A Montessori child is capable, independent, curious, able to take initiative and is academically strong. Montessori recognizes that children have an innate desire to learn, and what they require is an environment to enable that learning to take place.
Montessori scorned conventional classrooms, where “children, like butterflies mounted on pins, are fastened each to his place.” She sought, instead, to teach children by supplying concrete materials and organizing situations conducive to learning with these materials.
She discovered that certain simple materials aroused in young children an interest and attention not previously thought possible. These materials included beads arranged in graduated-number units for pre mathematics instruction; small slabs of wood designed to train the eye in left-to-right reading movements; and graduated series of cylinders for small-muscle training. Children between three and six years old would work spontaneously with these materials, indifferent to distraction, from a quarter of an hour to an hour. At the end of such a period, they would not seem tired, as after an enforced effort, but appeared refreshed and calm. Undisciplined children became settled through such voluntary work. The materials used were designed specifically to encourage individual rather than cooperative effort. Group activity occurred in connection with shared housekeeping chores.
The Secret of Childhood
There are moments where children are passionately occupied with certain activities as part of their development of self, observed Maria Montessori.
A little boy of 18 months has found a stack of newly ironed napkins in the living room.” Interesting”, he thinks. Carefully he takes the top napkin, cradling it with his hands so as not to disturb the folds and carries it across the room, and places it on the floor.” One”, he exclaims. Then, he returns to the stack of napkins, takes the next one, just as carefully, and places it on top of the first one.” One”, he says, again.
And he proceeds to move napkins, one by one, until all of them are piled up on the floor. Then he reverses the process, until all of the napkins are back on the table again. The pile is not as neat as the original one, but it is by no means a disaster.
The episode is described in the book “The Secret of Childhood” by the Italian reformer of pedagogy, Maria Montessori. In the book she characterizes the behavior of the little boy as the beginnings of performative actions which have no purpose as such, but which children go about – if they are allowed. Montessori describes them as “work projects” or “the working human’s first experiments”. She observes that there are moments where children are passionately occupied with certain activities as part of their development of self. In her opinion, it is a gross educational misdemeanor to prevent them from this experimental behavior.
No Rewards or Punishments
The pedagogy of Montessori rests on three main pillars. Firstly, the scientific method, which at this time was becoming more widely used within the realm of psychology. Secondly, an emphasis on the freedom and independence of the child. And thirdly, the development of the senses as an integral part of the learning process.
With regard to freedom, Montessori underlined that children need to have the possibility to express their spontaneous activities – of course with others. The development of each individual’s entire personality was also emphasized. “With respect to children, we must regard education as the active support we give to enhance their natural development. The child is a body that grows, and a soul that soars and these two parts have the same origins – life itself”. In Montessori’s view, the insistence on freedom is not in contradiction to discipline. On the contrary, discipline is achieved through freedom because “our goal is to use discipline to promote activity, work and everything good – not to immobility, passivity and obedience.
Therefore, rewards and punishment were not present in Montessori’s school. In her experience, the children were capable of applying spontaneous self-discipline, just like they had the ability to concentrate themselves about tasks and preferred repetitions.
Sensitive Periods and Training of the Senses
On this background, Maria Montessori developed the principles of the child’s “sensitive periods”, periods where the child is passionate about a certain activity. For example, she noticed that children from the age of 12 months and up to three of four years of age have a special sense of order. Two-year-old’s have a special sensitivity towards language which lasts for an extended period of time. In her work with special needs children Montessori had very good results with training the children’s senses, and she transferred these experiences to the work in her “Children’s House”. She created a range of educational materials that could help children learn to distinguish between different colors, shapes and surfaces while at the same time being self-correcting, thus giving children the possibility to teach themselves.
Most famous are probably the wooden cylinders that need to be placed in the correct sockets in a wooden block, which will let the child know straight away if the task has been solved correctly.
Work and Play
Maria Montessori has often been compared with the German educator Friedrich. Frobel, who died in 1852, and there are also many similarities in their views on child rearing and education.
Frobel regarded children’s play as creative work and the foundations for education, while Montessori emphasized children’s work processes and the intellect. Montessori’s ideas aroused enthusiasm in wide circles but were also criticized in others. This didn’t bother her much, though. As she said:“If I am going up a ladder, and a dog begins to bite at my ankles, I can do one of two things – either turn round and kick it, or simply keep on climbing. I prefer to climb.” Maria Montessori’s ideas about pedagogy and early childhood education have had a huge impact on the way pre-school children are taught today. There are many Montessori schools worldwide.