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What is Montessori?
The Montessori method is a research
based approach to education that enables teachers to help children learn to
educate themselves (Kripalani, 1994). Montessori offers a rigorous and
innovative academic program. The curriculum is organized into a spiral of
integrated studies, rather than being compartmentalized into separate
subjects, with given topics considered only once at a specific grade level. In
the early years, lessons are introduced simply and concretely using
specialized Montessori materials. These are then reintroduced several times
over succeeding years at increasing degrees of abstraction and complexity.
The course of study uses an integrated
thematic approach that ties the separate disciplines of the curriculum
together into studies of the physical universe, the world of nature, and the
human experience. Mathematics, the sciences, literature, the arts, history,
geography, economics, social issues, political science, and the study of
technology all complement one another. This integrated approach is one of
Montessori’s great strengths.
There are many benefits to the
multi-age grouping found in Montessori classrooms. Younger students observe
and learn from older ones who in turn mentor and model academic and behavioral
standards. Close attention is paid to individual needs, strengths, and
weaknesses. Students are encouraged to work collaboratively in pairs or small
groups to foster greater achievement and teamwork. Students are taught to take
pride in striving to achieve their personal best.
Maria Montessori, the first woman in Italy
to receive a doctorate in medicine, undertook an extensive and comprehensive
study of educational methodology. She discovered that, regardless of
socio-economic status or intellectual capacity, children thrived in a
self-directed, academic environment. As news of her method’s success spread,
Montessori schools began to spring up across Europe and eventually in the United
States.
Today, Montessori is internationally recognized with thousands of Montessori
schools, public, private, and parochial, around the globe. In the U.S.,
there are over 3,000 Montessori schools including 245 public and 74 charter.
In Colorado,
there are already eight public and four charter Montessori Schools in addition
to numerous private and parochial.
Dr. Montessori felt that the goal of
childhood education should be to cultivate children’s natural desire and
ability to learn through their unique learning styles. A truly educated
individual continues to learn long after the hours and years spent in the
classroom because natural curiosity and a thirst for knowledge motivate
intrinsically. Success in school directly correlates to the degree to which
children believe that they are capable, valued, and independent human beings.
If they knew the words, even very young children would ask, "Help me learn to
do it for myself!" By allowing children to develop a meaningful degree of
independence and self-discipline, Montessori sets a pattern for a lifetime of
productive work habits and a sense of personal and civic responsibility.
(Seldin, 2002)
The Montessori approach offers a broad vision of education as an aid to life.
Montessori is designed to help children with their task of inner construction
as they grow from childhood to maturity. It succeeds because it draws its
principles from the natural development of the child. The inherent flexibility
allows the method to adapt to the needs of the individual, regardless of the
level of ability, learning style, or social maturity.
Montessori classrooms provide a
prepared environment where children are free to respond to their natural drive
to work and learn. The children's inherent love of learning is encouraged by
giving them opportunities to engage in spontaneous, meaningful activities
under the guidance of a trained adult. Through their work, the children
develop concentration, motivation, persistence, and discipline. Within this
framework of order, the children progress at their own pace and rhythm,
according to their individual capabilities, during the crucial years of
development.
1. Each child is valued as an
individual and should be respected as a unique person with an individual
pattern of growth and development. Children learn by doing in an environment
that is child initiated, success oriented and which provides opportunities to
learn through active observation, experimentation and exploration.
2. Social, emotional, cognitive
language and physical development must be included in this comprehensive model
to address the child’s total learning environment.
3. Learning activities must be both age
appropriate and individually appropriate. These activities need to be provided
in a safe, non-competitive, and nurturing environment. This environment should
respond to individual differences and to cultural and linguistic diversity
among children.
"Never let a child risk failure until
he has a reasonable chance of success." Maria Montessori
4. Family involvement is crucial to a
child’s success in school and life. In building a partnership between parents
and staff, cooperation and open communication are essential. Active
involvement of parents in the total program is vital to build and assure
support to the child’s success.
Community, home and school must form a
collaborative network of mutual understanding, support and encouragement in
order to benefit the whole child, the family and ultimately society.
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