About Montessori

Parents look to schools to help prepare their children for the world of change in which we live. Unfortunately, they consistently find educational systems geared to the past, built upon rewards and punishments, grading curves and class rank, rote memorization and testing. Primarily sitting and listening, each student is isolated at a desk with little opportunity for developing the social and communicative skills required for solving problems in the real world.

In addition, in the last decade, standards of behaviour and discipline in schools have steadily declined; defiance, rudeness, and varying degrees of violence are increasingly commonplace among students. Parents are concerned with the impact of a negative school atmosphere on the values and attitudes of their children.

Parents choose Montessori Education because they want their children to be well-rounded individuals who have a keen sense of teamwork and are self-directed. Montessori children are confident, without being overly competitive, and are almost adult like in their attitudes towards others. They care about the world, and are active members within the community.

Through the process of exploration and discovery with concrete, hands-on materials, children reach unusual levels of development in a positive manner. The children are self-disciplined and responsible, as they are given freedom and choices. The following are key differences in the Montessori approach to learning:

• Respect is given to the children, they are treated in a positive manner, and teachers do not hold preconceived condescending attitudes towards their students.

• Children are always given a choice, this level of freedom comes in various degrees depending on the age and situation, but never the less allows the children to be the decision makers in their own lives.

• Children receive lessons in a small group of individual settings as opposed to whole class lessons.

• Children are free from negative comments, as the Montessori Trained Teacher is aware of the detrimental consequences this has on the child's confidence, further exploration and the love of school. Instead they work with the child, guiding them, in a positive manner.

• Subjects are not taught in units, which are discussed then left. Rather Montessori requires that all subject materials are available at all times. This allows for children to revisit points of interest, encouraging further research, allowing for a more concrete and in-depth understanding, as well as a more realistic picture of the world.

• No subject is taught in isolation, instead the materials and curriculum are interconnected with all other subject areas, allowing children to witness the unity of all things. This also ensures that no subject area is neglected, and allows the children to incorporate other subject matter, therefore always maintaining their interest.

• Creativity is encouraged, and the children are able to express themselves in various artistic forms.

• Materials are taught from concrete to abstract, ensuring the child has a true understanding of the work.

• When addressing a new topic the child is given the broadest context to begin with. This context becomes the framework for exploring parts within the whole.

• The children work with out punishment or rewards, therefore they are not pleasing the teacher, they care about doing their best for its own sake.

The success of Montessori education is based on the understanding that, from the beginning, the child's education must be viewed in its entirety. Goals and methods at each level must fit together to form a cohesive whole, from birth to adulthood.

A Students Reflection

The following is an exert from Paula Polk Lillard's book Montessori Today, it is written by a young girl entering high school at age thirteen after spending her previous years at a Montessori School. This reflection was written weeks before her high school graduation.

I figured out early on, as most of us did, that the Montessori teachers hand their students their unconditional trust. We were free to do what we chose, from picking what we would work on to moving freely around the classroom. I can't imagine how different my education would have been had I been denied the basic rights to talk and move around - had I, like my friends at other school, viewed my teachers as wardens, rather than friends.

In a world where "Give 'em an inch and they'll take a mile" seems to be the golden rule, this trust is refreshing. The Montessori teachers gave us a mile and because they respect us enough to do so, we respected them enough to run that mile as hard as we could. This momentum carried me through high school as well. The respect with which I had been instilled remained, as self-respect, and I therefore pushed myself to excel-to exceed the goals, which had been set for me.

One of our first presentations we received in science was about natures of solids, liquids and gases. While solids stay constant and gases are without form, we where told that liquids flow freely, expanding and moving to fit the shape of the container. Children are liquid. They shape themselves to fit the form of the container into which they are placed. Where they are free to go, they go; what they are free to do, they do. And when they are accorded this freedom, they feel no need to push its boundaries. Children thrive on trust. When allowed to walk to town, they do just that; when allowed to paint a picture, they do just that; when allowed to work for hours mastering intransitive verbs, they do just that - and gladly. I am forever indebted to my teachers for their amazing "presentation' of absolute trust to a young girl.