Dr. Maria Montessori was the first female physician in Italy. She began working with special needs children in an apartment complex soon after graduating. She found that by giving these children simple tasks to do they became more focused and not so “special” needs any more.
Dr. Montessori developed a very hands on, instinctual method of teaching children that has been popular all over the world for more than one hundred years, including here in the United States.
Montessori’s main philosophy about teaching was “follow the child” meaning that we are to let the child guide us into what they would like to learn, for example, in the Pre primary classrooms (ages 3-6) the main area of work is an area referred to as “practical life/sensorial” It primarily consists of scrubbing tables, washing dishes, pouring, sweeping, wiping, dressing boards, and taking care of dolls. (though the possibilities are endless, really, for practical life works) Even as young as three, a child has the ability, and the need, to do and have meaningful work.
“Freedom within limits” was another very large part of Dr. Montessori’s philosophy in teaching. Basically, freedom within limits refers to the notion that children should be free to do what they’d like in the classroom within the limits the directress has set for them, meaning a directress will give a child a set amount of things that s/he would like them to do for the day, but then allows them to have the freedom to do whatever they’d like (work wise) for the rest of their day.
Montessori education, until fairly recently, was really only popular for the Pre Primary age, however, most schools now have a Primary and/or Primary Elementary program (6-9/6-12) and a few schools even have Middle and High schools (refered to as “Erdkinder” programs)
The multi age span in the classroom allows for the individual child to work at their own pace and still finish the three year curriculum that is set by the school.
The Montessori method of teaching focuses on the process of learning, rather than the end result. Many a new parent in a Montessori classroom has had to get used to the fact that their child may not necessarily have a “finished product” when it comes to their work, rather they may have five or six versions of it, that upon further inspections gets closer and closer to perfection as they reach the end of their lessons.
Dr. Montessori felt that learning should begin at home; that a parent was their child’s first teacher. Many Montessorians feel that Montessori philosophy should be carried out throughout all areas of a childs’ life, not just in their school settings. Many Montessori schools focus on parent education almost as strongly as the child’s education, because without a proper foundation, a child’s education will surely not be as strong as it should be.
