Montessori Philosophy

Check out this list of every Montessori myth, misunderstanding, and complaint that’s out there. (At least every one I could find.) There are answers, and room for discussion, too. Come join in!

The infamous myths. Below I hope to dispel the confusion and shine a little light on the beauty and truth of the Montessori method of education.

But first, an important note: No Montessori classroom is perfect. No Montessori guide is perfect. Some schools and guides are less perfect than others. If you had a bad Montessori experience, don’t take it out against the whole method. Please. There is value in the Montessori philosophy. Take a second look.

Myth #1: Kids in Montessori classrooms do whatever they want.

Truth: “To let the child do as he likes when he has not yet developed any powers of control is to betray the idea of freedom.” – Maria Montessori

The Montessori method is designed to give children freedom within limits. For example, children are allowed to choose what they will work on each day, but they have to choose work that has been already been presented to them.

Myth #2: Kids in Montessori classrooms never learn to do the necessary things that they don’t want to do.

Truth: Kids in Montessori classrooms have to clean up even if they don’t feel like it. They wait their turn even if they don’t feel like it. They finish one activity before moving on to the next. They receive lessons from the guide and learn to obey. This combination of free choice and obedience helps them develop both initiative and discipline.

Myth #3: Montessori guides aren’t supposed to tell children what to do.

Truth: Montessori guides do give commands to children. Maria Montessori wrote about the three levels of obedience, and encouraged parents and teachers to help cultivate true obedience in children. Read more about that here.

Myth #4: Montessori discourages the imagination.

Truth: Maria Montessori believed that the imagination has a foundation in reality, and so young kids need rich experiences in reality first to prepare their imaginations. This is why you won’t find fantasy books in Montessori classrooms for children ages 0-6. You might wonder what this means for fairy tales. Get my take on that here.

Myth #5: Montessori discourages creativity.

Truth: Creativity flourishes in the Montessori environment, because of the balance of freedom and limits. While you won’t find Montessori guides doing many group crafts, you will find them teaching artistic techniques. Read more about creativity in the Montessori method here.

Myth #6: The Montessori method is too rigid and structured and not enough fun.

Truth: There is a structure to the Montessori method, but the words of Maria Montessori, “follow the child,” take priority. A good Montessori guide will carefully observe each child to know which lessons he is ready for, and which activities might interest her. The guide sees where in the structure each child is at each moment.

This structure is important for young children especially, as they are still getting to know the world and their place in it. External order leads to internal order, and a structured environment allows children to order the many impressions absorbed into their minds.

The Montessori method can be implemented too harshly, but this would not be to follow the core philosophy. Music, movement, dance, funny rhymes, laughter, and everything that children truly love and that respects their development has a place in the Montessori classroom. Respect for the child lies at the heart of the Montessori method, and this respect is often lacking in dumbed-down kid activities and songs. The Montessori method looks deep into the heart of the child and offers real excitement, wonder, discovery, and joy.

Myth #7: The Montessori method is not structured enough.

Truth: “Order is one of the needs of life which, when satisfied, produces real happiness.” – Maria Montessori

Sometimes a Montessori classroom can seen unstructured, because of the emphasis on following the child, and the fact that children can choose their work. However, the lessons that the guide gives the children follow a carefully planned structure. The classroom itself is very structured as well, and each material is carefully kept in the exact same place for the whole year. The children do have a three-hour work period where they can choose their work, but a routine exists around and through this work-period. The children have a morning routine, a snack routine, a routine for using the bathroom, a lunch routine, etc.

Myth #8: Montessori classrooms are too chaotic.

Truth: At the beginning of the school year, things can seem chaotic as children learn the routines and build up their repertoire’s of lessons. However, a good Montessori classroom will calm down, getting closer to and maybe achieving “normalization” within a few months. The goal is a classroom where the children know the routines, choose work that captures their attention, and are disciplined to clean up after themselves and obey the guide. The classroom itself remains orderly from the beginning, as the guide and assistant prepare it perfectly before the kids arrive each morning and make sure that the kids put things away as they found them.

Myth #9: Montessori education is not strong in math.

Truth: One study suggests that Montessori better prepares young students for math than do traditional schools. When followed correctly, the Montessori method lays an amazing mathematical foundation. The mathematical materials provide the kids with sensorial, concrete representations of mathematical realities, such as number, the relationships between sizes, binomial and trinomial patterns, geometric patterns, etc. When kids are still in the stage of the absorbent mind (0-6) they unconsciously absorb these realities by working with the material. At first all math work is done concretely, by adding and subtracting with beads, for example, and gradually the kids learn to abstract at higher and higher levels.

Myth #10: Montessori education is not balanced because the children just work in the areas they prefer.

Truth: While children do have the choice on which work they will do each day, each child receives each lesson. It is up to the guide to make that lesson interesting to the individual child. So every child in a Primary Montessori classroom learn the basics in math and language, just as he would in a traditional classroom. The difference is that children also have the freedom to dive deeper into the areas of their interests and strengths.

Myth #11: Kids in Montessori classrooms have to do everything by themselves.

Truth: Montessori guides empower children and teach them responsibility by showing them how to do things by themselves, e.g. get their own snack, put on their own shoes, clean up after themselves etc. When given the opportunity, children love to do things by themselves. They show themselves that they are capable, and each step towards independence is a step toward fullness. There are many times, though, when a task really is beyond the abilities of the child. Kids are encouraged to ask for help whenever they need it, and Montessori guides should observe each child’s abilities and never place a responsibility on someone who isn’t ready for it.

Myth #12: Kids in Montessori classrooms play all day, they don’t do enough worksheets or real work.

Truth: “Play is the work of the child.” – Maria Montessori

The emphasis in Montessori classrooms is on purposeful activity. If a child is concentrating on coloring a picture carefully, this is seen as work. Montessori seeks to help children develop the power of concretion because of the power and work ethic this gives them for their whole life. When a child is interested in his activity, and finds joy in it, he will develop this concentration as well as a love of learning.

The guide presents each Montessori material to the child, showing her the right way to use it. If the guide later sees the child using this material in a way that is not purposeful, or that is harmful, the child is told to put it away.

There are also plenty of lessons and extensions that involve a pencil and paper and what we often think of as “real work”.

Myth #13: Kids in Montessori classrooms do too much work and don’t have enough time for free play.

Truth: The Montessori method includes a three-hour work cycle, in which each child chooses work to do and the guide chooses which lessons to give the child. Children usually find their work enjoyable, since they chose it, and acceptable works include painting at the easel, working outside, and reading books in the reading nook. There is always a recess period after the work period in which children play to their heart’s content.

Myth #14: Kids in Montessori classrooms are treated too much like adults, they don’t get to just be kids.

Truth: The emphasis in the Montessori method is on respect for the child and the amazing powers he has during childhood. There is a fine balance between disrespecting the child, (e.g. double standards, using manners that would be unacceptable with adults, etc.) and treating him too much like an adult. The Montessori method seeks to find the middle ground, by encouraging independence, finding joy, respecting their abilities and limitations, and having fun.

Myth #15: Montessori doesn’t prepare kids well for traditional schools.

Truth: A Montessori education prepares a child well for traditional education. Through Montessori, the child learns self-discipline, obedience, work ethic, concentration, courtesy, and social skills, and most importantly, a love of learning. One study suggests that young Montessori students are well prepared for language and math, and show superior social skills and executive functioning.

 

Myth #16: A Montessori education only works for certain children.

Truth: The Montessori method has been successful in many different countries, cultures, social classes and generations. How? It addresses themes that we all hold in common: love, independence, community, work – yet it recognizes the uniqueness of each person.

The Montessori method is based off of observation, not just ideas. Maria Montessori began developing the method to help intellectually disabled children, and achieved internationally recognized success. She went on to use the same principles working with many different children of varying abilities. Maria Montessori spent years caring for children in both Italy and India, and she studied what actions and materials helped them thrive. She observed children and fine-tuned her work for the rest of her life.

A common complaint is that the Montessori method doesn’t work for high-energy children, because they can’t sit still and concentrate. A good Montessori guide would give a high-energy child all the outlets he or she needs. Montessori classrooms are supposed to include an outdoor environment, which can be helpful for high-energy children who need to hammer nails, bang on drums, dance, etc. Through these outlets, even high-energy children can learn to concentrate.

Myth #17: The Montessori method doesn’t allow for social development.

Truth: The Montessori method teaches grace and courtesy lessons, such as how to ask for help, how to excuse oneself, how to apologize, how to welcome someone, how to wait and when it is acceptable to interrupt, etc. Any social situation that arises is addressed with a grace and courtesy lesson. And because each Montessori class includes children of mixed ages (e.g. 3-6, 6-9 etc.) the children learn to interact with other ages. They learn to help those who are younger than them, and respect those who are older.

During the morning work period they are encouraged to work independently to focus on concentration, but this does not preclude interactions between children, not to mention the collaboration involved in setting up for lunch, and the time spent on the playground or during the afternoon. The reason for the independent work in Primary (3-6) rooms is because for the first 5-ish years of life, the child’s main, though unconscious, goal is to build himself, to develop his mental powers and personality. Around the age of 6 he becomes more social and social interactions become more of a developmental focus for him. This does not mean that children aren’t social before the age of 6. It just means that they have a different focus.

Myth #18: Won’t the older kids intimidate the younger kids in a mixed-age classroom?

Truth: No. It’s natural for children to be around people of different ages. The introduction of single age grades is relatively new in human history. By sheltering young children from slightly older children, they might learn to be intimidated, but by mixing the ages younger children learn from the older ones, and the older ones grow in responsibility. It’s a win for both.

Myth #19: Aren’t the three-hour work periods too much for kids?

Truth: If the children were made to work at one thing the whole time that did not interest them, then it would be too much. As it is, though, children are allowed to move from one work to another, but the three-hour work period gives them time to stay with a work as long as they are interested and develop a deep concentration. At first, the children might not be used to having that much time, but it is good for them.

Myth #20: Montessori is just for preschool.

Truth: While the “magic,” so to speak, of Montessori does take place during early childhood, Maria Montessori studied the development of older children, too. Montessori elementary classrooms are wonderful, and there are Montessori middle schools, and even a few high schools. They don’t all look like each other, each level meets the children at their current level of development.

Myth #21: Montessori is just a trend.

Truth: The Montessori method was developed over one-hundred years ago, at the beginning of the 20th century. It has since been found successful all. over. the. world, with a current estimate of 20,000 schools worldwide. It was introduced in the United States in the early 20th century, and came back for good in the 1960’s. While the popularity of Montessori education in the United States may be increasing, it has lasting principles that will outlive any trend.

Myth #22: Montessori education is outdated.

Truth: The Montessori method was developed based on observation, and it is continued to be taught based on observation. The truths of human nature and development are not outdated, and the Montessori method is at the service of these truths.

Myth #23: The Montessori method is religious.

Truth: While the Montessori method is compatible with the Christian faith in particular, and other faiths as well, the method itself has no religious affiliations. For example, Maria Montessori writes about working with Hindu, Christian, and Muslim children, and many Montessori schools are completely secular.

Myth #24: Montessori classrooms are not safe.

Truth: The Montessori method seeks to give children a safe environment to learn the skills to live confidently in an unsafe world. For example, children are allowed to handle breakable objects, and they learn to treat them with care. However, the guide and assistant are responsible for cleaning up any broken glass or dangerous pieces.

Myth #25: The Montessori method is all about expensive, special materials.

Truth: While the Montessori materials were carefully designed by Maria Montessori with the child’s development in mind, these materials are not at the heart of her method. The role of the guide is to connect the child with the world, and if she has access to the Montessori materials to help with this, that’s awesome. Even without the expensive materials, the guide can implement the Montessori philosophy to help children grow towards independence and fulness.

Myth #26: A Montessori education is just for the wealthy.

Truth: The Montessori method was developed in the slums of Rome. It is certainly not intended for just the wealthy.

While many private Montessori schools currently charge a large tuition, Montessori schools are catching on in the public sphere as well. The Montessori method can be used in homeschool and co-op settings. Remember, it’s not about the fancy materials. It’s about the philosophy, the attitude towards the child, and observation.

Plus, this study suggests that a Montessori education “helps typically under-performing low-income students keep pace with their higher-income peers.”

And I will do my part as well. If you cannot afford my Montessori services, let me know. We will work together to find a price that is affordable to you.

Am I missing any Montessori myths? Let me know your objections in the comments! Is there anything you’d like to hear more about? Let’s chat!

Jean Marie

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None of us are ready to give up Fairy Tales. The good news? When you understand why Montessori teaches what it does about reality and fantasy, you find out that Montessori and Fairy Tales actually go together quite nicely.

“Montessori discourages the development of the imagination.”

So they say.

It’s a myth, but an understandable one. Montessori kids don’t play My Little Pony, they slice bananas and polish candlesticks. They don’t read books about Lightning McQueen, but books about seasons and snakes. What’s the deal?

Many parents, perhaps including you, ask:

Don’t we want to encourage our children’s natural and beautiful imaginations?

I’m pretty sure the highlight of my childhood was finding the lovely note, written on the soft bark of a tree, that a fairy [aka my neighbor] left me in my yard. For about 23 beautiful seconds I believed that a fairy knew my name and wanted to be friends.

Don’t we want this delight for our children?

The short and sweet answer is, yes! We do want to encourage imagination in children, and we do want them to delight in mystery.

So why don’t we read fairy tales and play imaginative games in Montessori classrooms? Do I have to give them up?

Let’s dig into the Montessori philosophy behind imagination and fantasy before I answer that last question… As always, we have to know why Montessori teaches what she does before we apply it to our lives. (Or leave it completely behind…)

Montessori, Reality, and the Imagination

“Imagination is a force for the discovery of the truth.”

– Maria Montessori

Safe to say Maria Montessori believed in the power and importance of the imagination. She even writes that without it, we cannot be intelligent. That’s because the imagination goes hand in hand with our ability to make mental abstractions.

In other words, without the imagination, not only would our lives be boring, but we wouldn’t be able to do math in our heads, or make arguments, or think about the solar system.

So, if Maria Montessori was all about the imagination, why are Montessori schools so down on it?

Well, actually, they’re not. They just have a different approach. As usual.

Real Experiences Lead to a Rich Imagination

“The true basis of the imagination is reality.”

– Maria Montessori

If you get one thing out of this post, it should be that. ↑ 

Every material and every lesson in the Montessori classroom moves from the concrete to the abstract.

We always start with the most tangible, hands-on experience possible.

This is awesome for so many reasons.

I’ll give you two:

Reason 1: Have you ever met someone who can see complex math problems in his head? It’s as if the concrete reality behind the problem is somehow in his brain, at his disposal.

When you give a concrete representation of a mathematical reality to a young child, (0-6 years old) he absorbs it! Those complex abstractions later become possible, even easy, because the concrete reality, in a sense, is inside his brain.

Reason 2: Have you heard it said that art imitates nature? We’ve talked about creativity before, and these hands-on experiences are just another way to encourage true creativity in children.

When the young child actively participates in the world, in his environment, he absorbs it. The numerous colors, shapes, sounds, scents and textures form a rich treasury in the child’s mind. With this treasury at his disposal, he can use his imagination to imitate nature. He becomes creative!

Reality provides such a marvelous wealth to the child that Maria Montessori believed this is all the he needs to develop his imagination. She writes, “By having in his hands something real on which to exercise this powerful force, [the imagination] one may reasonably suppose that he is greatly helped, for his mind is then also brought into contact with the other world.”

Fantasy Can Be Confusing

Now that we understand why the Montessori method stressed the importance of reality, or environmental experience, let’s look at why it discourages fantasy for children younger than 6.

We’ve talked a lot about children absorbing things from their environment. During the first six years of life, children use their senses to take in their surroundings. Until the age of three, the child absorbs his environment as a whole, and after the age of three he begins to order and analyze. He grows in consciousness, and perfects his mental powers. Order is crucial during this period of early understanding.

So here’s how the Montessori reasoning goes: if a child is just learning to order and understand the world, and then he reads a story about a talking bear, it’s confusing for him.

Another concern is that the child will start to live in a fantasy world. If deprived of purposeful, real experiences, the child will retreat to a make-believe world, which revolves around himself. This could form an early habit of escapism.

I don’t think that tragic is too strong a word to describe this situation: God has given us a world so beautiful and mysterious, yet some people find it boring. They live instead in another world, perhaps online, or in a video game, or in drugs.

*Important note: I am sooo not saying that fantasy leads to drugs. What I am saying is that if this world is so endlessly beautiful, why give time to anything else?

Enter: the fairy tale dilemma.

Montessori and Fairy Tales

This is where everyone starts to protest: we are not willing to give up our fairy tales! They are just as beautiful as reality, because they reflect reality.

I’m with you on this one.

Fairy tales pass on the wisdom of our ancient culture. And they bring us in contact with reality. They don’t teach us about leaves and colors, but they do teach us about courage and wisdom and other intangible realities. They display the drama of good against evil, and help children believe that the good will always triumph.

I guess you could say that we don’t need fairy tales to teach children about good and evil and virtue. They will experience these things by living in the world. But, neither do you need the pink tower, or color boxes, or any other Montessori material.

The reason we like these materials is because they give the children a concrete representation of an isolated quality, such as size, or color.

Fairy tales do the same thing. They give the children concrete representations of goodness in the knight, evil in the monster, wisdom in the sage, and of beauty in the princess. They help the children to see these qualities clearly.

So, to answer your earlier question, you do not have to give up fairy tales to keep Montessori. Fairy tales can have a place in a Montessori classroom, because they put our children in contact with culture and reality.

How to Choose Good Books For Children

Let there be no misunderstanding: most fantasy books do not belong in a Montessori classroom. To keep things clear, I define fantasy books as any book of fantastical nature. (e.g. talking animals, magic, etc.) I define fairy tales, on the other hand, as books that might have fantastical elements, but which have truth at their heart.

Here are some tips to help you choose Montessori appropriate books:

• Look for stories that connect us with reality. See above.
• Look for stories that are beautiful. Does it lead to wonder? Does it connect us more deeply with the world?
• Look for stories with a hero or heroine. It doesn’t always have to be a good vs. evil epic, but we want the main character to be admirable. Non-fantastical stories also should have at least one character who is good. He or she can be funny, or mischievous, or make mistakes, but he or she has to be good.
• Look to the classics. And by classics, I’m not talking the Disney versions. Here are some recommendations from a fairy tale loving mom.
• Skip the stories that dumb things down. Just because it tries to teach a lesson doesn’t mean its worthy of our classroom.
• Skip the cartoons. 
• Skip the stories with cutesy or ugly illustrations. Usually, the really good stories or fairy tales have beautiful illustrations. Reality is beautiful, after all.
• Include many non-fiction books as well. Children love learning about all the different types of trucks, or bugs, or the way things work.

What do you think? How do you choose beautiful books for your children? Is this whole thing still confusing? Let me know in the comments!

Jean Marie

Have you ever wondered how to encourage creativity in your students? The Montessori method, as usual, has a different approach.

I believe I have heard Montessori education criticized for its supposed lack of creativity. And if paper crafts from Pinterest = creativity, then I guess it is lacking.

But, really, creativity means the ability to make something new. And the way we get there in early Montessori education is by caring less about the final product, and more about the process the child goes through.

Because if we’re making all the three-year-olds in our classroom crank out the same Van Gogh inspired paint project, they’re not really making something new. They’re not being creative.

I think that, to a lot of us, this makes sense. But for some reason it doesn’t really play out in most pre-schools.

“Art time” is the perfect example.

Many preschools implement certain time-slots in their schedule for art.  The teacher is supposed to lead her students through a cute craft. Sometimes it involves painting their hands and placing them on a piece of paper, then drawing in all the other details herself. Other times, it involved hours of cutting out paper, then hovering over her students to make sure they glue the little papers into exactly the right spot. The resulting handprint fish or paper sunset is lovely, and the kids proudly take it home to tell their parents, “look what I made!”

And while some fine-motor skills may have been involved, there was not much creativity, decision making, or any sort of character building on the part of the child. So much for “art.”

But those crafts are so fun and cute! And the parents love them! I totally get it. But here’s what we’re missing out on when we emphasize cute crafts over real creativity.

The Importance of Process

“His work is the expression of his mind.” 

– Maria Montessori

Say that, instead of guiding our children through a specific craft that’s going to look a certain way, we give them the opportunity to paint whatever they like. If a child decides she does want to paint, and takes the opportunity, here is what happens:

Externally, we see that she paints for as long as she wants. She might repeat the same strokes long past when we think it looks “done,” and cover the whole paper blue. Or she might paint two small shapes in the corner and decide that’s good enough, long before it looks “done” to us. The result may or may not be fridge worthy, but that’s not what matters.

Internally, she is listening to her inner teacher (that would be nature, not us.) She is repeating movements with her hand, and by doing this she is “making conscious something that [her] unconscious mind earlier absorbed.” (The Absorbent Mind, by Maria Montessori.)

In other words, she is building her mind through her actions. She is building her will, by choosing when and what to paint. She is building her personality, by expressing something she took in from her environment. She is working out and clarifying all those little impressions living in her brain.

This isn’t just nice. It’s necessary.

“The child’s intelligence can develop to a certain level without the help of his hand. But if it develops with his hand, then the level it reaches is higher, and the child’s character is stronger.” (The Absorbent Mind, by Maria Montessori)

“Whatever intelligent activity we chance to witness in a child – even if it seems absurd to us… – we must not interfere, for the child must always be able to finish the cycle of activity on which his heart is set.” (The Absorbent Mind, by Maria Montessori)

I hear you, the child does develop by gluing things where we tell him to glue them. He is still working with his hands, and that’s good. But the deeper development only happens if he willingly glues them, and you don’t interrupt him. Not very conducive to completing that craft just as you envisioned it.

By allowing the child to carry out his own creative work, we give him the freedom to build his mental powers. He develops focus and concentration. He begins experimenting, or following an idea in his own mind. Do we really want to sacrifice that for a cute project we found on Pinterest?

I’m not saying you can never do a craft project with your students. But shake off the pressure to do one every week, or even every month. Ask yourself, “who is this for? Is it for the students, or for the parents?” I can tell you right now, the students don’t need the crafts. They need more opportunities for process, without worrying about the result.

How to Encourage Creativity

One of the biggest objections to eliminating crafts is this: crafts are good because they give kids a model to follow. Crafts show them how to use techniques to get a certain effect. They give kids limits and guidelines to follow. They teach that discipline gives good results.

The good news? Techniques, limits, and discipline do play an important role in the Montessori approach to creativity. Basically, there are two components to encouraging creativity: freedom + limits. Today, we talked about how important freedom and process are for encouraging creativity. In this post, I go over limits, discipline, and techniques and show you a different way to use them. It’s super cool.

And now, I want to hear from you! Would you be sad to give up doing crafts with your students? Or is this the excuse you’ve been waiting for? Let me know in the comments!

Jean Marie

Find out how Montessori education offers the three conditions – individuality, curiosity, and creativity – that Sir Ken Robinson believes our children desperately need.

“The whole concept of education changes. It becomes a matter of giving help to the child’s life.” 

– Maria Montessori

What do you think is the state of education in your community? In our country? What was your experience with school?

Real quick, open a new tab and type in the words “school makes me” … and take a look at the Google search predictions.  Is this what you also found?

In his TED talk, “How to Escape Education’s Death Valley,” Sir Ken Robinson tell us that, “in some parts of the country, 60% of kids drop out of highschool.”  Thankfully, the graduation rates have increased since Sir Robinson gave his talk a few years ago.  But as he points out, the dropout rate is only part of the problem.  What about all the kids who are still in school and hating it? Is our education system helping these kids truly reach their potential? Do kids flourish in school? Does our education system allow life to flourish, or is it a valley of death?

Three Conditions for the Flourishing of Life

In his talk, (which is actually really humorous) Sir Robinson outlines three principles he believes are necessary for human life to flourish.  These are individuality, curiosity, and creativity. Once we see how necessary these principles are we can have a better idea of what good education looks like, and we can see how a certain method, the Montessori method, offers a path forward for good education. Let’s take a look.

Individuality

“Human beings are naturally different and diverse.”  Yes, we have the same nature.  But do we have the same talents? Do we have the same interests?  Current education operates as though we do.  The same standardized tests are used to evaluate the intelligence of students, but these tests cover only language, math, and science, and so they can only measure intelligence in these areas.  And all to often, teachers teach ‘to the test.’  They focus only on language, math, and science.  Are these subjects important? Of course they are.  But what about kids who are not good at math or science? Does this mean they are not intelligent, or that they cannot flourish? What about artistic and physical intelligence? Sir Robinson says that “the arts aren’t just important because they improve math scores, they’re important because they speak to parts of children’s being which are otherwise untouched.”

“The arts are important because they speak to parts of children’s being which are otherwise untouched.”

– Sir Ken Robinson

Education must reflect all the diverse gifts of humanity if it is to help all human life to flourish.

Curiosity

Humans are made to learn, this is one thing we all have in common.  The more we truly learn, the more we grow, and the more we flourish.  And what is the one thing that always drives us to learn? Interest. Curiosity. Sir Robinson calls it, “the engine of achievement.”  While many teachers do strive to engage their students, to keep them interested, the final importance is placed on compliance.  ‘If I can’t find a way to get this child interested in his numbers worksheet, then too bad, he’ll just have to sit and do it anyways.’  The result is that curiosity is stifled and the child, instead of growing to love learning, learns to hate school.

Creativity

Human life is creative. Both Sir Robinson and Maria Montessori speak of the unique human ability to create one’s own life. Sir Robinson says, “We all create our own lives through this restless process of imagining alternatives and possibilities, and what one of the roles of education is to awaken and develop these powers of creativity. ”  Creativity is not awakened through most ‘creative exercises.’ You cannot tell a child to sit at a desk with a pencil and paper and come up with something creative.  True creativity is based upon rich experiences and is awakened through freedom. Not through compliance.

Sir Robinson concludes his talk by encouraging us that, given the right conditions, life will flourish. It has to. It is like a dormant seed, waiting.

How Montessori Can Help Change the Climate of Education

Montessori education, for those who are not familiar, is a beautiful method developed by Dr. Maria Montessori nearly 100 years ago. It is based upon the philosophy that each child contains the seed of development within himself, and that this seed will flourish given the right environment.

Sounds a lot like what Sir Robinson was talking about, doesn’t it?

In fact, I believe that Montessori education fulfills perfectly the three requirements for the flourishing of life.

Montessori and Individuality

One of the first Montessori phrases you hear is, “follow the child.” What it means is, follow this child, observe this child, use your knowledge about human nature in general to help you attend to this child, right in front of you.  What interests him? What is she good at? How does he express himself? What seems to frustrate her?

Montessori lessons do follow a basic, brilliant plan, with the next lesson following the last in a particular order.  Yet it is up to the teacher to observe each child, to see when he is ready for each lesson, to present it in a way that is interesting to that child, and to suggest following exercises that he might like.  For example, the teacher sees that a child is ready for a lesson on non-phonetic words, or puzzle words.  The teacher can invite the child help choose a poem that interests her, and gives the lesson through a fun game involving the child and the poem.  If the child is competent with a pencil and paper, she can practice writing out the poem, if she wants. Or if she is not competent with a pencil and paper, she can use movable alphabet letters to spell out the new words she just learned. Or she she can simply look at the words in the poem.  It all depends on what that child is ready for.

Another way that Montessori education encourages individuality is through freedom.  A Montessori classroom is set up so that each child is free to choose his own work, provided he has been given a lesson on it.  Available work includes painting, mathematical games, books, hammering, sorting, spelling with the movable alphabet, molding clay, etc. This encourages the children to work on tasks that develop their own unique gifts.

Montessori and Curiosity

Another Montessori phrase is “invite the child.”  A Montessori classroom is designed to be as enticing as possible.  Each material is beautiful and in perfect condition. Each material is treated as if it were a treasure.  When giving a lesson, the teacher invites the child “to see something”, using expressions like, “I have something to show you.”  This piques the curiosity of the child: what could it be?

Many lessons give the child an introduction, or a key, to a world that is their’s to explore.  For example, the Botany cabinet shows the child several leaf shapes, and he is invited to trace them and work with them and explore them.  He is invited to look at the trees in his yard to see what shapes he finds in their leaves.  But they child is not given the name or shape of every single leaf in the world.  He is given just enough to interest him, and he is allowed the excitement of discovery when he finds that the leaves in his yard have a whole different shape than the leaves at school!

This joy in discovery is given space in every subject in the Montessori classroom.  In math, the child is allowed to discover the connection between addition and subtraction.  He is encouraged to read about whatever interests him.  The teacher never gives the answer, but she does give the key to find the answer.

Montessori and Creativity

I mentioned above that Dr. Montessori believes that each child creates himself.  He takes in what his environment offers him, and uses it to shape his personality and character.  If his environment is rich, he will have a wealth of experiences to draw upon.  If he is allowed to make choices, he will develop the will that he needs to draw upon these experiences, “to imagine alternatives and possibilities.”  It is this double team of reality and freedom that gives rise to creativity.

A Montessori environment surrounds the child with reality, in all its goodness.  There are colors, and smells, and textures.  The books are about real stories, real animals, real countries.  The child is invited to examine his surroundings, to act upon them, to draw similarities and notice distinctions.  These experiences stay with the child and shape the child, forming the base for imagination and creativity.

A Montessori environment also allows the child freedom.  Not freedom in the sense of ‘do whatever you want,’ but rather the freedom to make good choices, to choose between this lovely book and that interesting numbers game, to choose between apples and carrots for snack, to choose whether to join an activity or to watch.  By making choice after choice, the child develops his will and becomes more and more able to act consciously upon what he has absorbed from the environment.  And thus conscious creativity is born.

What are you looking for in your child’s education?  Have you experienced individuality, curiosity or true creativity in an educational setting?  How do you encourage growth in your school or home?

Let me know your thoughts or questions in the comments. I respond to each and every one!

Jean Marie