Montessori's Philosophy in Child Education - Essay Example

Montessori Philosophy Order No. 263154 No. of pages: 6 Premium 6530 Montessori learning is the scientific and practical method of learning and teaching developed by Maria Montessori, an Italian doctor, about a century ago. The Montessori Method of teaching is dynamic and caters to the individual needs of each and every child. It focuses on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs of a child, which once met, prods the child to learn and be creative. The Montessori Method stresses on “education for life”, and for a child learning in such an environment, it inculcates more than just academic skills. Dr. Maria Montessori believed that a child, especially in early childhood, should learn through his or her own “natural desire”, rather than a mere learning of facts given out by the teacher. Dr. Maria Montessori was the first woman doctor in Italy, graduating from the University Of Rome Medical College. It was during her first posting as a doctor in the Psychiatric Clinic and working with retarded children, that led her to study deeply the earlier methods employed to teach such children. The children tutored by her, using her new methods, passed the state exams, and this led her to use the same methods in teaching normal children at her first Casa Dei Bambini (Children’s House) in 1907. Her methods gained rapid acceptance and by 1915 there were thousands of Montessori schools all over the globe (Standing. E. M.). The Montessori Method of Teaching The Montessori Method recognizes the fact that children, by nature, are gifted, creative and curious, and it is the duty of both teachers and parents to ignite that spark, in order to arm the students with the skills necessary for educating oneself. In the initial stage of learning, when the child is between 3-6 years old, the emphasis is on grammar, math and geography, but in non-competitive environments, each child is allowed to work at his/ her own pace. (Nair, Nevani). This is in keeping with Maria Montessori’s philosophy that the child’s mind is absorbent, which takes in all that he sees in his surroundings. “A child’s work is to create the person she will become”, was Maria Montessori’s dictum, and this she followed in all her schools, where the child is free to explore the special materials created for this purpose. Specific ideas are taught through specialized objects, phonics is used to foster reading while math material is creative and manipulative in nature. Another important component of Montessori’s theory was to identify the “sensitive periods” in a child’s life, where the teacher identifies this and leads the child to explore by providing appropriate materials. There are also the “Planes of Development” which occur at six year intervals, and can be defined thus: from birth to six years of age children explore through their senses, which she has outlined in her book “The Absorbent Mind”. From 6-12 years of age, children use their reasoning and the power of abstract and imagination lead them to answer questions about how things function, and this idea is elaborated in her work “The Montessori elementary”. During the transition from childhood to adolescence, the mental make up and outlook of the child develops, and at this stage, radical changes in learning and teaching methods are applied. A revolutionary approach is seen in the composition of classes, where the children are divided into age groups of 3-6, 6-9,9-12, called family groupings, that create a chance for peer teaching, with the older students teaching the youngest ones. This helps create a role model for the younger child and reinforces learning for the older one. The materials developed for the purpose of teaching are also self-corrective, and their use and re-use leads the child to the right answers. Role of Teachers The teacher has a very important role to play in this method of instruction and the traditional training period comprises of years of hard work, for all the three levels of a child’s development. The learning process is entirely child-centered, and the teachers are the observers of the child’s behaviour, who demonstrates the activity to the child and creates and develops the skill in him. The teacher’s duty here is to direct or guide the child towards the right answers, instead of handing it to him on a platter. The teacher has to be patient and allow the child to reveal his innate learning capabilities and should not be judgmental eve in the slightest sense. The learning environment is sparsely furnished with learning material, since a child is easily put off by a cluttered and chaotic scenario. The teacher has to keep the environment such that the child shows respect and care for it. The teacher here is truly the facilitator, whose duty is to guide the child through the maze of materials, towards the right one, in the most unobtrusive way possible. The teacher displays an uncommon humility and courteousness where the sole focus is on the child, whom she wants to excel. Education for Life Dr. Maria Montessori strongly believed that the formative years of the child’s life and education should equip him to navigate through life and its various situations as he grows older. Its main aim is to cultivate the learning experience in the individual from childhood to maturity, and integrate the process of learning to the formative years of life. In a Montessori school, a child is allowed such freedom that he is a learner for life, taking in newer experiences and learning from them. A Montessori education teaches a child to be a confident and independent thinker, who learns because of a desire to explore and cultivate an enthusiasm for life, rather than to score highly in a graded exam. Social relations receive equal emphasis and individuality is appreciated, and the child is taught to make “responsible choices” (Supanich,Gail. M) and indulge in constructive activities. The Montessori Method of education allies its principles and functions with the greater role of enriching human intelligence and life. Knowledge is treated as an integrated whole, where the relations between the various fields of learning are brought together into a cohesive, complete approach. The reason for the success of the Montessori Method is the long years of hard work and experimentation that Maria Montessori poured into her work backed by a desire to take children out of the constraints of a rigid system. Learning through the Play way Method Maria Montessori travelled beyond the convention of the times in order to find out a new and enriching way of learning instead of the regular mundane way. In her book on “Discovery of the Child, she tells us of certain techniques that are used for teaching children and making learning a whole new experience. Some of the techniques used in the Montessori Method of teaching are phonetics or sounds of words are taught before teaching the child to read. In Math, the child is taught or made to understand the concept of place value through a play way method using colorful beads or other objects which the child handles while counting and placing in the right places. To teach Science the teacher takes the children on a lot of field trips and allows them to handle soil, water, plants, insects etc…while getting the children to make observations and write down what they observed. The children are then taken to class and each one tells what they observed or experienced. The trinomial cube presents the child with a visual concept of algebra, while the constructive triangles help the child to frame geometrical patterns and also to decipher between different shapes. Some of the aids used to impart the Montessori concepts are flash – cards, beads, movable alphabets, flat and solid insets, boxes, marbles, charts and so on. In her book ‘The Absorbent Mind’, Maria Montessori states that she believes that humanity is very far from reaching the stage of maturity which is so very necessary in order to create a harmonious and peaceful community and society by eliminating war. According to her, ‘Men are not yet ready to shape their own destinies; to control and direct world events of which – instead – they become the victims.’ (Maria Montessori) she also asked a very pertinent question which asked – ‘What is the use of transmitting knowledge, if the individual’s total development lags behind?’ (Maria Montessori) Therefore education to Maria Montessori was not just the cramming of knowledge into a child’s head, but on the other hand it is a guidance to unfold or discover the inborn psychic powers of the child. Recent research has proved that children are endowed their own psychic powers to help them understand and learn things with a little guidance. For thousands of years this constructive power was left unnoticed till only recently. According to Carrel, The period of infancy is undoubtedly the richest.’ The methods in Montessori though very different from the traditional type of education, are a boon to young minds. It has the capacity to lead the child to the heart of the teaching learning experience, where the teacher is more a facilitator and a guide. Learning through the Montessori method prepares a child for child while enabling them to be better human beings and building a society that is peaceful and devoid of violence and war. References: Maria Montessori, ‘Discovery of the Child’ Publisher- Amereon Ltd (19760 Maria Montessori, John Chattin. The Absorbent Mind. Publishers – Henry Holt and Company, LLC. New York. The Montessori Method http://www.montessori.edu/method.html The Montessori Method of Teaching  http://www.mchoh.com/montessori_method_of_teaching.htm eThekwini Online - Montessori Teaching Method http://www.durban.gov.za/durban/discover-durban/our-durban/education/school/montessori Teaching Montessori http://www.caihand.com/tm.htm About Montessori Method, a unique approach to learning, teaching http://www.msmresources.org/about_montessori_method.htm Read More