groups students strictly by age and gives them little say in their learning. If school is meant to prepare children for life, shouldn’t it look more like life?