THE MONTESSORI "METHOD"

After years of expression mainly in pre-schools, Montessori philosophy is finally being used as originally intended, as a method of seeing children as they really are and of creating environments which foster the fulfillment of their highest potential - spiritual, emotional, physical, and intellectual - as members of a family, the world community and the Cosmos.

Dr. Montessori gave the world a scientific method, practical and tested, for bringing forth the very best in young human beings. She taught adults how to respect individual differences, and to emphasize social interaction and the education of the whole personality rather than the teaching of a specific body of knowledge.

Montessori practice is always up-to-date and dynamic because observation and the meeting of needs is continual and specific for each child. When physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional needs are met children glow with excitement and a drive to play and work with enthusiasm, to learn, and to create. They exhibit a desire to teach, help, and care for others and for their environment.

The high level of academic achievement so common in Montessori schools is a natural outcome of experience in such a supportive environment. The Montessori method of education is a model which serves the needs of children of all levels of mental and physical ability as they live and learn in a natural, mixed-age group which is very much like the society they will live in as adults.

Today Montessori teacher training centers and schools exist on all continents. There are Montessori parenting classes, "Nidos" ("nests" for infants), infant communities, "children's houses" (for age 3-6), and classes for children up to age eighteen in public and private schools. Montessori works in gifted and talented programs, and for children with developmental disabilities of all kinds. Many parents are using Dr. Montessori's discoveries to raise/educate their children at home.

The discoveries of Maria Montessori are valuable for anyone living and working with children in any situation.

Introduction to Montessori Education

Montessori (pronounced MON-tuh-SORE-ee) is a comprehensive educational approach from birth to adulthood based on the observation of children's needs in a variety of cultures all around the world.

Beginning her work almost a century ago, Dr. Maria Montessori developed this educational approach based on her understanding of children's natural learning tendencies as they unfold in "prepared environments" for multi-age groups (0-3, 3-6, 6-9, 9-12, and 12-14).

The Montessori environment contains specially designed, manipulative "materials for development" that invite children to engage in learning activities of their own individual choice. Under the guidance of a trained teacher, children in a Montessori classroom learn by making discoveries with the materials, cultivating concentration, motivation, self-discipline, and a love of learning.

Today, Montessori schools are found worldwide, serving children from birth through adolescence. In the United States, there are more than 4,000 private Montessori schools and more than 200 public schools with Montessori-styled programs. The Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), founded by Maria Montessori in 1929, maintains Montessori educational principles and disseminates Montessori education throughout the world.

Qualities of Montessori Directress

Montessori teachers are frequently referred to as directresses because it is a better summing up of what they do - they direct the child towards learning opportunities rather than teach. The staff in a Montessori school should be calm and unhurried and should move around the room discreetly and quietly. They should be responsive to the needs of individual children who should not have to wait until they become bored or upset before they get attention but vigilance is maintained in a low-key way so the children do not feel as if they are being "policed".

The teacahers should never shout, never lose their tempers, never smack, shake or push a child or even speak crossly. They should be pleasant and polite, firm without anger and be able to deal with a misdemeanour with sympathy and assistance rather than with punishment. All children should be shown respect, never bumiliated or laughed at, and their remarks should be listened to seriously and answered thoughtfully and courteously. By necessity this is just a sample of the things which go on in a Montessori classroom. The range of activities will vary from therm to term and each piece of equipment has a teaching purpose and a story to tell of its own.

Role of a Montessori Directress

In a Montessori classroom the place of the traditional teacher is held by a fully trained Montessori director or directress. Montessori directresses typically have a normal teacher qualificatio as well as an additional one-year full-time Montessori teacher education diploma. The directress is a guide or facilitator whose task it is to support the young child in his or her process of self-development. The directress is foremost an observer, unobtrusively yet carefully monitoring each child's development, recognizing and interpreting each child's needs. The directress provides a link between the child and the prepared envoronment introducting the child to each piece of equipment when he or she is ready in a precise, clear and enticing way. On a broader level the directress provides a link between the classroom and the parent, meeting with each child's parents to discuss progress. She needs to be an example, calm, consistent, courteous and caring. The most important attibute of a directress is the love and respect she holds for each child's total being.

The Montessori Message - Help To Life

"Scientific observation has established that education is not what the teacher gives; education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words by experiences upon the environment. The task of the teacher becomes that of preparing a series of motives of cultural activity, spread over a specially prepared environment, and thenrefraining from obtrusive interfences.

Human teachers can only help the great work that is being done, as servants help the master. Doing so, they will be witnesses to the unforlding of the human soul and to the rising of a New Man who will not be a visctim of events, but will have the clarity of vision to direct and shape the future of human society".

(Maria Montessori, Education for a New World)

Maria Montessori (1870-1952) brought a message and a method that transformed early childhood education the world over. Becuase the message is based in principles, not theories, it continues to be right for the children of today and of tomorrow. Itlay's first worman physician, holder of doctorate degrees in Psychology and Philosophy and professor of Anthrophology, Dr. Maria Montessori keenly observed little children, sensed their needs, and tried to fulfill them through a carefully prepared environment. She called her method simply, "Help to Life".