ABOUT ZIL

Reading the work of feminist theorists like bell hooks, Audre Lorde, Chandra Mohanty, and Gloria Anzaldua led me to teaching as a young adult. I wanted to help children learn about who they are and what it means to play and work in a community. The freedom and responsibility of the Montessori classroom offered the potential for supporting children in developing liberatory thinking.

I’ve worked in 3-6, 6-9, 9-12, and 6-12 classrooms in private, public, and charter Montessori schools. I’ve been a classroom assistant, aftercare teacher, lead guide, literacy specialist, and an administrator. Wearing all of these hats has led me to working with adults. I love supporting caregivers and educators in learning about Montessori and literacy and to feel confident implementing research-backed practices in their homes and classrooms.

  • "Any classroom that employs a holistic model of learning will also be a place where teachers grow, and are empowered by the process."

    ~bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress

  • "A great social mission that will ensure the child justice, harmony and love remains to be accomplished. This great task must be the work of education for this is the only way to build a new world and to bring peace."

    ~Maria Montessori, Education and Peace

  • “Abolitionist teaching is not just about tearing down and building up but also about the joy necessary to be in solidarity with others, knowing that your struggle for freedom is constant but that there is beauty in the camaraderie of creating a just world.”

    ~Dr. Bettina L. Love, We Want to Do More Than Survive