Children

What is the Montessori Method: explanation and useful ideas

Unleash the children, indulge them: they run outside, let them run when it rains, they take off their shoes when they find puddles of water and when the grass in the meadows is damp with frost they resort to their bare feet to trample it: they rest peacefully when the tree invites them to fall asleep in its shadow ”
Maria Montessori, “ The method of scientific pedagogy applied to childhood education ”.

On how many occasions related to childhood do we hear the name of Maria Montessori pronounced , and to how many games, activities, projects, is the adjective ” Montessori ” applied?

The name of Maria Montessori has often become synonymous with a hallmark of quality. Sometimes it is applied inappropriately as a false label and often without knowing the profound meaning that motivates the educational proposal of a woman who has literally revolutionized pedagogy  gaining acclaim and admiration from the greatest exponents of the twentieth century such as Ghandi, Freud, Tagore, Marconi, Piaget, Edison, Herriot, Masaryk, Adenauer and many others.

When Maria Montessori founded the first ” Casa dei Bambini ” in San Lorenzo in Rome in 1907, she was already known in Italy not only for being among the first women graduates in medicine but for her feminist struggles (she represented Italy at the Congress of Berlin in 1886 denouncing the wage inequality between men and women) and for the fervent commitment in favor of handicapped children.

During his first specialization, the method of scientific pedagogy was welcomed with enormous enthusiasm and translated into numerous languages: for the first time someone observed the child with new eyes , returning a totally different image, indicating a method suitable for his harmonious development and demonstrating the incredible predisposition to learning of the little ones with results that are nothing short of surprising.

Another phenomenon that aroused the interest of world public opinion was that of observing a group of children engaged in activities that they had freely chosen , in a serene but concentrated climate of fruitful collaboration.

Schools that adopt the Montessori Method

Today there are 22,000 Montessori schools of all levels in the world : nurseries, nursery schools, elementary schools, middle schools and high schools.

Confirming the worldwide success of the Montessori Method, schools are much more widespread in other European countries and on other continents than in Italy.

Maria Montessori: the importance of children’s freedom

Montessori’s worldwide fame is linked to its revolutionary ideas on the social role of adults and children, their mutual relationships and its innovative schools also from the point of view of teaching and tools.

True education , according to Montessori, ” is not that imparted by the teacher, but it is a natural process that takes place spontaneously in the individual , and is acquired not by listening to words, but through direct experience of the surrounding world.

The teacher’s task is therefore to prepare a series of ideas and incentives for cultural activity, distributed in an expressly prepared environment, and then to abstain from any direct or too intrusive intervention.

The masters can do nothing but watch the great work being done before their eyes, as the servants help the master. In doing so they will assist in the development of the human soul .

What does it mean to “do it yourself”

Montessori pedagogy sees in the child an individual to all intents and purposes to be supported in the path of autonomy by welcoming and supporting his drive to ” do it alone ” and supports him in many ways:

  • guides him in understanding the world
  • encourages him to take care of himself , to respect other people and the surrounding environment
  • it provides him with the tools appropriate to his age to experiment , concentrate and work with his hands
  • puts at his disposal the material and the environment suitable for him

Clear gazes, laughing eyes, rummaging hands, legs ready to spring, amazement intact: little sponges eager for knowledge. Tireless dispensers of enthusiasm and energy, this and much more are children.

So, let them do it on their own time. Let’s take a step back.

Let us be guided. Let’s get infected by the wonderful purity of their gaze and let them experience their emotions without interfering.

Montessori method: respect for the desire for autonomy

The Montessori educational project sees the harmonious formation of the person by promoting the acquisition of the child’s safety, respect for himself and for others .

Precisely through observation, Montessori has found a way to help the little ones, with adequate means along the road to development.

It supports him in the first approaches with peers , helping him in the positive and constructive resolution of conflicts , in carrying out freely chosen activities, in taking an interest in school activities.

The child observes us and asks to do like us , to experiment, to try.

Montessori pedagogy responds to this authentic and profound need by placing the child in the place he deserves, at the center, without however transforming him into a small ruler, with a significant revision and rethinking of the role of the adult, who must in no way consider the child like a piece of modeling clay in his hands .

On the contrary, the educator’s task is precisely to stop one step back. To capture and channel energy and creativity into positive, constructive and valuable proposals, welcoming the child for what they are, respecting their character and nature,

The child gradually becomes more and more aware of himself and of his role in the community: cleverly arranged furnishings will favor his every free choice, which however will be followed by a tidying up activity.

In fact, the little ones are invited not only to maintain order in the environment, but to treat the materials with care: even freedom has precise boundaries and its limit is precisely the interest of the community .

Freedom, commitment and respect for oneself and one’s neighbor are the cardinal principles of Montessori pedagogy. Only empathetic and loving adults will be able to convey to the child love and that indispensable self-confidence that will accompany him on the journey of life.

Dr Kathryn Barlow

Kathryn Barlow is an OB/GYN doctor, which is the medical specialty that deals with the care of women's reproductive health, including pregnancy and childbirth.

Obstetricians provide care to women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while gynecologists focus on the health of the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and breasts. OB/GYN doctors are trained to provide medical and surgical care for a wide range of conditions related to women's reproductive health.

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