Dr. Maria Montessori left a long legacy, one that someone could study for a lifetime and still not know everything. If you were to ask Dr. Maria Montessori whether she had created a pedagogy she would staunchly disagree, arguing that she merely listened to the child, and began a movement of observation informed service to the child. Dr. Maria Montessori opened her first school, Casa Dei Bambini in 1907, serving a forgotten demographic (Standing, 1998, p. 133). Experiencing both poverty and requiring special education, the children she taught in her first school were orphans from an “insane asylum” (Standing, 1998, p. 134). Dr. Maria Montessori would die in 1952, but her legacy would live on through her son, Mario Montessori (Standing, 1998, p. 134). In 1966 a woman by the name of Nancy Rambusch met Mario Montessori and went on to bring an explosion of Montessori schools to the American public, starting the American Montessori Society and eventually the Xavier University Montessori Teacher Education Program, the first Montessori Teacher Education Program in the United States. As the movement continues, Montessori educators around the world strive to carry her torch.
Dr. Montessori established a broader conceptualization of human development as well as a more idiosyncratic one. It is believed by Dr. Montessori that there are four planes of development: Infancy from 0-6 years old, Childhood from 6-12 years old, Adolescence from 12-18 years old, and Maturity, which is anything beyond 18 years of age (McDermott, 2011). Within each plane or “season” there were times of progression and times of regression. She believed that each plane lasted 6 years, and that the first three years followed a line of progression, the second three years following a line of regression (McDermott, 2011). The first three planes are referred to also as the first, second, and third stages. Each stage is further broken into two sects which mirror the lines of progression and regression (McDermott, 2011). During the first stage, a period of transformation, the sect from 0-3 years old is referred to as the Absorbent Mind (unconscious) and from 3-6 as the Absorbent Mind (conscious) (Standing, 1998, p. 108). The Absorbent mind is the time in which the child is constantly taking in and being neurologically molded by the environment. During the second stage, a period of uniform growth, there is only one sect from 6-12, and it is known as the intermediate period or childhood. The third stage, another period of transformation, is split between puberty from 12-15 years and adolescence from 15-18 years (Standing, 1998, p. 108). Dr. Maria Montessori believed that after 18 there is no longer any transformation, the individual simply becomes older (Standing, 1998, p. 108). It is important to note here that the Montessori classroom is multi-age, and each classroom holds children for a three-year cycle. The cycles mirror the three-year sects previously stated. In addition to her study of the planes of development, Dr. Maria Montessori asserted that there were sensitive periods in which a child was most apt to acquire a certain skill and would become wholly fixated on it if only they were allowed by the environment to do so. It is our responsibility as educators to prepare an environment readily at the disposal of children interested in practicing these sensitivities. Dr. Montessori asserted that there is a great and perfect inner teacher within the child. Despite general trends, each child becomes sensitive to certain things at their own pace. Montessori educators are asked to be great observers, patiently waiting to be called so as not to disrupt the sensitive inner teacher steadily working inside of the child with a much keener sense for the child than we have. Infancy occurs from age 0-6. From birth to 3 “the child has a type of mind that an adult cannot approach” (Montessori, 1995, p. 30). In this stage, the unconscious mind is formed by the environment and impressions shape the newborn brain, “impressions do not merely enter his mind, they form it” (Montessori, 1995, p. 36). Where in ages 0-3 “the child absorbed his world through his unconscious intelligence, merely by being moved around in it, now” in ages 3-6, “he takes in consciously, using his hands (Standing, 1998, p. 112). The absorption of language and other knowledge occurs primarily through the senses as a means of interacting with the environment. Infants hold within them an instinctual creativity which makes them adept at “building up a psychic world at the expense of his environment” (Montessori, 1936, p. 37). Furthermore, the mother does not teach her child to talk, walk, or speak, “it is not the mother, but the child himself who spontaneously does these things” (Montessori, 1946, p. 3). For example, the language environment in the 3-6 classroom prepares the child for that explosion into language and harnessing that great potential for group works in the next plane. Sensitive periods of order, refinement of movement, language, refinement of the sense, sensitivity to small objects, grace/courtesy, aesthetics, independence, and concentration occur in this time period. Childhood occurs from ages 6-12. By ages 6-12, the child is mentally “in a state of health, strength, and assured stability” (Montessori, 1995, p. 30). In this stage, direct help impedes growth. Although the child is ready for instruction and impressionable by adult interaction, it is most advantageous to step back and allow the child to interact with the prepared environment. Where the stage of infancy contained growth with transformation, ages 6-12 exhibit growth without much transformation. The new growth of the child nods a directress towards informing her instruction by her students’ developmental stages. “Successive levels of education must correspond to the successive personalities of the child” (Montessori, 1973, p. 1). This second level of education which occurs from 7-12 includes a “veritable metamorphosis” (Montessori, 1973, p. 2). Sensitive periods of cosmic order, moral order, analytical thinking, peer or herding association (social) occur in this time period. Next, adolescence occurs from age 12-18. Dr. Montessori describes this stage as “a period of so much change as to remind me of the first” (Montessori, 1995, p. 30). This stage includes “the creation of a socially conscious individual” (Standing, 1998, p. 116). This third level of education, the period of adolescence, includes “all these traits – physical as much as psychic – constitute the links of the chain which is the metamorphosis of the child” (Montessori, 1973, p. 2). Finally, maturity occurs from age 18-death. After 18, a human is “fully developed, and no further marked changes occur in him. He grows only in age” (Montessori, 1995, p. 30). Where the child was constantly changing, the adult has “reached the norm of the species” (Montessori, qtd. in Standing, 1998, p. 106). While the child’s mind may be unconscious, whereas the adult’s mind conscious, it is not to imply that an unconscious mind is an inferior mind. There is no more transformation in this period, only aging. Adults may find that if a sensitive period was missed in their childhood that they are missing certain essential developments and understandings. Adulthood or maturity is the culmination of the stages in which we can examine the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of younger instruction. Maximizing the growth which occurs in the sensitive periods of earlier stages, as is suggested by Joosten, ensures a well-rounded adult. This time period is characterized by a sense of calm and spiritual and moral independence. Understanding the development of the child informed the way Dr. Montessori prepared her beautiful learning environment. In older models, education was a transferring of information from teacher to student directly, with little to no independence or deep learning for the child. However, due to Dr. Montessori’s understanding that “the immense influence that education can exert through children, has the environment for its instrument, for the child absorbs his environment, takes everything from it, and incarnates it in himself,” she has enlisted a third factor of education: The Prepared Environment (Montessori, 1995, p. 74). A prepared environment frees the child from any and all obstacles to learning (including too much adult interference), rendering the child independent, and “is dedicated to him” (Montessori, 1995, p. 169). The room is dedicated to the child in its child-sized nature, with low windows with bright curtains, small painted tables light enough for the child to move themselves, short stairs which children can independently climb, and aesthetically beautiful materials which speak to the child’s sense of order. The relationship between the child and the environment, therefore, is one in which “our education system esteems a child’s environment so highly that it makes it the center of instruction” (Montessori, 1936, p. 60). This prepared environment protects the spiritual embryo of the child. Children have a desire and need for order at every level and feel a strong pull towards the aesthetic quality of organized materials and recognize the careful patterns of the universe. Students deprived of order may develop defects of character. Children are interested in the lessons, watching carefully as the directress moves precisely and slowly setting out the beautiful material from top to bottom and left to right. The essential role of the teacher is to create a beautifully prepared environment and to continually restore it to its perfection and beauty, involving the children it this restoration whenever possible. This functional independence derived from the prepared environment comes from a classroom that is accessible to the child and is constructed with them in mind. With this concept in mind “it is essential to prepare the environment for children, and to give them that freedom wherein the soul can expand its powers” (Montessori, 1946, p. 54). The prepared environment in which the child requires no adult intervention leads to the classroom hum and flow of the community steadily working towards the task of self-improvement. This desire for order is found fluently throughout the materials, from the careful methodology of laying out and putting away materials to the pleasant simplicity of the shelves. Uninhibited by a directress, a child’s sense that they are the owner and maintainer of order and functionality of their environment formulates life-long self-determination. Montessori “education has its primary aim at the discovery and freeing of the child” (Montessori, 1936, p. 110). No longer is the child expected to be confined to the chair or the knowledge within the teacher, as this is not effective. Rather, “…the child must learn by his own individual activity, being given a mental freedom to take what he needs, and not to be questioned in his choice” (Montessori, 1989, p. 7). The prepared environment frees the child and allows for maturation to occur through environmental experience. The prepared environment scaffolds the child from one Zone of Proximal Development to the next. “We serve the future by protecting the present,” our care of a current period ensures the success of the next (Montessori, p. 194, 1995). Perhaps most important to the prepared environment is that it allows the child to begin in the concrete before moving to the hypothetical in learning, all with an exactness and a sense of order which serves the child’s sensitivity for aesthetics and preciseness in early childhood. We must ensure that the child’s development is guarded, “this psychic embryo needs protection in order to develop properly-a calm, ordered environment and the right mental nourishment” (Standing, 1998, p. 268). This prepared environment frees the child and prepares them to enter into the world more resilient, independent, and well equipped to organize new information. Furthermore, all areas of the Montessori environment support all other areas of development. These areas include practical life, sensorial, math, science, art, and cultural. Each area, although seemingly disconnected, beautifully flow and scaffold each other, preparing the child for every aspect of their intelligence. The direct aim of the language environment is “to support the development of language during the period of the absorbent mind” (Dahlmeier, 1993). The area of Practical Life is concerned with order, sequence, fine motor development, left-right movement, concentration, independence, and coordination (Roth, 2018) (Dahlmeier, 1993). The area with Sensorial works is directly concerned with refinement of the senses, visual and sound discrimination, vocabulary related to attributes, and understanding contrasts and patterns (Roth, 2018) (Dahlmeier, 1993). The math curriculum is concerned with concrete learning bridging to abstract thinking, one-one correspondence, math as its own language universally, and a love for learning (Roth, 2018) (Dahlmeier, 1993). Science, art, and cultural shelves are rich with literature, storytelling, music, and creativity (Roth, 2018). The overarching universal beliefs of the Montessori classroom and her careful attention to the universality of things flows throughout all subjects and connects the interrelatedness of the world in a physical, visual, interactive way. Understanding the intersectionality and interdependence of broad topics leads to understanding and peace because children learn to make room for multiple truths. “What is generally meant by the word peace is the cessation of war. But this negative concept is not an adequate description of genuine peace” rather peace is a concrete idea which requires action steps for its attainment (Montessori, 1972, p.4). For Dr. Montessori, “…establishing peace is the work of education” (Montessori, 1972, p. 30). Education radically changes systems by removing their concept from the brains of children, who, unclogged by prejudice, are empowered to visualize solutions previously unimaginable. As a result of her observations and the historical moment she was in, Dr. Montessori has been accredited as the inventor not only of child sized chairs and special education, but of peace education and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace prize (Standing, 1998, p. 107). Dr. Montessori’s peace education pedagogy offers unique methodology for enriching and maintaining the spirituality of the child. The key difference between Montessori and other educational philosophers is that “we believe that experiences of wonder are not taught but caught; they can be awakened and affirmed” (Roth & Thomas, 2013, p. 356). When children have spiritual awakenings and experiences it is essential that educators honor them. The spirit of the child is nurtured in the Prepared Environment because it is free to flow. It leaves room for diversity of thought, spontaneous activity, and spirituality. This environment also leads to synthesis. Dr. Montessori observed sudden connections and sparks of interest in children. She referred to these moments as Spontaneous Activity. The Prepared Environment with an integration of subjects allows for this Spontaneous Activity. Spontaneous Activity is often the precise moment when the child reveals their heart at the exact same time they are sensitive to a particular subject. It is the intersection between the special tendencies and universal sensitive periods which entices children towards spontaneous activity. Similar, yet distinct from impulse, it is an undeniably human urge for creation and connection, it is the precise moment of inspiration towards synthesis and extension. The child becomes aware of the world surrounding them and has been raised in a social environment which promoted exploration with healthy limitation of choice such that the prepared environment becomes mastered by the child in a new way, a spark of imagination and splendor as correctly applied to the faculty of education. Spontaneous Activity cannot occur without an environment prepared with the necessary supplies. Dr. Montessori was highly scientific and pragmatic, given her background as a medical doctor. For Dr. Maria Montessori, observation informed her work, rather than having her work inform her observation. She would watch how the children reacted to the world around them and sculpt a universe best suited for their curiosities and tendencies. Most importantly, she abandoned preconceived ideas and allowed the children to present whatever truth they brought into the room. After having children swarm her to feel the texture of her clothing one day, Dr. Montessori, “stood in still and silent admiration of this spontaneous activity of the children” (Montessori, 1967, p. 168). Dr. Montessori invented a style of education which was informed by observation and served the needs of the child. Dr. Montessori found that children were attracted to manipulative objects and developed didactic Montessori materials. The materials have aesthetic beauty and entice the child by playing on their sensitive periods. The materials root abstract concepts in physical reality by producing a real way for them to be seen, carried, touched, or smelled. Although we expect the child to be inwardly motivated towards this spontaneous activity, “if the children do not reveal a desire to work spontaneously the fault lies not in the children but in the manner of presenting the subjects to be studied” (Standing, 1998, p. 90). It is a directresses job to include some theatrics when enticing the child to a work, leveraging personal connection and enticement for the bridging between the child and the material. This is where the directress is that essential link between the child and the environment. She models, by use of the hand, the pleasantries of interacting with the environment and the materials. The goal of the Montessori educator in all things is to bow humbly before the needs of the child. Didactic materials as a means of instruction serve the whole child. The consequences of the hand on learning are vast and infinitely positive. The hand not only roots concepts in reality but empowers the learner to manipulate and own their intellectual worlds. Dr. Montessori discovered that “children show a great attachment to the abstract subjects when they arrive at them through manual activity” (Montessori, 1989, p. 13). Through observation of the child Dr. Montessori discovered the power of the hand as quintessential to the nature of the child. Despite the fact that “…our brains evolved in a world in which we move and do, not in a world in which we sit at desks and consider abstractions” many traditional schools isolate portions of the child and ask children to learn in that very environment (Lilliard, 2005, p. 30). The allowance of movement, particularly of the hand beyond writing, accounts for the child’s sensitive periods for sensation and small objects. To ignore the hand is to ignore its use for reception and expression of intelligence in a powerful, non-verbal way. The hand, as the primary tool of the brain, is inextricably linked to functional independence. The hand facilitates the intake and expression of knowledge and human story. The story that we allow children to construct for themselves creates a powerful inner narrative. As educators, it is paramount that we create environments which physically empower children as the absorption of the environment is forming the brain. The Montessori classroom which nurtures the child’s inner desire for autonomy and mastering of the environment is missing the mark without the inclusion of the hand as essential instrument for grasping the world around them. This inclusion of the full body acts on the Jesuit Value of Cura Personalis, caring for the entire child and promoting holistic education. The result of building up a mental world for the child within which they see themselves as empowered learners is their long-term self-conceptualization as a determined and resilient learner and powerful communal leader. In short, the hand and functional independence work together beautifully in the Montessori classroom. Before, during, and after presenting a lesson, it is essential that the Montessori Directress observe and serve the child. Assessment is an essential part of any classroom. It informs the educator on where the students are so that they can help them get where they need to be. It helps gage where they are in relation to the zone of proximal development and how effective certain instruction was. It gives the directress observational tools for informing and developing adaptation. Assessment is that essential element of an educator pausing and reflecting before continuing blindly. However, in early childhood Montessori environments you will rarely see tests, quizzes, worksheets, or homework. Instead, you will hear the hallmarks of the three-period lesson. Already embedded into the Montessori pedagogy is the three-period lesson. The three-period lesson is the vocabulary used to describe the three steps a Montessori educator uses when introducing a new lesson or concept. Naming is the first step. In this step you point to the object and name it (i.e. “This is a cat”). The second period involves recognizing. Most of the learning happens here. A neural pathway is built connecting images to their names Here the child engages both body and mind when responding to a demand (i.e. “Show me the cat”). The final period is one of remembering. In this period, you would point to an object and request that the child name it. This challenges child to use their memory to produce the name (i.e. “What is this?”). The three-period lesson structure naturally embeds assessment into the cycle of a lesson. If a child indicates through expression of knowledge that there is a gap in the understanding then the educator would remain at that period for a longer time, repeating the correct instruction rather than critiquing the improper understanding on the part of the child. This honors the child on their journey and celebrates approximation. The focus is on the process, never the result or accuracy. This natural progression follows the child on the development from introduction to mastery of concepts. Other assessments are still utilized in Montessori classrooms, however, and many are required by the state. The essential role of assessment is still clear to the Montessorian, but the structure of that assessment has flexibility in a Montessori environment. The role of the teacher in a Montessori environment is unique. Claims from Dr. Montessori that directresses should be able to leave the room and it function entirely without her there may lead an uninformed outsider to believe that the role of the directress is simple. I once had a child tell me that being a Montessori teacher is easy because all you do is “look around and make sure everyone is happy.” What the child failed to recognize was the great work of preparation which was done by the directress before entering the classroom. The role of the teacher morphs during different stages of development. In the first stage the teacher is the guardian and custodian of the environment. The teacher is to concentrate on the environment instead of the problem child, as the environment is their cure. In the second stage, the teacher must deal with children who are still disorderly and help children with aimlessly wandering minds to find a work which will fulfill their need for work and help them focus. Finally, once the child’s interest is aroused the teacher is to withdraw to the background. This is tricky and “mistakes are often made here, as for instance by uttering an encouraging “good,” in passing a hither to a naughty child, who at last is concentrating on some work. Such well-meant praise is enough to do damage; the child will not look at work again for weeks” (Montessori, p. 68, 1946). Although the environment should be prepared such that the directress can step out of the way and provide as much Functional Independence as possible, “…without a trained directress, the prepared environment would be useless … she is who must make it alive. She is the “dynamic link” between the children and the environment” (Standing, 1998, p. 276). It is my job to promote the intrinsic joy of learning and capitalize on moments of spontaneous activity in the classroom, preparing the environment to have all of the materials necessary inside of it. Dr. Montessori asserted the importance of the transformation of the teacher. The transformation of the teacher is the process by which one learns to let go of control of the classroom and trust the process and flow which will derive from a well-prepared environment. It is learning to sit on your hands and allow children to grow and develop. “The teacher requires a special preparation, because it is not logic that can solve the child’s problems…the child takes from the environment rather than from the teacher” asserts Dr. Montessori, the teacher needs “only to stand by, to serve when called” (Montessori, 1946, p. 56). Certain intervention may take place, but it is ultimately the observation which informs instruction, and not two separate phenomena. If we are to free the child, we must first free the child from ourselves. Many educators look to sculpt children rather than create space within which children are capable of sculpting themselves. It is assumed by many educators that they play an essential role in revealing what is true to children, but the reality is that the faculty for the reception of truth is within a child and truth will naturally reveal itself when the child is ready, if only the child is within the correct context. A Montessori environment is the perfect context for this to occur within. It is the directress’ role, then, to maintain this perfect environment. In our role as observer, it is revealed to us that “the new education has its primary aim the discovery and freeing of the child” (Montessori, 1936, p. 110). The ultimate goal, therefore, is to watch children “acting by themselves and making progress” (Montessori, 1936, p. 111). Dr. Montessori asks us to abandon our presuppositions about children and the world, refusing to project this onto our classroom or our children, and to give the children what they need, which is order and control. The role of the teacher is to prepare the environment. The role of the observer, however, is to collect data to inform the preparation of the environment. It is the child’s inner teacher who will do all the rest. The underlying belief which defines Montessori Philosophy is that children have value and are naturally inclined to learn without overwhelming teacher intervention. Dr. Maria Montessori defined education’s role in the historical moment of WWII. In a time of turmoil, Dr. Maria Montessori looked to the child to serve as the great seed of hope for humanity, asserting that “if salvation and help are to come, it is from the child” (Montessori, 1946, p.1). She listened for the child to reveal their own development, prepared an environment with didactic materials to serve their needs and desires, serving the whole child and redefining the role of the educator for decades to come. Resources Dahlmeier, C. (1993). All Areas of the Montessori 3-6 Environment. Cincinnati, OH., Xavier University Montessori Teacher Education Program. Lilliard, A.S. (2005). Montessori: The Science behind the Genius. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. McDermott, M. (2011). Four Planes of Development. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/19437369 Montessori, M., & Carter, B. B. (1936). The Secret of Childhood. London: Longmans, Green and Co. Montessori, M. (1946). Education for A New World. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Montessori-Pierson Publishing Company. Montessori, M. (1967). The Discovery of the Child. Notre Dame, Ind., Fides Publishers. Montessori, M. (1973). From Childhood to Adolescence. New York: Schocken Books. Montessori, Maria, 1870-1952. (1989). To Educate the Human Potential. Oxford: Clio. Montessori, M. (1995). The Absorbent Mind. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, Inc. Roth, L., & Thomas, T. (2013). Spirit books: promoting conversation with picture books. International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 18(4), 351-368. Roth, L. (2018). 3-6 Language Rationale [PowerPoint slides]. Standing, E. M. (1998). Maria Montessori, her life and work. New York: Plume.
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AuthorHi! My name is Brittany Wells, and I am a Montessori 6-9 major. I was born and raised in Cincinnati and attended Xavier University Montessori Lab School, Mercy Montessori, McAuley High School, and now Xavier University! Archives
May 2020
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