| Virgin Islands Montessori School About VIMS: What is Montessori? |
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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 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 “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 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 Towards Self Perfection 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 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 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 *“Private Schools in the United States: A Statistical Profile, 1993-1994”, 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! 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” “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
Books about Montessori Education Montessori: The Science behind the Genius #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:
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Did you know?
A few familiar names who have sent their children to Montessori school:
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. |
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