Montessori Philosophy

Why a Montessori Education?

A Montessori program is based on self-direction, non-competitive and cooperative activities that help a child develop a strong self-image, high levels of academic and social competence, and the confidence to face challenges with optimism. Encouraged to make decisions from an early age, Montessori educated children are problem solvers who can make appropriate choices, manage their time, and work iwth others. They exchnage ideas and discuss work freely. These positive communication shills build the foundations for negotiating new settings.

Montessori	Traditional School
Emphasis on cognitive and social development	Emphasis on rote learning and social behavior
Teacher has guiding role	Teacher controls classroom
Environment and method encourage self-discipline	Teacher acts as primary enforcer of discipline
Mainly individual instruction	Mainly group instruction
Mixed age groups	Small age groups
Grouping encourages children to teach and collaborate	Teaching is done by teacher and collaboration is discouraged
Child chooses own work	Curriculum structured for child
Child discovers own concepts from self-teaching materials	Child is guided to concepts by teacher
Child is allocated time to work on and complete lesson	Child generally allotted specific time for work
Child sets own learning pace	Instruction pace set by group
Child spots own errors from feedback of material	Errors in child's work highlighted by teacher
Child reinforces own learning by repetition of work and internal feelings of success	Learning is reinforced externally by repetition, rewards and punishments
Child can work where he/she chooses, move about and talk at will (yet not disturb work of others), and participate in group work voluntarily	Child usually assigned a seat and required to participate during group lessons
Multi-sensory materials for physical exploration organizes program for learning care of self and environment	No organized program for self-care instruction - left primarily up to parents

	Within the child lies the fate of the future. -Maria Montessori
	Montessori based her work on the belief that every child carries unseen within her or him the person s/he will become. To develop physically, spiritually (or emotionally, as we call it now), cognitively, and socially to the fullest, s/he must have freedom, within limits to create order and self-discipline. This is referred to as self-construction.
	Through her research, Dr. Maria Montessori developed what she called the prepared environment, one which is orderly, disposes the child to develop at her/his own speed, according to her/his own capacities, and is a noncompetitive atmosphere. In this environment, the child finds materials which are designed to encourage involvement in the care of self and the environment, refinement of the senses, integration of the language of her/his culture, manipulation of number systems, and interaction with others of her/his own and other cultures in appropriate manners. This ultimately frees the child to be creative and to take her/his proper place in her/his family, culture, and the world.
	Help me to do it by myself. -The Primary Child
	Although the child is free to explore, there are limits and structure to the environment as well. The materials are structured to help the child do things for her/himself and fully participate in the care of the prepared environment. Materials are limited in number, arranged in order of challenge on the shelf, and self-correcting. The teacher follows the child’s lead and decides when materials are appropriate and then invites the child to the materials either individually or in a small group as appropriate to her/his development and the material. After experiencing the materials as presented, the child may begin to invent new ways to manipulate the materials and use her/his creative powers to find new relationships.
	When the child is free to work in this way, Montessori called it spontaneous education; the child gradually learns to control her/himself to concentrate on exercises for extended periods of time in a tireless manner and when finished, feels great satisfaction. This is the work cycle that Montessori discovered when observing 3 – 6 year olds in her first Casa dei Bambini or Children’s House. This same cycle continues to be replicated across cultural and economic boundaries today.
	The Children’s House she founded nearly one hundred years ago is still thriving around the globe and is still progressive in its premise. It seeks to give the child the world on the child’s terms and to respect and support the natural development of the young child, while at the same time gently guiding the process. Ultimately, the education provided by the Children’s House aids the child in the construction of her/his unique self by inviting her/him to be more and more independent and self-motivated in her/his quest for learning. This gives the child confidence and lays a firm foundation for further learning and success. For more information on Montessori, visit http://www.montessori-ami.org/