Why do we study?

1 Sleep now, Dream will come out; Study now, Dream will come true. 此刻打盹，你将做梦；而此刻学习，你将圆梦。 2 The pain of study is temporary; the pain of not study is lifelong. 学习时的痛苦是暂时的，未学到的痛苦是终生的。 3 You do not lack time to study, you are lacking the efforts. 学习这件事，不是缺乏时间，而是缺乏努力。 4 Study is one but not the only component of your life, but if you cannot even overcome this single component, what can you overcome? 学习并不是人生的全部。但既然连人生的一部分（学习）也无法征服，还能做什么呢？ 5 Get up early, Grind out hardy, Gain on success. 只有比别人更早、更勤奋地努力，才能尝到成功的滋味。 6 Nobody succeeds easily without complete self-control and strong perseverance. 谁也不能随随便便地成功，它来自彻底的自我管理和毅力。 7 Time pass by. 时间在流逝。 8 Stop walking today and you'll have to run tomorrow. 今天不走，明天要跑。 9 People who invest the future are the true realists. 投资未来的人是忠于现实的人。 10 No pain, No gain. 不劳则无获。

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.

The Journey of The Young Mind

13-03-2013

The unique journey of The Young Mind starts today.

千里之行，始于足下

I wish to explore and better myself along this discovery journey.
I wish for a better tomorrow.