Maria Montessori Philosophy
Maria Montessori philosophy.
A special place in the Montessori system occupying teacher or educator has to be specially prepared. Montessori group’s educator has a very different role than a traditional school.
Montessori educators' task is not to teach, but to lead the child's self-education: to promote the spread of child's inherent powers and create prepared education environment. The main Montessori requirement - the child has to think himself, incurring the least possible foreign influence. Teacher has to be restrained and not to interfere in the child's activities. Her tasks are: to prepare the environment and properly supervise - ensure that educational tools are sorted, tidy, clean, that each set is full and placed in the right place.
Do not blame the child, but also not to rush to praise him;
It is important not to impose the performance to a child, but allow himself to choose;
Allow the child to act independently in order to deliberate learning;
Must not to teach child, but encourage, lead and help him;
M. Montessori child’s mind compared with a sponge. She believed that children have absorbent mind, they consciously soak up information from environment. She believed that first 6 years of child’s life is very important for learning.
Individual, self-learning principle is achieved by creating the conditions for children freely choose the educational material, partners, time and location;
Children can learn by themselves, cos teaching materials has self-correcting option, so children don’t need a teacher to correct them, if they do mistake, they can see it, and correct it by themselves. Environment is also encouraging children to work independently. Shelves are opened, at child’s level, so child can go and to choose which educational materials he wants to use.
M. Montessori schools are celebrating Christmas, St. Patrick ’s Day. They also recognize and celebrate other cultures, and religions festivals: Chinese New Year, Diwali and etc.
Practical life exercises can be both, visible and invisible; if child learns how to sweep the floor visible curriculum would be how to sweep floor, how to use brush, and invisible curriculum would be that child will learn about hygiene.
Work for children is very unlike the work for adults. Children use environment to improve themselves; adults use themselves to improve environment.
Children work for sake off process, adults work to achieve results.
(Lilard Polk, Paula (1972) Montessori a Modern Aproach, New York: Schocken Books)
Montessori believed that children very quickly get bored with pretend play. She emphasizes the importance of work in education; she believed that children learn from work, from experience. She said that children have not to play with pretend toys, but they have to work with real tools.
M. Montessori believes that art can not only teach, but also to heal. It adjusts what is unbalanced in the development process, gives the opportunity to fill the resulting gaps. Drawing, painting, molding child become proficient to recognize shapes, geometric figures. All this helps him to create artistic image, develops his creative imagination. Child touching the world of art becomes more sensitive to the environment and people.
