The Montessori Method of Teaching

The Montessori Method

By Irene Helen Zundel

Scientific observation has established that

education is not what the teacher gives:

education is a natural process spontaneously

carried out by the human individual, and is acquired

not by listening to words but by experiences upon

the environment. The task of a teacher becomes

that of preparing a series of motives of cultural

activity, spread over a specially prepared environment,

and then refraining from intrusive interference.

Human teachers can only help the great work that is

being done, as servants help the master. ( Maria

Montessori, Education for a New World ) .

Those are the sage words of a woman, who in my opinion,

was ahead of her time!

Maria Montessori, born in 1870, was the first woman

in Italy to earn a medical degree. She worked in the

fields of psychiatry, anthropology, and education,

and revolutionized the way the world thought about

how children learn. Today, her theories and methods

are embraced by parents and educators worldwide.

Here are some of her ideas:

Children are not born as blank slates waiting

to be written on. They are individuals with

a unique and tremendous potential waiting to be

revealed.

A child is learning all of the time, from their

environment and from the adults they encounter

in it. It is best to enrich the environment

and for adults to serve as role models,

rather than try to impose learning from the

outside.

Children learn what they love. Anything taught

by coercion will be detested or forgotten.

The role of a parent/teacher is to continually

enrich and adapt the environment to facilitate

the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual

growth of the child.

Follow the child’s cues in education. If a child’s

choices are respected and facilitated, they are able to

learn at a rate that is amazing to behold!

Does that sound pretty radical to you? Do you think

it is odd to suggest that children should be allowed

spontaneity and self-direction in learning?

Dr. Montessori was a keen, scientific observer of children.

She noted two important characteristics that led her to

believe that they were able to learn on their own:

Children master their native tongue without

complex teaching methods being employed.

Adults find acquisition of a new language

difficult, and success at mastering another

language is a feat that is generally lauded

as a great accomplishment. If children can

learn something so daunting on their own,

they must have an innate ability to learn!

They have a remarkably absorbent mind.

Children have an amazing ability to concentrate,

and become immersed in the performance of a task.

Left undisturbed, they can learn effectively,

and derive great satisfaction from it.

She patterned her method of facilitating learning

based on several tendencies that are innate in all

humans: the tendencies to explore, move, share

in a group, to be independent and make decisions,

to create order, develop self-control, to

abstract ideas from experience, to use the

creative power of the imagination, to work

hard, repeat, concentrate, and to perfect

one’s efforts and creations. The Montessori

learning environment is structured to take advantage

of these natural tendencies.

These are the general rules adopted in Montessori

Schools, based on a recognition of a child’s rights

and responsibilities:

Children have a right to work with any material

in the environment. They are entitled to work

in an undisturbed and undistracted fashion.

They may initiate, complete, or repeat a task

as long as their interest is engaged. They have

a right to work entirely alone, and are not to

be forced to engage in any group activity. If

they so desire, they may do nothing except observe,

think, or relax.

Children have a responsibility to treat the

materials, work environment, others and

themselves with respect. They are required

to clean up after a project and restore the

environment to an orderly state. They are not

allowed to be disruptive, nor may they interrupt

another who is learning. They must share

resources and wait their turn to use something.

Here are the general methods used:

Many lessons in Montessori programs are derived

from having children participate in daily work

routines. Children need a sense of belonging and

being needed. They delight in being able to

participate and do things on their own. Their

self-esteem is reinforced when they are able to

accomplish a task they see an adult do.

Montessori schools provide children the

opportunity to master these tasks, using

furniture, toys, and materials that are scaled

to their size.

In learning to care for their own bodies, each other,

and their environment, children learn many

important social and character building skills.

By cooking, gardening, cleaning up, mastering personal

grooming skills etc...they learn to work in community,

to develop manners, to be orderly, and to care for

themselves and the world around them.

Montessori schools emphasize the development

of all intelligences in learning---musical,

bodily/kinesthetic, spatial, intrapersonal,

interpersonal, intuitive, and traditional

linguistic and logical/mathematical. Learning

tends to be experience based and the use of

"manipulatives" is stressed ( materials that

you act upon, touch, move, and use to model

real life ).

Well selected toys are used to help a child

grow socially, mentally, emotionally, physically,

and creatively. Here are some great toys for

pre-schoolers and children in the early years

of education:

riding toys with and without pedals, wagons, low

climbers, dolls, talking telephones, balls of various

sizes, simple puzzles, blocks, housekeeping toys,

water toys, art supplies (modeling clay, scissors,

paint, glue, crayons and the like) musical instruments,

puppets, good books and music, building toys

( Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, Duplo and Lego come to

mind ) science activities ( growing a plant, having

an ant farm, taking care of fish or birds, building a

squirrel feeder, a magnifying glass, bug collecting kit,

magnets etc...) and small scale animals, buildings,

vehicles and people that mirror real life.

These methods are easily adaptable to your home

environment, and are effectively used by parents

who homeschool. I used these concepts and methods

in educating my own son in his early years, and I

think they had a very positive effect on him.

I would recommend that you visit the following

websites and/or read any books you can find by

Maria Montessori, or those explaining her

philosophy and methods. I have listed a few

sources below to point your nose in the right

direction!

Montessori Websites:

http://members.aol.com/amonco/amonco.html

American Montessori Consulting

The website features an online bookstore, educational

supplies, a newsletter archive, chat and message boards,

lesson ideas and homeschooling links.

http://www.michaelolaf.net

Michael Olaf Montessori Company

a source for Montessori educational materials and

the place where you can download for free two E-books

describing Dr. Montessori’s methods of teaching youngsters

from birth through age 12.

http://www.montessori.edu

a well organized and informative website that contains

FAQs, a list of schools, info about conferences and

teacher training courses, where to buy Montessori

materials, and an explanation of Dr. Montessori’s

work and educational methods.

Helpful Books:

Basic Montessori: Learning Activities for Under-

Fives ( David Gettman, St. Martins Press, 1987 )

Montessori: Her Method and the Movement, What

You Need to Know (Edited by R.C. Orem, Capricorn

Books, 1974)

This article is an excerpt from my 2001 book, Make Your Kid A Genius! (Tools to Maximize Your Child’s Potential from the Womb Through College.) You can obtain a free copy in the "downloads" section of my website at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com