OVER DEZE AFLEVERING
What if the problem isn't that we're failing to find work-life balance—but that we're chasing something that doesn't exist?
Katie Keller Wood joins Educating the Human Potential to rethink one of the most persistent ideas in modern life. Drawing on her Montessori work and her book Alignment, Katie argues that our lives aren't a scale where work and life compete for equal weight. They're more like a mosaic: a collection of pieces that shift, grow, and change across different seasons of our lives. The goal isn't perfect balance, but understanding what matters now—and making intentional choices about where our time and energy belong.
Together, they discuss:
- why Katie believes work-life balance is a lie
- how the idea of alignment can help us navigate competing priorities
- the difference between paycheck work and purpose work
- why meaningful work matters so much during adolescence
- how Montessori helps adolescents develop confidence, identity, and a sense of contribution
- why adults working with adolescents need to be the "calm in the storm"
- what gives Katie hope about today's young people
Whether we're raising adolescents, teaching them, or simply trying to figure out our own next chapter, this conversation offers a different way to think about purpose, priorities, and what it means to build a life that fits.
Contact Us: humanpotential@amshq.org
Educating the Human Potential is a podcast about optimizing education for a better society, through a Montessori lens. Hosts Nicole Coman, a licensed educational psychologist specializing in school psychology and child development -- and a "Montessori mom" -- and Biff Maier, an American Montessori Society Living Legacy with decades of experience as a Montessori educator and school leader, engage with experts, educators, parents, and students. Each episode explores strategies to unlock human potential, offering thought-provoking conversations on learning, child development, and the evolving landscape of education. This podcast is presented by AMS, the American Montessori Society.
For more information about Montessori education, visit https://amshq.org/about-montessori/
And consider this AMS course for families interested in incorporating the Montessori philosophy into their day-to-day lives and parenting approach:
https://learn.amshq.org/parent-course-early-childhood
