|
 What is Montessori?
Dr. Maria Montessori
Dr. Maria Montessori, Italy’s first female physician and one of the most innovative educators of the 20th century, formulated the Montessori philosophy of education. She was born in 1870 in Italy and devoted her life to the education of children. At the time of her death in 1952 she was honored and widely respected throughout the world.
She observed that what children experience through their hands, their mind remembers. The Montessori classroom is a meticulously designed and cared-for environment where the child can handle and manipulate materials that demonstrate basic universal concepts. Children learn to read, write and calculate in this “prepared” environment one experimental step at a time.
“It is not true that I ‘invented’ what is called the Montessori method. I have studied the child. I have taken what the child has given me and expressed it - that is what is called the Montessori method”.
“Let us give the child a vision of the whole universe… For all things are part of the universe, and are connected with each other to form one whole unity.” Dr. Maria Montessori
Dr. Maria Montessori believed that no human being is educated by another; “one must do it one’s self or it will never be done”. Educated individuals, because they are motivated from within by curiosity and a love of knowledge, continue learning long after they leave the classroom.
Montessori Method
The first six years of life are crucial to human development. This is when unconscious learning is gradually brought through the subconscious storing of information to the conscious level.
Children enter the world as unformed beings. They are born with potentialities. They possess amazing powers that allow them to complete the difficult work of their own construction – developing into fully formed, fulfilled and responsible individuals. Unlike adults, they cannot accomplish this in an immobile state, but rather through purposeful movement, exploration and discovery. The adult’s crucial role is to foster and protect the child while they are undertaking this important endeavor.
Class Structure
Montessori classes are ungraded, and divided according to these approximate age groups:
Toddler – Ages 2 - 3 (Approx. 1-year program)
Primary – Ages 3 - 6 (Approx. 3-year program)
Lower Elementary – Ages 6 – 9 (Approx. 3-year program)
Upper Elementary – Ages 9 – 12 (Approx. 3-year program)
“Moving Up” - In Montessori schools, moving from one level to the next is based on the readiness of each individual. Upon completion of each program level from Primary on up (which may take 3 – 4 years), the student’s development is evaluated by the teacher, administrator and parents to determine the child’s readiness to “move up”.
Order…Exactness…Repetition
At the TODDLER LEVEL (2 – 3 years of age), and at the PRIMARY LEVEL, (3 – 6 years of age), each child possesses unusual sensitivity and mental powers for absorbing and learning from the environment. The mind of the child during these first six years of life is different from that at any later stage of development. Dr. Montessori called this the Absorbent Mind. At the Toddler and Primary levels, there is a great need and potential for disciplined work, added to a natural desire to learn.
To aid the child in these periods of heightened receptivity, the Montessori classroom provides a prepared environment with a unique range of specially designed materials. Guided by a Director/Directress, who is trained to work with each child at his/her level of development, each child is encouraged to choose materials that encourage further exploration. In a non-graded class of mixed ages, each child spontaneously and independently uses materials designed by Dr. Montessori, and works at his/her own pace. In the classroom, the child’s creative energy is freed. Each student develops independence, self-discipline and the “habit” of work, and eagerly moves forward with confidence in mastery of skills and ideas.
Abstraction
During the ELEMENTARY YEARS (ages 6 – 12), all subjects and facets of learning are interrelated. With growing confidence in his/her self and an increased ability to concentrate, the child moves towards inner discipline - emotionally, intellectually and socially. Each student begins to question how and why.
Towards Self Perfection
At the MIDDLE SCHOOL level (7th-8th grade), the unique needs of each adolescent are met. The program combines high academic standards with a strong commitment to meet the developmental needs of each adolescent. Our Middle School curriculum is rich, rigorous, reflective and rewarding. Each student is empowered to make decisions, plan activities and be leaders. Community service, internships, travel and student exchanges are incorporated into the curriculum.
UPPER SCHOOL (9th-12th grade) students are actively involved in their education with the International Baccalaureate Organization’s (IPO) curriculum that is a perfect complement to the Montessori program.
“The IBO aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.”
Summary
A Montessori education addresses itself to the development of the whole human being. It allows each child to find his/her own place in the world. It is truly an education for life - the development of the total human being - spiritually, socially, emotionally and intellectually.
On the physical level, it takes the child from a concrete experience, which always involves activities of the hands and the senses, to an abstract cognition of a concept.
On the mental and emotional level, through experiences of geography, peoples of the world and the fundamental needs of man, it leads to the discovery of the interrelatedness and interdependence of all life.
On the spiritual level, it follows the evolution of consciousness from its inanimate beginnings as the very first particles of atoms and elements, to unicellular beings and the reflective thought of man.
The Role of the Montessori Teacher
The teacher in a Montessori classroom is referred to as a director/directress. His/her role is that of an observer whose ultimate goal is to intervene less and less as the child develops. The director/directress creates an atmosphere of calm, order and joy in the classroom, and is there to help and encourage each child in all of his/her efforts, allowing each one to develop self-confidence and inner discipline. With the younger students at each level, the director/directress is more active, demonstrating the use of materials and presenting activities based on an assessment of the child's requirements. Knowing how to observe constructively and when, and how much, to intervene, is one of the most important talents the Montessori director/directress acquires during a rigorous course of training at AMI training centers throughout the world.
We are proud of the fact that all of our directors/directress at the Toddler, Primary, Lower and Upper Elementary levels hold an Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) Teaching Diploma.
The teachers in our Middle and Upper School are chosen with care and are committed to continue to build on the instructional approach fostered at the Montessori levels as well as in the process of being thoroughly trained in the International Baccalaureate Program.
Montessori Facts
Compiled by Association Montessori Internationale (AMI)
Montessori education in the US has nearly doubled in prevalence over the past ten years. In 1993-94, there were 732 accredited schools educating 42,796 students.* In 2000-01, there were 1,377 accredited schools educating 84,525 students.** This represents an 88% rise in the number of schools and a 98% growth in the number of students.
*“Private Schools in the United States: A Statistical Profile, 1993-1994”, National Center for Education Statistics.
**”Characteristics of Private Schools in the United States: Results from the 2001-2002 Private School Universal Survey”, National Center for Education Statistics.
Montessori education as a philosophy began in 1907 with Dr. Maria Montessori’s founding of the Casa de Bambini in Rome. It is now offered in both private and public schools. Of the 1,377 accredited US Montessori schools, approximately 250 of them are established in a public school setting. This represents 18% of the Montessori school composition.
Positive Research Results!
“Evaluating Montessori Education”
This study, by Angeline S. Lillard and Nicole Else-Quest compares the outcomes of children at a public inner city Montessori school with children who attended traditional schools. It indicates that Montessori education leads to children with better social and academic skills.
The study appeared in the Sept, 29, 2006 issue of the journal Science. Download PDF format of article.
Reviews of this study from media sources around the world may be found at www.montessori-science.org.
“Outcomes for Students in a Montessori Program”
A Longitudinal Study of the Experience in the Milwaukee Public Schools
“Montessori programs have grown considerably over the past decades. There have been two major facts to this growth: expansion form private to public settings and extension from preschool into elementary, junior high school, and beyond. Growth has brought concerns about outcomes, especially academic ones. In particular, there have been questions about the performance of Montessori students when they move on to more conventional academic settings. This research addresses these questions.”
See complete study in PDF format.
“This study supports the hypothesis that Montessori education has a positive long-term impact. Additionally, it provides an affirmative answer to questions about whether Montessori students will be successful in traditional schools.”
Books by Dr. Maria Montessori
- The Absorbent Mind
- The Discovery of Childhood
- The Secret of Childhood
- From Childhood to Adolescence
- To Educate the Human Potential
Books about Montessori Education
Montessori: The Science behind the Genius
By Angeline S. Lillard, Phd
Oxford University Press, 2005 (404 pages)
#1 Best Seller in Education for 2005
Traditional American schooling is in constant crisis because it is based on two poor models for children's learning: the school as a factory and the child as a blank slate. School reforms repeatedly fail by not penetrating these models. One hundred years ago, Maria Montessori, the first female physician in Italy, devised a very different method of educating children, based on her observations of how they naturally learn.
Does Montessori education provide a viable alternative to traditional schooling? Do Dr. Montessori's theories and practices stand up to the scrutiny of modern-day developmental psychology? Can developmental psychology tell us anything about how and why Montessori methods work?
In Montessori, Angeline Lillard shows that science has finally caught up with Maria Montessori: Current scientific research provides astounding support for her major insights. Lillard presents the research concerning eight insights that are foundational to Montessori education and describes how each of these insights is applied in the Montessori classroom. In reading this book, parents and teachers alike will develop a clear understanding of what happens in a Montessori classroom and, more important, why it happens and why it works.
Montessori however, does much more than explain the scientific basis for Montessori's system: amid the clamor for evidence-based education, this book presents the studies that show how children learn best, makes clear why many traditional practices come up short, and describes an ingenious alternative that works. Everyone interested in education, at all levels and in all forms, will take from this book a wealth of insights on how to improve teaching effectiveness. Montessori is indispensable reading for anyone interested in what psychologists know about human learning and development.
Complimentary downloads from Montessori:
For expert reviews on this book, go to www.montessori-science.org
Additional Books about Montessori Education:
- Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work (E.M. Standing)
- Teaching Montessori in the Home: Pre-school Years (E. Hainstock)
- Teaching Montessori in the Home: School Years (E. Hainstock)
- Maria Montessori Farmschool (Erdkinder)
- Montessori Today (P. Lilliard)
- Montessori, A Modern Approach (P. Lillard)
- The Normalized Child (K. Futrell)
- What is Montessori Pre-school? (D. Kahn)
- What is Montessori Elementary? (D. Kahn)
- At Home with Montessori (P. Oriti)
More Information
There is also information about Montessori education on these websites:
Did you know?
A few familiar names of people who attended Montessori school:
- Sergey Brin, Larry Page, co-founders of Google
- Jeff Bezos, found of Amazon.com
- Julia Child, chef
- Anne Frank, author of The Diary of Anne Frank
- Katherine Graham, owner/editor of the Washington Post
- Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, former first Lady
- Prince William, Prince Harry, English royal family
A few familiar names who have sent their children to Montessori school:
- Bill and Hillary Clinton
- Ekaterina Gordeeva, championship ice skater, author My Sergei, A love Story
- Cher Bono, singer/actress
- Michael Douglas, actor/producer
- Cate Blanchett, actress
- Shari Lewis, entertainer/puppeteer
- Yo Yo Ma, cellist
- John Bradshaw, psychologist/author
- Maya Angelou, poet
Alexander Graham Bell and his wife Mabel founded the Montessori Education Association in 1913. They provided financial support directly to Dr. Montessori and helped establish the first Montessori class in Canada, and one of the first classes in the US.
Mister Rogers, host of Mister Robert’s Neighborhood was a supporter of Montessori education.
Thomas Edison helped establish a Montessori school
President Wilson’s daughter trained as a Montessori teacher. There was a Montessori classroom in the basement of the White House during Wilson’s presidency.
Erik Erikson, noted anthropologist/author, had a Montessori teaching certificate.
Jean Piaget, noted Swiss psychologist, made his first observations of children in a Montessori school. He was also head of the Swiss Montessori Society for many years.
|
