Child Asks: Who am I?
Children's Rights Education enables the child to identify who he or she is.
Child Answers: I am a rights-bearing global citizen.

Purpose - Who am I?

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Maria Montessori believed that the violent course of human history can only be altered through an education that renews the human spirit. This guiding, fundamental belief evolves around a central belief that human beings have a special function to fulfill in the process of creating greater universal harmony. According to her, the role of education is to guide children in an initial examination of the question Who am I?  This profound metaphysical question requires that we examine the nature of life and of self. However, this question requires that children analyze their past by answering the question Where did I come from?  This question then leads to a third question: Where am I going?  With harmony and peace as the ultimate vision, Maria Montessori focused her attention on helping children find answers to these questions in Cosmic Education. In the sub-units under the title Peaceful Life, children are invited to ponder these questions in greater depth within the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In this first sub-unit, children ask the question Who am I?  It is a question of identity, and relates to the present, the concrete self in this time and place. It requires that children define themselves as a "member of the human species, and as an individual apart from everyone else in the world" (Michael & D'Neil Duffy, 2002). This question also involves identifying oneself as an empowered rights-bearing individual who has the right to advocate that everyone respect the provision, protection, and participation rights outlined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child for all children. 

Vocabulary

Cosmic Education is "intended to help each of us search for our cosmic task as a species and as individuals. To do this, we must understand ourselves in context. It is only against the background of our place in the universe, our relationships with other living organisms, and our understanding of human unity within cultural diversity, that we can attempt to answer the question, ‘Who am I?’” (Michael & D’Neil Duffy, 2002)

Classroom Learning Activities

1. Montessori Cosmic Education Curriculum
Maria Montessori urged us to give elementary-level children a “vision of the universe” to help them discover how all parts of the cosmos are interconnected and interdependent. In Montessori schools, these children, ages 6 – 12, begin by learning about the universe, its galaxies, our galaxy, our solar system, and planet Earth—everything that came before their birth to make their life possible. As they develop respect for past events, they become aware of their own roles and responsibilities in the global society of today and tomorrow.

Children of the Universe by Michael and D'Neil Duffy

The first complete book on Cosmic Education explains Maria Montessori's overall plan for the elementary curriculum. Includes Stories of the Universe, The Solar System, The Earth, Life, Humans and Civilizations. Written by two experienced Montessori teachers who are now teacher-trainers. This text, now used in many training programs, will help anyone seeking to understand Cosmic Education.
Q is for Question: An ABC of Philosophy by Tiffany Poirier. 
2. The Power to Question
Tiffany Poirier is an elementary teacher, philosophy aficionado, and the author-illustrator of a critical thinking book for children titled Q is for Question: An ABC of Philosophy. Tiffany aims to help children learn the skills necessary to unleash their inner philosophers by teaching through enrichment programs in the public school system. Her hope is that students will be empowered to think critically, think creatively, and be the vibrant leaders that this world persistently needs.
http://qisforquestion.com

Relevant Convention Articles

Article 1
For the purposes of the present Convention, a child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.
Article 6
1. States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent right to life.
2. States Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child.

Online Resources and References