This paper examines how Montessori's idea of “New Women”, held prior to “The Children House”, had an influence on her subsequent concept of education.
After graduation from Rome University, the feminist Montessori tried to demonstrate social inequalities between men and women statistically and scientifically. However, after the birth of her son, Mario, her feministic attitude as well as her idea of women underwent a change. From then on she argued that “New Women” must be equipped with the scientific methods of childcare. The idea of “New Women” led Montessori to set up “The Children House” for the training of “New Women.”
Her idea of “New Women” was based on the image of mother's womb which supplied an embryo with love and nutrition. Similarly, in Montessori's educational thought, the image of mother's womb underlay the concepts of “Environment” and of “Spiritual embryo.” “Environment” corresponded to the mother's womb, “Spiritual embryo”, to the embryo.
This paper shows the relationship of Montessori's thoughts before and after “The Children House”, along with the relationship of her idea of women and her educational thought.

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This paper reaffirms and clarifies thinking processes pertaining to studies in “educational thought”. Here, “educational thought” means some ideas in educators' mind which motivate their educational behaviors consistently in a certain way. The problem concerning the thinking processes of this type of studies, which do not depend on the method of “experiment” or “questionnaire”, is : where do they search for the data to go upon? The present paper gives an answer to this question. It concludes that this type of studies presume some pre-conscious ways of thinking or behavior which extend pervasively in our everyday life processes.

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It has been apparently assumed that children would enter into, through school education, “the verbal activity at the secondary level (the verbal activity in which dialogists don't premise sharing the same context of life history.)” But we can't presume such a language development as self-evident. The purposes of this paper are (1) to clarify the general condition of “the verbal activity at the secondary level, ” (2) to indicate the problems involved in “the verbal activity at the secondary level, ” and (3) to suggest a new vision on classroom communication with “the verbal activity at the secondary level.”
Children can enter into “the verbal activity at the secondary level” because they construct a perspective of the third person to objectify the context of narrative. The present author points out that the perspective of the third person is “Seken.” “Seken” is the transcendental other to which everybody conforms, or the frame of reference as “general subjectivity of cognition.” Adults must embody the persona of this transcendental other for children. After recognizing adults as embodying the persona of “Seken” as the place for deciding whether their verbal behaviors are proper or not, children will remove the personality adhering to the place and will construct, on their part, “Seken” as transcendental other.
However, by its conformity to “Seken”, “the verbal activity at the secondary level” involves primary problems. By constructing “Seken” to which everybody conforms, we can avoid the worst kind of contact with unknown others and can communicate with them. At the same time, we cover up the intersubjective discordance of cognition and belief which are attributed to “Seken”, and fail to notice the singularity of others. In short, the construction of, and conformity to, “Seken” is a double-edged sword.
Accordingly, the author suggests a new vision on classroom communication based upon a view of fallible truth which is derived from pragmatism. In this classroom communication, teachers and children will objectify cognition and belief which each party regards as being attributed to “Seken” and will demonstrate that it is useful for everybody to hold them. Thus teachers and children will attain to “an inter-intersubjective agreement” and construct “the Seken which is pluralistic and contains many contexts.”

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This paper throws light on Erik H. Erikson's concept of 'generativity' as mentioned in 'adulthood, ' or the seventh stage in his theory of life cycle in which he attempts to understand human life by eight stages. The concept of 'generativity' comprises many aspects including not only 'procreativity' 'creativity, ' and 'productivity, ' but also 'teaching, ' 'the maintenance of the world, ' and 'self-generation.'
I try to grasp identity, intimacy, generativity contextually. This effort shows that 'genera-tivity' is required to relate to the real world, to have awareness of significant others, and to become self-observant. Erikson states that 'Adult man need to be needed.' Although this sort of relationship is still inequal, those who are related depend upon each other, reflecting his concept of 'mutuality.' I contend that 'generativity' will be realized when a person relates to others or to the world with an awareness of 'the ability to lose oneself' in the relationship which is inequal, not equal.
Generativity hands down the means to relate to others or to the world. We may consider generativity as identities which are copied and generated anew. Thereby human life generates a cycle, and it interweaves a generation cycle. 'Generativity' illuminates that life is not a preharmony, nor something entirely individual. Through numerous dynamisms and conflicts of involvement, it is complicatedly interwoven with other lives.

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