Education Philosophy ~ Maria Montessori

Montessori education is fundamentally a model of human development, and an educational approach based on that model. The model has two basic elements. First, children and developing adults engage in psychological self-construction by means of interaction with their environments. Second, children, especially under the age of six, have an innate path of psychological development. Based on her observations, Montessori believed that children at liberty to choose and act freely within an environment prepared according to her model would act spontaneously for optimal development. According to Maria Montessori, "A child's work is to create the person she/he will become." Children are born with mental powers which aid them in their own development. However, they cannot complete the task of self-construction without purposeful movement, exploration, and discovery of their environment - both the things and people within it. They must be given the freedom to develop physically, intellectually, and spiritually. The "Freedom Within Limits"atmosphere of a Montessori classroom provides an environment which nurtures a sense of order and self-discipline. Basic to Montessori's philosophy is her discovery of Sensitive Periods in a child's development. During these periods children seek certain stimuli with immense intensity, to the exclusion of all others. It is during these times that a child can most easily master a particular learning skill. Montessori materials are devised especialy lto aid children in each Sensitive Period. It is the responsibility of the teacher to recognize these periods in individual children and put them in touch with the appropriate materials in the classroom environment. Montessori education continually changes to adapt to each child's naturally occuring Sensitive Periods.. Montessori described these periods as Planes of Development, which occur in approximately six year intervals, each of which is further subdivided into three year segments. These Planes of Development are the basis for the three-year age groupings found in Montessori school classes: ages three to six; six to nine; nine to twelve; and twelve to fifteen. Montessori is an approach to the education of children. It is a way of looking at, and understanding, children. It is a view of how children develop and learn which has been translated into a systematic method of education based upon careful scientific study. The Montessori educational system is unique in that it has successfully undergone continued development for over one hundred years and has been used effectively with mentally retarded, physically handicapped, normal, and gifted children in different countries around the world. Perhaps the most significant reason for its success is that it is a comprehensive method of education resulting from an integration of research on development, learning, curriculum, and teaching. In the Montessori view of education, the purpose of education is to serve as an aid to life. Therefore, Montessori is an approach to education based upon the principle that schooling should work with the nature of the child instead of against it. Therefore, education should be based upon scientific study of the child and a resulting understanding of the processes of development and learning. Dr. Montessori felt that her greatest discovery was that children's play actually consisted of the important work of development. In fact, children have a natural drive to work in order to develop. The child's great task is to create an adult. As a result, children are not content unless they have an opportunity to develop and learn. Since Montessori schools are based upon the principle that "...the child, not the teacher, is the construction of man, and so of society..." it is felt that the, "human teacher can only help the great work that is being done..." "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." Therefore, the teacher's job is to provide the materials and environment which will aid development and to be ready to respond when help is needed.