I still have the problem of having too much to talk about, so I won't dilly-daddle. This shall be as the squeezing out of a sponge, so be thus prepared!
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 but 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 then refraining from obtrusive interference. 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 unfolding of the human soul and to the rising of a New Man who will not be a victim 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
This is a quote of Maria Montessori (http://www.montessori.edu/maria.html), which essentially sums up the core of her method. She believed in a method of education based upon trust in the child to naturally direct their own learning. Humans are, by nature, curious and will seek answers to the phenomena happening around them. We all have an innate desire to know how the world works and we all learn at different paces, at different rhythms, and in different ways; and this is why children should not be forced to learn pre-selected information in such a structured environment that their curiosity to learn, discover, and experience is replaced with a sense of, "I am learning and doing this, because I am being told to do so." As one teacher (teacher's assistant at this current time) phrased it to me, "Control the environment, not the child." If you want to teach the child about relative size, don't sit them down with a written assignment telling them to mark an "X" by the object that is bigger; put a set of blocks in the room of various sizes, introduce it as a new work, and see how they naturally learn to arrange them in order of smallest to largest. This work is otherwise known as "the brown stair."
As explained to me, there are three pillars of Montessori:
1) Prepared Environment - everyday the room must be re-set and prepared for the next day. Pencils must be sharpened, tables cleaned, tasks organized and workbooks should contain the appropriate pages. If the room is not prepared, the kids' work-time is interrupted and wasted by something as trivial as searching the room trying to find the right color pencil, tape, or staples.
2) Liberty - of the child. This does not mean that the child is free to do absolutely whatever he or she wants; rather, a child has the liberty to do what he or she needs during a certain phase of their life. Perhaps a child needs to spend months solely mopping a floor or solely doing math problems. If that is the case, let the child do so, trusting that at some point the time will come when they will naturally move to a different phase, such as reading or writing. Do not try to force a child to learn what they are not ready to learn, and give them privileges to work alongside others or direct themselves unless they prove themselves irresponsible or undeserving of such privileges. On another note, by no means is disrespect of other children, teachers, or adults tolerated for the sole sake of "liberty."
3) Inner-Preparation of the Teacher - the teacher sets the mood of the classroom and since one of the primary ways children of a primary age learn is through imitation, it is necessary the teacher have patience and convey a sense of tranquility. The teacher must also learn the difficult task of trusting the method--the natural ability of children to explore and seek out understanding of how and why the world works around them.
By no means do I have a thorough or complete understanding of the Montessori method, but I am learning more each time I go to the school and am fascinated and impressed by the way Montessori strives and succeeds to prepare children not only academically, but for life as well. Development of the whole child as a person is a fundamental goal of the Montessori method. This is why the classrooms are of mixed age; the younger children learn from the younger, and the the older children (kindergarteners) learn how to set themselves as an example, help and encourage the younger children with their work, and problem-solve together in a non-competitive environment. Not that competition itself is bad, but rather, competition over grades.
Children learn lessons of problem-solving, persistence, responsibility, and conflict resolution on a daily basis. One three year-old boy, for example, had to learn to accept the consequences of his actions: he had filled a plastic mold of an island with too much water, so he had to use a turkey-baster to carefully transfer water from the mold to a pitcher on his own. The teacher's assistant showed him how to use the baster, but refused to do the work for him. It took the little boy a good 45 minutes from beginning to end, but once he finished, he got to experience the positive feeling of accomplishment. He didn't enjoy what he was doing as he was doing it, but he learned the important lesson of persistence.
Another example of life-preparation at the Montessori school is the way in which conflicts between students are handled. If a child comes to the teacher upset about something another child has said or done, the first question the teacher or adult asks them is whether or not they have used their words to express how they feel to that other child. These children are at most six years old, and they are being taught the indispensable skill of conflict resolution through communication. Granted, telling someone that what they are doing is bothering/upsetting you doesn't always solve the problem, but these children are learning how to try and handle their problems on their own instead of immediately seeking the help of an adult.
Feelings or emotions are not avoided subjects at a Montessori school. The children frequently engage in activities which help develop their "emotional intelligence." One activity, for example, involves one child walking around the middle of a group of students silently wearing and expression before the children have the chance to raise their hands and figure out what emotion was being expressed without being allowed to use the words "mad," "sad," or "happy." On multiple occasions, I have witnessed children in tears explaining to a teacher (more or less) how they felt after another child did something and why it upset them.
On the flip-side, children don't have this same opportunity at the children's museum, where their parents are often right by their side. For the most part, children don't interact with other children apart from their siblings, so they are not practicing communication. I have not encountered a child yet at the museum who possesses the level of vocabulary and communication skills as at the Montessori school. I know that they are very different environments and there may be a lot of factors playing into why the level of engagement in conversation is so different, such as the fact that the children's museum is full of loud, excited children and distractions; but in most cases, whenever I have asked children questions at the museum or tried to talk to them, they have ignored me as if I wasn't there at all, or talked in such broken sentences that they made no sense at all. There are exceptions, of course, but these are my general observations.
Nevertheless, there are similarities between the Montessori school and the museum. They both utilize sensory activities and give children the opportunities to learn with their hands. It's time for a short, adorable story! During a class called Wee Play at the museum, small, soft, white balls were brought out for the kids (one and a half to four years old) to play with as a sensorial activity; the theme was clouds. One little boy in particular loved falling on piles of these fluffy balls so much that once we started to put them away into their proper tubs/buckets, he proceeded to climb into the tub to surround himself with the fluffiness! How priceless is that?
I have another story, not as cute as that last one, but perhaps more informative. One child about a year old sat on the museum floor with a marker banging it up and down. His mom was about to stop him, until the activity leader stopped her, informing her that the motion of banging the marker up and down was one of the "ninety stages of learning to write." There is a long series of stages a child goes through to learn to write that involve learning how to hold a pen/pencil and developing those muscles involved. The mom had taken absolutely no offense and let the child continue with the marker; she was completely open to the information she had been told, she just had no idea that banging was one of the stages of a child eventually learning to write. This is an example of how even the smallest things or actions have purpose. Even at the Montessori schools, there are the smallest things I never would have thought about had I not been told. For example, there are no markers used the school because unlike colored pencils and crayons, they offer no resistance against the paper. Without resistance, the children don't develop the same muscles as they would if they had to press down harder on the paper to write or draw. I had never thought about that, and I don't know if it's just me, but I found it fascinating. Everything, like I said, has a purpose.
...Because I am at that point where I feel like my "blog" can no longer be considered as a blog because of its length, I'm going to cover my last topic: general observations, using bullet points. Voilà! :
At the Montessori School:
-younger children (3 or 4) seem to go for the sensory and practical life tasks
-children feed off of each other in terms of energy and concentration levels
-younger children observe and learn from the kindergarteners, who are reminded frequently to set an example for the younger ones
-teachers have a smooth way of introducing new lessons at the right time, allowing children to decide for themselves whether or not they want to continue a lesson
-kindergarteners must complete a numbers, reading, and writing work every day, so they stay on track of being prepared for elementary school
At the Museum:
-children are the most focused in the art studio: Imaginarium. As they are making a craft, art is a very serious matter.
-children are often pulled away from their play/work by their parents, who want to move on to a different exhibit or who have to leave.
-some children are afraid to take risks...I was making a boat out of a small wooden blocks with a four-year old boy. When the time came to build the mast, which involved carefully balancing blocks on top of each other, he wanted me to do it. "I can't do it," he said, without having even tried. I refused to do it for him and encouraged him to try it himself. He tried once, and the blocks fell. He tried again, and they fell. With a determined look, he carefully set one block on the other...it stood! He was so excited and pleased with himself that he ran to show his mom and sister. I am so glad that I didn't let him convince me to do it for him. Through trial and error, he learned that he could do it, and he couldn't have been prouder of his boat, which he sent a picture of to his dad. I'm so thankful I was a part of that moment. I felt pretty awesome as these two kids begged their mom if they could come back next week during the times I would be there to hang out. Yup, I felt pre-tty special.
As explained to me, there are three pillars of Montessori:
1) Prepared Environment - everyday the room must be re-set and prepared for the next day. Pencils must be sharpened, tables cleaned, tasks organized and workbooks should contain the appropriate pages. If the room is not prepared, the kids' work-time is interrupted and wasted by something as trivial as searching the room trying to find the right color pencil, tape, or staples.
2) Liberty - of the child. This does not mean that the child is free to do absolutely whatever he or she wants; rather, a child has the liberty to do what he or she needs during a certain phase of their life. Perhaps a child needs to spend months solely mopping a floor or solely doing math problems. If that is the case, let the child do so, trusting that at some point the time will come when they will naturally move to a different phase, such as reading or writing. Do not try to force a child to learn what they are not ready to learn, and give them privileges to work alongside others or direct themselves unless they prove themselves irresponsible or undeserving of such privileges. On another note, by no means is disrespect of other children, teachers, or adults tolerated for the sole sake of "liberty."
3) Inner-Preparation of the Teacher - the teacher sets the mood of the classroom and since one of the primary ways children of a primary age learn is through imitation, it is necessary the teacher have patience and convey a sense of tranquility. The teacher must also learn the difficult task of trusting the method--the natural ability of children to explore and seek out understanding of how and why the world works around them.
By no means do I have a thorough or complete understanding of the Montessori method, but I am learning more each time I go to the school and am fascinated and impressed by the way Montessori strives and succeeds to prepare children not only academically, but for life as well. Development of the whole child as a person is a fundamental goal of the Montessori method. This is why the classrooms are of mixed age; the younger children learn from the younger, and the the older children (kindergarteners) learn how to set themselves as an example, help and encourage the younger children with their work, and problem-solve together in a non-competitive environment. Not that competition itself is bad, but rather, competition over grades.
Children learn lessons of problem-solving, persistence, responsibility, and conflict resolution on a daily basis. One three year-old boy, for example, had to learn to accept the consequences of his actions: he had filled a plastic mold of an island with too much water, so he had to use a turkey-baster to carefully transfer water from the mold to a pitcher on his own. The teacher's assistant showed him how to use the baster, but refused to do the work for him. It took the little boy a good 45 minutes from beginning to end, but once he finished, he got to experience the positive feeling of accomplishment. He didn't enjoy what he was doing as he was doing it, but he learned the important lesson of persistence.
Another example of life-preparation at the Montessori school is the way in which conflicts between students are handled. If a child comes to the teacher upset about something another child has said or done, the first question the teacher or adult asks them is whether or not they have used their words to express how they feel to that other child. These children are at most six years old, and they are being taught the indispensable skill of conflict resolution through communication. Granted, telling someone that what they are doing is bothering/upsetting you doesn't always solve the problem, but these children are learning how to try and handle their problems on their own instead of immediately seeking the help of an adult.
Feelings or emotions are not avoided subjects at a Montessori school. The children frequently engage in activities which help develop their "emotional intelligence." One activity, for example, involves one child walking around the middle of a group of students silently wearing and expression before the children have the chance to raise their hands and figure out what emotion was being expressed without being allowed to use the words "mad," "sad," or "happy." On multiple occasions, I have witnessed children in tears explaining to a teacher (more or less) how they felt after another child did something and why it upset them.
On the flip-side, children don't have this same opportunity at the children's museum, where their parents are often right by their side. For the most part, children don't interact with other children apart from their siblings, so they are not practicing communication. I have not encountered a child yet at the museum who possesses the level of vocabulary and communication skills as at the Montessori school. I know that they are very different environments and there may be a lot of factors playing into why the level of engagement in conversation is so different, such as the fact that the children's museum is full of loud, excited children and distractions; but in most cases, whenever I have asked children questions at the museum or tried to talk to them, they have ignored me as if I wasn't there at all, or talked in such broken sentences that they made no sense at all. There are exceptions, of course, but these are my general observations.
Nevertheless, there are similarities between the Montessori school and the museum. They both utilize sensory activities and give children the opportunities to learn with their hands. It's time for a short, adorable story! During a class called Wee Play at the museum, small, soft, white balls were brought out for the kids (one and a half to four years old) to play with as a sensorial activity; the theme was clouds. One little boy in particular loved falling on piles of these fluffy balls so much that once we started to put them away into their proper tubs/buckets, he proceeded to climb into the tub to surround himself with the fluffiness! How priceless is that?
I have another story, not as cute as that last one, but perhaps more informative. One child about a year old sat on the museum floor with a marker banging it up and down. His mom was about to stop him, until the activity leader stopped her, informing her that the motion of banging the marker up and down was one of the "ninety stages of learning to write." There is a long series of stages a child goes through to learn to write that involve learning how to hold a pen/pencil and developing those muscles involved. The mom had taken absolutely no offense and let the child continue with the marker; she was completely open to the information she had been told, she just had no idea that banging was one of the stages of a child eventually learning to write. This is an example of how even the smallest things or actions have purpose. Even at the Montessori schools, there are the smallest things I never would have thought about had I not been told. For example, there are no markers used the school because unlike colored pencils and crayons, they offer no resistance against the paper. Without resistance, the children don't develop the same muscles as they would if they had to press down harder on the paper to write or draw. I had never thought about that, and I don't know if it's just me, but I found it fascinating. Everything, like I said, has a purpose.
...Because I am at that point where I feel like my "blog" can no longer be considered as a blog because of its length, I'm going to cover my last topic: general observations, using bullet points. Voilà! :
At the Montessori School:
-younger children (3 or 4) seem to go for the sensory and practical life tasks
-children feed off of each other in terms of energy and concentration levels
-younger children observe and learn from the kindergarteners, who are reminded frequently to set an example for the younger ones
-teachers have a smooth way of introducing new lessons at the right time, allowing children to decide for themselves whether or not they want to continue a lesson
-kindergarteners must complete a numbers, reading, and writing work every day, so they stay on track of being prepared for elementary school
At the Museum:
-children are the most focused in the art studio: Imaginarium. As they are making a craft, art is a very serious matter.
-children are often pulled away from their play/work by their parents, who want to move on to a different exhibit or who have to leave.
-some children are afraid to take risks...I was making a boat out of a small wooden blocks with a four-year old boy. When the time came to build the mast, which involved carefully balancing blocks on top of each other, he wanted me to do it. "I can't do it," he said, without having even tried. I refused to do it for him and encouraged him to try it himself. He tried once, and the blocks fell. He tried again, and they fell. With a determined look, he carefully set one block on the other...it stood! He was so excited and pleased with himself that he ran to show his mom and sister. I am so glad that I didn't let him convince me to do it for him. Through trial and error, he learned that he could do it, and he couldn't have been prouder of his boat, which he sent a picture of to his dad. I'm so thankful I was a part of that moment. I felt pretty awesome as these two kids begged their mom if they could come back next week during the times I would be there to hang out. Yup, I felt pre-tty special.
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