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The Montessori Method
THE MONTESSORI SCIENTIFIC PEDAGOGY AS APPLIED TO CHILD EDUCATION IN "THE CHILDREN'S HOUSES"Includes illustrations and a linked table of contents for easy navigation.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1909
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About the author
Maria Montessori
558 books695 followersMaria Montessori was an Italian physician, educator, philosopher, humanitarian and devout Catholic; she is best known for her philosophy and the Montessori method of education of children from birth to adolescence. Her educational method is in use today in a number of public as well as private schools throughout the world.
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June 5, 2014
Some thoughts. Warning: words ahead.
The gist of the philosophy maintains that a child learns best when he explores the lessons at his own pace. To avoid tiring out a teacher with a class size of more than three, she uses didactic materials not only designed to let the child figure it out on his own (they are self-correcting), but also sparks a child’s interest based on his personal stage of development: sandpaper cutouts to stimulate tactile exploration, coloured counting sticks for visual interest, insets and frames that only fit together a certain way.
She maintains that a teacher (renamed a “directress” in her schools) should spend most of her energy observing the children, and should only intervene if a child is asking for her or when the children are behaving in non-constructive ways.
To her, discipline is achieved when a child slowly learns the self-satisfaction of doing self-discipline-y things, like practising being still, being careful, and colouring within the lines. Obedience through timidity and docility is not prized, but obedience through self-discipline is.
Her school system is surprisingly strict. She forbids her Montessori schools to deviate, though in her paper she mentions her pupils have created new versions of her didactic materials as well, so I’m not sure to what extent one is allowed to improve (or “improve”) upon her methods before she kicks them out.
The chief criticisms from William Kilpatrick, a contemporary progressive teacher from the US, are: Montessori fails to give any focus on group work, and that imaginative play is discouraged. Children in her schools are typically working solo, or perhaps working in parallel in groups, but not in collaboration with each other. There is also little to no story time and dramatization is non-existent. It seems Montessori, a scientist herself, designed a school to churn out little scientists and engineers (if pragmatism and lack of imagination are the hallmarks of your run-of-the-mill nerds and geers) but few artists.
He also criticises her observational methods and basically disagrees with her data, asserting that children need more stimulation than is provided by the Montessori method, even though Montessori claims to base her exercises and lessons on observing what children need. I can’t speak to this because I haven’t seen the data, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a bit biased for the particular situation in pre-Mussolini Rome.
I haven’t read much about what others think of Montessori.
The gist-of-the-gist is that Montessori wants to help children develop into awesome adult humans, whereas the traditional method (and other methods) seems to be quite concerned with children “knowing things.” Even Kilpatrick says: “She says the ‘aim is not that the child shall know colors, forms, and the different qualities of objects.’ We say that the aim is exactly that he may know such things, and we don’t care about his getting any sense training outside of this.” (276)
I also have a few questions in my head.
What is liberty? She stresses that liberty is not to be confused with mindless spontaneity — liberty is only useful within a prepared environment. Somehow she has come to the conclusion that certain activities are useful, and others are not. She has created her didactic materials in accordance: frames with buttons and ribbons to be laced up and undone, mimicking their clothing, little basins for washing hands and dishes, sticks and blocks coloured and marked for teaching arithmetic.
I think her designs are clever, but according to Kilpatrick, playing with them (i.e. not using them for their intended purposes) is “strictly forbidden.” (275) Montessori seems to have a pretty narrow idea of “usefulness.” So if her idea of liberty is restricted to the realm of what she thinks is useful, that’s a pretty narrow field of liberty indeed.
Also, what is useful and, really, healthy for a child in one culture might be radically different from another, or even vary from child to child. Many cats enjoy exploring outdoors and hunting their own food — liberty! — but most cats in the city will benefit from being indoors-only due to stupid drivers and so on.
She writes of behaviours which are either good or evil and that language really bothers me. My belief is that children various needs at various times; they are all valid, all universal. There is no use to maintaining a concrete list of these, just as there is no use to create a “universal” method of education — what works for this child might not work for another.
It could be that some are more common than others, and at some level, some needs are more universal: access to food and clean water, safety, etc.. But maybe I’m now splitting hairs and it doesn’t really matter to the education of the majority of children. As an aside: can we speak of a child’s “essence” or “spirit” without going into woo-woo language having to do with supernatural things? Does science understand talent and passion enough?
A lot of it might just be the text being outdated; she frequently refers to “idiots” and “deficients” versus “normal” children, which will raise some eyebrows in today’s language.
However, I take issue when she equates moving quietly, gracefully with moving correctly. I guess one could argue that even if one chooses to make noise and run about wildly, she should do so with intent and should learn the quiet and graceful way, rather than being noisy and wild because it is the only way she knows.
At one point she notes that learning plane geometry is OK for children but 3D stuff is too advanced, and that we see stuff in 2D more often than in 3D. (189) I wonder whether this is because 2D is taught first, though. It’s unclear whether we would be more spatially aware if we learned 3D things at a younger age.
Lastly, I take issue with her suggestion to indoctrinate children in religion at this age (K-3). No doubt it is the ideal time to do so. But her belief that unreligious folk are immoral and evil obviously doesn’t resonate with me. I’d like to think most schools today are secular. But I’m not sure.
Anyway, some of my favourite quotes:
The homes of the poor were scattered among those of the rich and the contrast between these was commonplace in literature up to our own times. Indeed, when I was a child in school, teachers, for the purpose of moral education, frequently resorted to the illustration of the kind princess who sends help to the poor cottage next door, or of the good children from the great house who carry food to the sick woman in the neighbouring attic.
– p. 96, on the gentrification of Rome and the need for her Casa de bambino inside the slums
Discipline must come through liberty. [...] We do not consider an individual disciplined only when he has been rendered as artificially silent as a mute and as immovable as a paralytic. He is an individual annihilated, not disciplined.
– p. 113, on the concept of active discipline
The greatest triumph of our educational method should always be this: to bring about the spontaneous progress of the child.
– p. 183
Anyone who has watched them setting the table must have passed from one surprise to another. Little four-year-old waiters take the knives and forks and spoons and distribute them to the different places; they carry trays holding as many as five water glasses, and finally they go from table to table, carrying big tureens full of hot soup. Not a mistake is made, not a glass is broken, not a drop of soup is spilled. All during the meal unobtrusive little waiters watch the table assiduously; not a child empties his soup plate without being offered more; if he is ready for the next course a waiter briskly carries off his soup place. Not a child is forced to ask for more soup, or to announce that he has finished.
– p. 250, on what is supposed to be a fairly common sight in Montessori school rooms; it’s unclear whether this is an actual description or something that was stretched by a tiiiiiny bit of fiction
We often hear it said that a child’s will should be ‘broken’, that the best education for the will of the child is the learn to give it up to the will of adults. Leaving out of the question the injustice which is at the root of every act of tyranny, this idea is irrational because the child cannot give up what he does not possess. We prevent him [...] from forming his own willpower… He never has time or opportunity to test himself, to estimate his own force and his own limitations because he is always interrupted.
– p. 257, on the wrong emphasis on obedience rather than development in discipline
One teacher quoted proudly the experience she had with a little child who had just learned to write, [...] eager to share this newly found joy, and showed her his work, and then looked up and said in all sincerity, “Do you know how to write?”
– p. 271, Anne E. George (a student of Maria Montessori) said on an unnamed directress teaching a child how to write without doing much writing herself
The gist of the philosophy maintains that a child learns best when he explores the lessons at his own pace. To avoid tiring out a teacher with a class size of more than three, she uses didactic materials not only designed to let the child figure it out on his own (they are self-correcting), but also sparks a child’s interest based on his personal stage of development: sandpaper cutouts to stimulate tactile exploration, coloured counting sticks for visual interest, insets and frames that only fit together a certain way.
She maintains that a teacher (renamed a “directress” in her schools) should spend most of her energy observing the children, and should only intervene if a child is asking for her or when the children are behaving in non-constructive ways.
To her, discipline is achieved when a child slowly learns the self-satisfaction of doing self-discipline-y things, like practising being still, being careful, and colouring within the lines. Obedience through timidity and docility is not prized, but obedience through self-discipline is.
Her school system is surprisingly strict. She forbids her Montessori schools to deviate, though in her paper she mentions her pupils have created new versions of her didactic materials as well, so I’m not sure to what extent one is allowed to improve (or “improve”) upon her methods before she kicks them out.
The chief criticisms from William Kilpatrick, a contemporary progressive teacher from the US, are: Montessori fails to give any focus on group work, and that imaginative play is discouraged. Children in her schools are typically working solo, or perhaps working in parallel in groups, but not in collaboration with each other. There is also little to no story time and dramatization is non-existent. It seems Montessori, a scientist herself, designed a school to churn out little scientists and engineers (if pragmatism and lack of imagination are the hallmarks of your run-of-the-mill nerds and geers) but few artists.
He also criticises her observational methods and basically disagrees with her data, asserting that children need more stimulation than is provided by the Montessori method, even though Montessori claims to base her exercises and lessons on observing what children need. I can’t speak to this because I haven’t seen the data, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a bit biased for the particular situation in pre-Mussolini Rome.
I haven’t read much about what others think of Montessori.
The gist-of-the-gist is that Montessori wants to help children develop into awesome adult humans, whereas the traditional method (and other methods) seems to be quite concerned with children “knowing things.” Even Kilpatrick says: “She says the ‘aim is not that the child shall know colors, forms, and the different qualities of objects.’ We say that the aim is exactly that he may know such things, and we don’t care about his getting any sense training outside of this.” (276)
I also have a few questions in my head.
What is liberty? She stresses that liberty is not to be confused with mindless spontaneity — liberty is only useful within a prepared environment. Somehow she has come to the conclusion that certain activities are useful, and others are not. She has created her didactic materials in accordance: frames with buttons and ribbons to be laced up and undone, mimicking their clothing, little basins for washing hands and dishes, sticks and blocks coloured and marked for teaching arithmetic.
I think her designs are clever, but according to Kilpatrick, playing with them (i.e. not using them for their intended purposes) is “strictly forbidden.” (275) Montessori seems to have a pretty narrow idea of “usefulness.” So if her idea of liberty is restricted to the realm of what she thinks is useful, that’s a pretty narrow field of liberty indeed.
Also, what is useful and, really, healthy for a child in one culture might be radically different from another, or even vary from child to child. Many cats enjoy exploring outdoors and hunting their own food — liberty! — but most cats in the city will benefit from being indoors-only due to stupid drivers and so on.
She writes of behaviours which are either good or evil and that language really bothers me. My belief is that children various needs at various times; they are all valid, all universal. There is no use to maintaining a concrete list of these, just as there is no use to create a “universal” method of education — what works for this child might not work for another.
It could be that some are more common than others, and at some level, some needs are more universal: access to food and clean water, safety, etc.. But maybe I’m now splitting hairs and it doesn’t really matter to the education of the majority of children. As an aside: can we speak of a child’s “essence” or “spirit” without going into woo-woo language having to do with supernatural things? Does science understand talent and passion enough?
A lot of it might just be the text being outdated; she frequently refers to “idiots” and “deficients” versus “normal” children, which will raise some eyebrows in today’s language.
However, I take issue when she equates moving quietly, gracefully with moving correctly. I guess one could argue that even if one chooses to make noise and run about wildly, she should do so with intent and should learn the quiet and graceful way, rather than being noisy and wild because it is the only way she knows.
At one point she notes that learning plane geometry is OK for children but 3D stuff is too advanced, and that we see stuff in 2D more often than in 3D. (189) I wonder whether this is because 2D is taught first, though. It’s unclear whether we would be more spatially aware if we learned 3D things at a younger age.
Lastly, I take issue with her suggestion to indoctrinate children in religion at this age (K-3). No doubt it is the ideal time to do so. But her belief that unreligious folk are immoral and evil obviously doesn’t resonate with me. I’d like to think most schools today are secular. But I’m not sure.
Anyway, some of my favourite quotes:
The homes of the poor were scattered among those of the rich and the contrast between these was commonplace in literature up to our own times. Indeed, when I was a child in school, teachers, for the purpose of moral education, frequently resorted to the illustration of the kind princess who sends help to the poor cottage next door, or of the good children from the great house who carry food to the sick woman in the neighbouring attic.
– p. 96, on the gentrification of Rome and the need for her Casa de bambino inside the slums
Discipline must come through liberty. [...] We do not consider an individual disciplined only when he has been rendered as artificially silent as a mute and as immovable as a paralytic. He is an individual annihilated, not disciplined.
– p. 113, on the concept of active discipline
The greatest triumph of our educational method should always be this: to bring about the spontaneous progress of the child.
– p. 183
Anyone who has watched them setting the table must have passed from one surprise to another. Little four-year-old waiters take the knives and forks and spoons and distribute them to the different places; they carry trays holding as many as five water glasses, and finally they go from table to table, carrying big tureens full of hot soup. Not a mistake is made, not a glass is broken, not a drop of soup is spilled. All during the meal unobtrusive little waiters watch the table assiduously; not a child empties his soup plate without being offered more; if he is ready for the next course a waiter briskly carries off his soup place. Not a child is forced to ask for more soup, or to announce that he has finished.
– p. 250, on what is supposed to be a fairly common sight in Montessori school rooms; it’s unclear whether this is an actual description or something that was stretched by a tiiiiiny bit of fiction
We often hear it said that a child’s will should be ‘broken’, that the best education for the will of the child is the learn to give it up to the will of adults. Leaving out of the question the injustice which is at the root of every act of tyranny, this idea is irrational because the child cannot give up what he does not possess. We prevent him [...] from forming his own willpower… He never has time or opportunity to test himself, to estimate his own force and his own limitations because he is always interrupted.
– p. 257, on the wrong emphasis on obedience rather than development in discipline
One teacher quoted proudly the experience she had with a little child who had just learned to write, [...] eager to share this newly found joy, and showed her his work, and then looked up and said in all sincerity, “Do you know how to write?”
– p. 271, Anne E. George (a student of Maria Montessori) said on an unnamed directress teaching a child how to write without doing much writing herself
December 7, 2008
My friend who introduced me to Montessori for teaching my son preschool at home actually told me NOT to read Dr. Montessori's books because I wouldn't understand them because of her theories and technical language that she uses.
However, I strongly believed that if this was something I wanted to learn to better be able to use her principles in teaching my son preschool at home, then I should read what the originator of the method had to say about it.
I am very, VERY impressed with Dr. Montessori as I read of her work with the 'deficient' children and then how she applied what she did with the 'deficients' with 'normal' children. Also remember that she introduced this method for the instructing of 'normal' children a hundred years ago, so don't be turned off by what would today be considered politically incorrect terms.
Dr. Montessori's methods and theories make perfect sense to me as the only way young children (ages 2-6) should learn the basics (colors, shapes, letters, phonic reading, writing, mathmatics, etc) - and I question the continued methods enforced in public schooling and federally-funded preschool programs, especially when a far superior method is available and has years and years of proof that it works.
However, I strongly believed that if this was something I wanted to learn to better be able to use her principles in teaching my son preschool at home, then I should read what the originator of the method had to say about it.
I am very, VERY impressed with Dr. Montessori as I read of her work with the 'deficient' children and then how she applied what she did with the 'deficients' with 'normal' children. Also remember that she introduced this method for the instructing of 'normal' children a hundred years ago, so don't be turned off by what would today be considered politically incorrect terms.
Dr. Montessori's methods and theories make perfect sense to me as the only way young children (ages 2-6) should learn the basics (colors, shapes, letters, phonic reading, writing, mathmatics, etc) - and I question the continued methods enforced in public schooling and federally-funded preschool programs, especially when a far superior method is available and has years and years of proof that it works.
April 30, 2021
Bel libro!
Anche se non ho figli ho sentito molto parlare del metodo Montessori, quindi appena mi è capitato il libro sottomano ho approfittato per approfondire.
Temi molto interessanti, libro del 1900 ma molto attuale.
Sicuramente c'è un mondo dietro, anche contemporaneo, di studi scientifici che lo avvalorano.
Forse non molto scorrevole per i miei gusti ma il contenuto vale tanto.
Anche se non ho figli ho sentito molto parlare del metodo Montessori, quindi appena mi è capitato il libro sottomano ho approfittato per approfondire.
Temi molto interessanti, libro del 1900 ma molto attuale.
Sicuramente c'è un mondo dietro, anche contemporaneo, di studi scientifici che lo avvalorano.
Forse non molto scorrevole per i miei gusti ma il contenuto vale tanto.
April 23, 2015
The beginning and end tell an incredible philosophy, beneficial to all, with or without children three through seven-ish. Since this is a library book and highlighting would have proved wasteful for future reference—I have notes.....
chapter 1
She discusses the mechanical training of teachers and compares it to teaching a child to read. A child can read and write all the words in his curriculum book, but that doesn’t mean just because he can read Shakespeare he can understand the thoughts of Shakespeare. She advocates igniting a passion in teachers like unto the scientist in the field who doesn’t notice his mist wet clothes or sunburned skin or hunger pains as he lays absolutely still observing an ant colony—full of life and spirit in his field of study. She goes on speaking of Christ’s love for children and his admonition that we all be like the little ones. “Now let us picture among those to whom these words were spoken, an ardent, worshipping soul, who takes them into his heart. With a mixture of respect and love, of sacred curiosity and of a desire to achieve this spiritual greatness, he sets himself to observe every manifestation of this little child. Even such an observer place in a classroom filled with little children will not be the new educator whom we wish to form. But let us seek to implant in the soul the self-sacrificing spirit of the scientist with the reverent love of the disciple of Christ, and we shall have prepared the spirit of the teacher. From the child itself he will learn how to perfect himself as an educator” (page 33).
Montessori compares school children forced to their desks as butterflies are pinned, lifeless with wings spread— “spreading the useless wings of barren and meaningless knowledge which they have required” she continues with the counter that schools “must permit the free, natural manifestations of the child” page 33).
She continues her attack on the desk by relating the physical damage of that done to a miner (essentially lifeless slaves she argues) the same as the physical damage done to a students spine (thus also a slave).
“Often the education of children consists in pouring into their intelligence the intellectual content of school programmes. And often these programmes have been compiled in the official department of education, and their use is imposed by law upon the teacher and the child.
Ah, before such dense and willful disregard of the life which is growing within these children, we should hide our heads in shame and cover our guilty faces with our hands!
Sergi says truly: ‘today an urgent need imposes itself upon society: the reconstruction of methods in education and instruction, and he who fights for this cause, fights for human regeneration’” (page 41).
___________
I’m not sure where because I was out and about but somewhere before page 78 she spoke of how common schools are planned by people so far removed from the school (like politicians today!) that they don’t get anything right because they have no hands on observation and experience.
chapter 4
Chairs should be small and movable, tables should be light and moveable. Tables should be different sizes—providing for group seating and individual seating. The kids should be allowed to move the tables and chairs where they want them. This provides liberty. Children also will learn to control their bodies to avoid knocking tables and chairs over through trial and error. Without this opportunity (like when desks are nailed to the floor) children lose this opportunity to learn how to control their body.
“In the old method, the proof of discipline attained lay in a fact entirely contrary to this; that is, in the immobility and silence of the child himself. Immobility and silence which hindered the child from learning to move with grace and with discernment, and left him so ingrained, that, when he found himself in an environment, and left him so untrained, that, when he found himself in an environment where the benches and chairs were not nailed to the floor, he was not able to move about without overturning the lighter pieces of furniture. In the Children’s Houses the child will not only learn to move gracefully and properly, but will come to understand the reason for such deportment. The ability to move which he acquires here will be of use to him all his life. While he is still a child, he becomes capable of conducting himself correctly, and yet, with perfect freedom” (page 77).
chapter 5 discipline
“Discipline must come through liberty” and “liberty is activity” (page 78). Discipline in circumstances that harm others or go against basic manners. Isolated table in corner method of discipline offering lesson through observing the rest of class having a nice time. Child still has favorite objects and toys and is given a hello and hug from montessori before she goes to observe the rest of the students. Discipline should create independence thus creating individuality. Ill-placed discipline, and stifling of independent acts alters the true individual nature of person. “The environment acts more strongly upon the individual life the less fixed and strong this individual life may be” (page 91).
,
,,
6,7,8,9 nothing of consequence
chapter 10
“It is true that man has created enjoyments in social life and has brought about a vigorous human love in community life. But nevertheless he still belongs to nature, and, especially when he is a child, he must needs draw from it the forces necessary to the development of the body and of the spirit” (page 123).
“It has been understood...that the best means of invigorating the child is to immerse him in nature” (page 123).
chapter 11
plant a garden
chapter 12
“the aim of education is to develop the energies” (page 134).
chapter 13
“a man is not what he is because of the teachers he has had, but because of what he has done” (page 136).
importance of self-education and self-discovery
chapter I don’t know and I’m hurrying because it was due at the library 5 days ago and I can’t renew because somebody has it on hold:
educate senses. Senses harder to teach as adult...professional knowledge comes easier when senses are well developed.
“The lower classes...fondness for watching sensual acts of adults...represent the enjoyment of those unfortunate ones whose intellectual pleasures are few and whose senses are blunted and dulled. Such pleasures kill the man within the individual, and call to life the beast” (page 169).
sense education ideas:
*blindfold child and have feel different fabrics
*blindfold child and have them distinguish between two different weighted circles, forming piles on each end of table of equal weights
*coins
*beans, peas
*shapes
*fill in outlined figures...watch as pink tree becomes brown and green tree
*free clay play
do not correct child, after learning exercise (ie this is the circle. this is the square. which is the circle?) if they don’t get it right move on and try again next time without correction….Correction leads to negative association with learning
learn letters by tracing sandpaper letters on smooth surface….when they run off the sandpaper they can easily tell by tactile senses--trains visual, tactile, and muscular
“create a calm and ordered environment...full of beautiful and wonderful surprises” (spontaneous self-learning) (page 213).
writing after
the regularity of the parallel lines which fill in the geometric figures
the recognition with closed eyes of the sandpaper letters
the security and readiness shown in the composition of words
--before intervening and telling the child it is time to write...give the child a week or so with writing utensil to encourage spontaneous writing
do not correct writing if poor quality return to tracing sandpaper letters...don’t discourage with corrections
“he who prepares himself, and he who perfects himself, both follow the same path (page 215).
reading game: have objects out with corresponding word written on card...place card by object variation: toys and words mixed up in baggy--pull word, find toy, play with toy
“I watched them, seeking to understand the secret of these souls, of whose greatness I had been so ignorant! As I stood in meditation among the eager children, the discovery that it was knowledge they loved, and not the silly game filled me with wonder and made me think of the greatness of the human soul!” (page 220).
“Security in reading is, however, arrived at much more slowly than perfection in writing. In the greater majority of cases the child who writes beautifully, still reads rather poorly. Not all children of the same age are at the same point in this matter of reading and writing. We not only do not force a child, but we do not even invite him, or in any way attempt to coax him to do that which he does not wish to do. So it sometimes happens that certain children, not having spontaneously presented themselves for these lessons, are left in peace, and do not know how to read or write” (page 221).
“between knowing how to read the words, and how to read the sense, of a book there lies the same distance that exists between knowing how to pronounce a word and how to make a speech. I, therefore, stopped the reading from nooks and waited” (page 222).
write sentences and questions on board to have read instead of speaking “thus began between me and them a communication by means of written language,a thing which interested the children intensely” (page 223).
“They are the earnest of a humanity grown in the cult of beauty_the infancy of an all-conquering humanity since they are intelligent and patient observers of their environment, and possess in the form of intellectual liberty the power of spontaneous reasoning.
For such children, we should found an elementary school worthy to receive them and to guide them further along the path of life and civilization, a school loyal to the same educational principles of respect for the freedom of the child and for his spontaneous manifestations-principles which shall form the personality of these little men” (page 225).
“The teacher moves quietly about, goes to any child who calls her, supervising operations in such a way that anyone who needs her finds her at his elbow, and whoever does not need her is not reminded of her existence” (page 250).
school age 3-7
“It is not to be obtained by words; no man learns self-discipline ‘through hearing another man speak.’ The phenomenon of discipline needs as preparation a series of complete actions, such as are presupposed in the genuine application of a really educative method. Discipline is reached always by indirect means. The end is obtained, not by attacking the mistake and fighting it, but by developing activity in spontaneous work...
Such is the work which sets the personality in order and opens wide before it infinite possibilities of growth” (page 253).
“These jugglers would admire us infinitely, hardly able to believe their eyes, as they observed our world, so full of beauty and activity, so well regulated, so peaceful, so kindly, but all so much slower than theirs” (page 259).
chapter 1
She discusses the mechanical training of teachers and compares it to teaching a child to read. A child can read and write all the words in his curriculum book, but that doesn’t mean just because he can read Shakespeare he can understand the thoughts of Shakespeare. She advocates igniting a passion in teachers like unto the scientist in the field who doesn’t notice his mist wet clothes or sunburned skin or hunger pains as he lays absolutely still observing an ant colony—full of life and spirit in his field of study. She goes on speaking of Christ’s love for children and his admonition that we all be like the little ones. “Now let us picture among those to whom these words were spoken, an ardent, worshipping soul, who takes them into his heart. With a mixture of respect and love, of sacred curiosity and of a desire to achieve this spiritual greatness, he sets himself to observe every manifestation of this little child. Even such an observer place in a classroom filled with little children will not be the new educator whom we wish to form. But let us seek to implant in the soul the self-sacrificing spirit of the scientist with the reverent love of the disciple of Christ, and we shall have prepared the spirit of the teacher. From the child itself he will learn how to perfect himself as an educator” (page 33).
Montessori compares school children forced to their desks as butterflies are pinned, lifeless with wings spread— “spreading the useless wings of barren and meaningless knowledge which they have required” she continues with the counter that schools “must permit the free, natural manifestations of the child” page 33).
She continues her attack on the desk by relating the physical damage of that done to a miner (essentially lifeless slaves she argues) the same as the physical damage done to a students spine (thus also a slave).
“Often the education of children consists in pouring into their intelligence the intellectual content of school programmes. And often these programmes have been compiled in the official department of education, and their use is imposed by law upon the teacher and the child.
Ah, before such dense and willful disregard of the life which is growing within these children, we should hide our heads in shame and cover our guilty faces with our hands!
Sergi says truly: ‘today an urgent need imposes itself upon society: the reconstruction of methods in education and instruction, and he who fights for this cause, fights for human regeneration’” (page 41).
___________
I’m not sure where because I was out and about but somewhere before page 78 she spoke of how common schools are planned by people so far removed from the school (like politicians today!) that they don’t get anything right because they have no hands on observation and experience.
chapter 4
Chairs should be small and movable, tables should be light and moveable. Tables should be different sizes—providing for group seating and individual seating. The kids should be allowed to move the tables and chairs where they want them. This provides liberty. Children also will learn to control their bodies to avoid knocking tables and chairs over through trial and error. Without this opportunity (like when desks are nailed to the floor) children lose this opportunity to learn how to control their body.
“In the old method, the proof of discipline attained lay in a fact entirely contrary to this; that is, in the immobility and silence of the child himself. Immobility and silence which hindered the child from learning to move with grace and with discernment, and left him so ingrained, that, when he found himself in an environment, and left him so untrained, that, when he found himself in an environment where the benches and chairs were not nailed to the floor, he was not able to move about without overturning the lighter pieces of furniture. In the Children’s Houses the child will not only learn to move gracefully and properly, but will come to understand the reason for such deportment. The ability to move which he acquires here will be of use to him all his life. While he is still a child, he becomes capable of conducting himself correctly, and yet, with perfect freedom” (page 77).
chapter 5 discipline
“Discipline must come through liberty” and “liberty is activity” (page 78). Discipline in circumstances that harm others or go against basic manners. Isolated table in corner method of discipline offering lesson through observing the rest of class having a nice time. Child still has favorite objects and toys and is given a hello and hug from montessori before she goes to observe the rest of the students. Discipline should create independence thus creating individuality. Ill-placed discipline, and stifling of independent acts alters the true individual nature of person. “The environment acts more strongly upon the individual life the less fixed and strong this individual life may be” (page 91).
,
,,
6,7,8,9 nothing of consequence
chapter 10
“It is true that man has created enjoyments in social life and has brought about a vigorous human love in community life. But nevertheless he still belongs to nature, and, especially when he is a child, he must needs draw from it the forces necessary to the development of the body and of the spirit” (page 123).
“It has been understood...that the best means of invigorating the child is to immerse him in nature” (page 123).
chapter 11
plant a garden
chapter 12
“the aim of education is to develop the energies” (page 134).
chapter 13
“a man is not what he is because of the teachers he has had, but because of what he has done” (page 136).
importance of self-education and self-discovery
chapter I don’t know and I’m hurrying because it was due at the library 5 days ago and I can’t renew because somebody has it on hold:
educate senses. Senses harder to teach as adult...professional knowledge comes easier when senses are well developed.
“The lower classes...fondness for watching sensual acts of adults...represent the enjoyment of those unfortunate ones whose intellectual pleasures are few and whose senses are blunted and dulled. Such pleasures kill the man within the individual, and call to life the beast” (page 169).
sense education ideas:
*blindfold child and have feel different fabrics
*blindfold child and have them distinguish between two different weighted circles, forming piles on each end of table of equal weights
*coins
*beans, peas
*shapes
*fill in outlined figures...watch as pink tree becomes brown and green tree
*free clay play
do not correct child, after learning exercise (ie this is the circle. this is the square. which is the circle?) if they don’t get it right move on and try again next time without correction….Correction leads to negative association with learning
learn letters by tracing sandpaper letters on smooth surface….when they run off the sandpaper they can easily tell by tactile senses--trains visual, tactile, and muscular
“create a calm and ordered environment...full of beautiful and wonderful surprises” (spontaneous self-learning) (page 213).
writing after
the regularity of the parallel lines which fill in the geometric figures
the recognition with closed eyes of the sandpaper letters
the security and readiness shown in the composition of words
--before intervening and telling the child it is time to write...give the child a week or so with writing utensil to encourage spontaneous writing
do not correct writing if poor quality return to tracing sandpaper letters...don’t discourage with corrections
“he who prepares himself, and he who perfects himself, both follow the same path (page 215).
reading game: have objects out with corresponding word written on card...place card by object variation: toys and words mixed up in baggy--pull word, find toy, play with toy
“I watched them, seeking to understand the secret of these souls, of whose greatness I had been so ignorant! As I stood in meditation among the eager children, the discovery that it was knowledge they loved, and not the silly game filled me with wonder and made me think of the greatness of the human soul!” (page 220).
“Security in reading is, however, arrived at much more slowly than perfection in writing. In the greater majority of cases the child who writes beautifully, still reads rather poorly. Not all children of the same age are at the same point in this matter of reading and writing. We not only do not force a child, but we do not even invite him, or in any way attempt to coax him to do that which he does not wish to do. So it sometimes happens that certain children, not having spontaneously presented themselves for these lessons, are left in peace, and do not know how to read or write” (page 221).
“between knowing how to read the words, and how to read the sense, of a book there lies the same distance that exists between knowing how to pronounce a word and how to make a speech. I, therefore, stopped the reading from nooks and waited” (page 222).
write sentences and questions on board to have read instead of speaking “thus began between me and them a communication by means of written language,a thing which interested the children intensely” (page 223).
“They are the earnest of a humanity grown in the cult of beauty_the infancy of an all-conquering humanity since they are intelligent and patient observers of their environment, and possess in the form of intellectual liberty the power of spontaneous reasoning.
For such children, we should found an elementary school worthy to receive them and to guide them further along the path of life and civilization, a school loyal to the same educational principles of respect for the freedom of the child and for his spontaneous manifestations-principles which shall form the personality of these little men” (page 225).
“The teacher moves quietly about, goes to any child who calls her, supervising operations in such a way that anyone who needs her finds her at his elbow, and whoever does not need her is not reminded of her existence” (page 250).
school age 3-7
“It is not to be obtained by words; no man learns self-discipline ‘through hearing another man speak.’ The phenomenon of discipline needs as preparation a series of complete actions, such as are presupposed in the genuine application of a really educative method. Discipline is reached always by indirect means. The end is obtained, not by attacking the mistake and fighting it, but by developing activity in spontaneous work...
Such is the work which sets the personality in order and opens wide before it infinite possibilities of growth” (page 253).
“These jugglers would admire us infinitely, hardly able to believe their eyes, as they observed our world, so full of beauty and activity, so well regulated, so peaceful, so kindly, but all so much slower than theirs” (page 259).
April 29, 2017
In very good ways this reads as a scientific report as much as a philosophical treatise on children's education - debating with prior theories, presenting methods, and detailing findings, while openly pointing at areas still to research and where her results seem inconclusive or partial.
This is also scientific in nature as she is advocating for and demonstrating an observational experimental approach to early education, an evidence-based education. For educators, this means resisting the form of schooling as obedient collective arbitrary tasks to implant factual knowledge, instead acting as silent attentive observers of each child's development to support and introduce new exercises for self-formation when each individual is ready. And also for children, this experimenting approach means seeing kids as little scientists who spend the days and years building mental models and skills to seek to understand the world (both physically, intellectually, and socially/culturally). Reduction of skills to isolated motor/visual/intellectual exercises for practice and repeated self-verification of mastery by the kids themselves builds these skills of self-exploration and self-formation.
There are two great philosophies embedded throughout this book. The first is that of "discipline through activity", that respectful disciplined behavior in kids can ultimately only come from self-control/self-will by the individual. If school is to teach "right from wrong, good from evil", it is vitally important for society that the message be that useful, directed activity is good, rather than silent obedient immobility. The second view of humanity repeated throughout is a powerful alternate view of what community and communalized society require: schools, and specifically the tenement-house situated "Children's Houses" her study is focused on, involve community taking over parts of the family/maternal roles. But nonetheless the goal of schooling must be to produce complex varied individuals who have experienced a broad range of challenges and developed personal (self-formed) skills of adapting to all the changes of childhood, not a factory producing identical rational parts for society. "The perfection of collectivity cannot be that material and brutal solidarity that comes from mechanical organization alone."
It is really pleasantly surprising (and somewhat discouraging) to me how much of this material still rings true 100 years later, both in the positive and concrete elements and materials of her approach and in the critiques of prior educational fashion. She sarcastically asks at one point whether the point of school is to produce obedient-to-authority students or self-controlled curious adults, and I think she'd be disappointed to learn we were still focused on the former in most places today.
This is also scientific in nature as she is advocating for and demonstrating an observational experimental approach to early education, an evidence-based education. For educators, this means resisting the form of schooling as obedient collective arbitrary tasks to implant factual knowledge, instead acting as silent attentive observers of each child's development to support and introduce new exercises for self-formation when each individual is ready. And also for children, this experimenting approach means seeing kids as little scientists who spend the days and years building mental models and skills to seek to understand the world (both physically, intellectually, and socially/culturally). Reduction of skills to isolated motor/visual/intellectual exercises for practice and repeated self-verification of mastery by the kids themselves builds these skills of self-exploration and self-formation.
There are two great philosophies embedded throughout this book. The first is that of "discipline through activity", that respectful disciplined behavior in kids can ultimately only come from self-control/self-will by the individual. If school is to teach "right from wrong, good from evil", it is vitally important for society that the message be that useful, directed activity is good, rather than silent obedient immobility. The second view of humanity repeated throughout is a powerful alternate view of what community and communalized society require: schools, and specifically the tenement-house situated "Children's Houses" her study is focused on, involve community taking over parts of the family/maternal roles. But nonetheless the goal of schooling must be to produce complex varied individuals who have experienced a broad range of challenges and developed personal (self-formed) skills of adapting to all the changes of childhood, not a factory producing identical rational parts for society. "The perfection of collectivity cannot be that material and brutal solidarity that comes from mechanical organization alone."
It is really pleasantly surprising (and somewhat discouraging) to me how much of this material still rings true 100 years later, both in the positive and concrete elements and materials of her approach and in the critiques of prior educational fashion. She sarcastically asks at one point whether the point of school is to produce obedient-to-authority students or self-controlled curious adults, and I think she'd be disappointed to learn we were still focused on the former in most places today.
March 1, 2020
So insightful, though a little harder to digest than Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook.
December 7, 2020
Unless you are doing a PhD in pedagogy, you do not need to read this. It is her paper written in 1900, not updated at all or with any activities to do with your child. There are other resources such as "teach me to do it myself" with activities, if that's what you are looking for.
"To teach a child to feed himself etc calls for patience...but to do so is the work of an educator, not a servant."
The baby as an example of quiet. copy how quiet the baby is. walk on tiptoe and make no sound.
Spontaneous investigation, you do not need to prompt them with "what colour is this?". outside colours, trees, sounds. Inside: fabrics, rough, smooth, types. When a child colours a picture with proper colours, they have become observers.
Zero lesson: compartment with nothing in it. What do you put in it? zero. how many kisses should you give me - zero. come to me zero time (stand there and do nothing).
Give slip of paper with number on it and they may come take that many objects.
"To teach a child to feed himself etc calls for patience...but to do so is the work of an educator, not a servant."
The baby as an example of quiet. copy how quiet the baby is. walk on tiptoe and make no sound.
Spontaneous investigation, you do not need to prompt them with "what colour is this?". outside colours, trees, sounds. Inside: fabrics, rough, smooth, types. When a child colours a picture with proper colours, they have become observers.
Zero lesson: compartment with nothing in it. What do you put in it? zero. how many kisses should you give me - zero. come to me zero time (stand there and do nothing).
Give slip of paper with number on it and they may come take that many objects.
July 26, 2014
As a kid that grew up in the Montessori school system I was really fascinated to read this book.
There were a lot of exercise I remember doing and because of my experiences I really agreed with her, and appreciated her philosophy on:
1) giving children the freedom to do what they would like and to learn about something only when they are interested and willing to do it (this applies so much in my everyday life even now)
2) not punishing children for getting answers wrong, it discourages learning
3) encouraging children to learn about the life around them, how to do the laundry, carry hot soup, etc
4) letting youth become the masters of their own lives by farming, gardening, doing artisan work, etc
This book really shows how her method teaches children to become self-reliant adults and how it is much better suited to equip people with life skills when compared to mainstream education.
I would have liked to read more about her school ideas for youth. The chapter about what children should eat was quite funny because it was so dated and a lot of that nutritional information was bizarre!
Overall, great read if you are interested in learning more about her philosophies.
There were a lot of exercise I remember doing and because of my experiences I really agreed with her, and appreciated her philosophy on:
1) giving children the freedom to do what they would like and to learn about something only when they are interested and willing to do it (this applies so much in my everyday life even now)
2) not punishing children for getting answers wrong, it discourages learning
3) encouraging children to learn about the life around them, how to do the laundry, carry hot soup, etc
4) letting youth become the masters of their own lives by farming, gardening, doing artisan work, etc
This book really shows how her method teaches children to become self-reliant adults and how it is much better suited to equip people with life skills when compared to mainstream education.
I would have liked to read more about her school ideas for youth. The chapter about what children should eat was quite funny because it was so dated and a lot of that nutritional information was bizarre!
Overall, great read if you are interested in learning more about her philosophies.
January 4, 2015
Maria Montessori is an anomaly in the educational pedagogy field, she is a woman in a field dominated by male scientists studying narrow topics with scientific rigour. Maria's method has been very human spending over 10 years perfecting her technique in Rome, Italy before writing the book. It is also inspired by the contemporary literature of the time (early 1900s) coupled with many many hours of practical experience in the classroom of "children's houses". Her book makes some reference to the pedagogical research of others but really provides a comprehensive understand of how to run a children's house from how the kids should dress and be checked in the morning, to what they should eat, and finally how they should learn language.
There is a focus on orderly conduct and self reflection. Children are asked to keep their clothes and hair clean. They are asked to rearrange desks in a particular fashion each day, they are also asked to put their toys away. Wooden toys are arranged in a linear order to reinforce if one piece is missing.
There is a focus on orderly conduct and self reflection. Children are asked to keep their clothes and hair clean. They are asked to rearrange desks in a particular fashion each day, they are also asked to put their toys away. Wooden toys are arranged in a linear order to reinforce if one piece is missing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2021
Good one.. The concepts are first presented with scientific explanation and then concrete examples.. Book becomes abstract in many places and dry. One needs to have patience. I liked the second half better.. Will keep it as reference latter. Im A big believer, lover and advocate of Montessori method. My husband is also trading this book. So will definitely recommend every having having a child 1-5yr old to read this and implement in their homes..
November 14, 2020
Sobre la autora:
Maria Montessori creó un método y una forma de enseñanza en donde se debe respetar el ritmo decaprendizajevde los niños y niñas y en su desarrollo integral desde el nacimiento.
Este metodo ayuda a que los niños sean autónomos, independientes, responsables y capaces de pensar por si mismos y pueda convertirse en la mejor persona que pueda ser.
Maria Montessori creó un método y una forma de enseñanza en donde se debe respetar el ritmo decaprendizajevde los niños y niñas y en su desarrollo integral desde el nacimiento.
Este metodo ayuda a que los niños sean autónomos, independientes, responsables y capaces de pensar por si mismos y pueda convertirse en la mejor persona que pueda ser.
February 27, 2020
The beginning was so dry and dated I almost didn't continue but the core principles are still radical today and I enjoyed the details on furnishings, didactic materials and learning methods.
February 21, 2023
Hay que leerlo con la mentalidad que fue escrito en otra época y lo importante es entender el método. En momentos tiene terminología complicada pero es fácil de leer.
May 25, 2023
Thorough with lots of information and instruction/direction. It was a little dry, and definitely geared toward a group setting and not a home setting, but could be applied in either place.
May 11, 2024
Montessori is now most frequently encountered as a brand, a consumerist symbol, an aspirational lifestyle for parents, comprised of exclusive private schools, expensive wooden toys, a beige baby aesthetic of nursery furnishings. It is therefore so refreshing to return to the roots of what it actually is about.
The first thing that struck me, in reading this book, is how the origins of the pedagogy are actually universalist (none of the "meet your child's unique needs"--MM is very clear that all children must conform to her classroom rules), democratic (being self-sufficient, a plebeian necessity, takes on a moral weight), and socialist (the Children's House renders the nuclear family unnecessary). Very very ironic given the modern American conceptions.
The second thing that struck me is how well-grounded the book is in minute and loving observation of children, hifalutin theorizing notwithstanding. MM, it is evident, spent a lot of time with children and loved and appreciated these children, unlike somebody who wrote a massively influential treatise on pedagogy despite being a strong contender for the "Most Deadbeat Dad Ever" prize.
MM's contention, that education should be the uncovering of the free soul within each child, is, in fact, quite a Rousseauian idea, but her innovation lies in her answer to the inevitable question, "How?" Her approach is biological and developmental, rather than philosophical, and rooted in empirical observations and trials. As a parent of a toddler, I find it illuminating.
Key lessons I drew:
1) Position yourself as an observer and experimenter during play sessions.
2) Set up the child's physical environment to enable independence and exploration. A small wooden stool can work wonders in a modern household.
3) Development occurs in stages following a certain sequence (MM agrees with Piaget here). There's a time for everything and follow your child's lead. Doing things in the proper sequence is important.
4) Motion and tactile senses precede other sensory and higher cognitive development. Use them to lay the groundwork for later activities like writing and reading.
5) Writing precedes reading (unclear if this is also true for logographic languages).
6) Play the silence game. It is great to train one's senses and to encourage calmness and relaxation. My son will initiate it now with me.
A game-changer for parenting. 10/10 recommend.
The first thing that struck me, in reading this book, is how the origins of the pedagogy are actually universalist (none of the "meet your child's unique needs"--MM is very clear that all children must conform to her classroom rules), democratic (being self-sufficient, a plebeian necessity, takes on a moral weight), and socialist (the Children's House renders the nuclear family unnecessary). Very very ironic given the modern American conceptions.
The second thing that struck me is how well-grounded the book is in minute and loving observation of children, hifalutin theorizing notwithstanding. MM, it is evident, spent a lot of time with children and loved and appreciated these children, unlike somebody who wrote a massively influential treatise on pedagogy despite being a strong contender for the "Most Deadbeat Dad Ever" prize.
MM's contention, that education should be the uncovering of the free soul within each child, is, in fact, quite a Rousseauian idea, but her innovation lies in her answer to the inevitable question, "How?" Her approach is biological and developmental, rather than philosophical, and rooted in empirical observations and trials. As a parent of a toddler, I find it illuminating.
Key lessons I drew:
1) Position yourself as an observer and experimenter during play sessions.
2) Set up the child's physical environment to enable independence and exploration. A small wooden stool can work wonders in a modern household.
3) Development occurs in stages following a certain sequence (MM agrees with Piaget here). There's a time for everything and follow your child's lead. Doing things in the proper sequence is important.
4) Motion and tactile senses precede other sensory and higher cognitive development. Use them to lay the groundwork for later activities like writing and reading.
5) Writing precedes reading (unclear if this is also true for logographic languages).
6) Play the silence game. It is great to train one's senses and to encourage calmness and relaxation. My son will initiate it now with me.
A game-changer for parenting. 10/10 recommend.
January 30, 2020
UNA FATA INVISIBILE
Suppongo che le cinque stelline che inevitabilmente assegno ad ogni classico che ho la possibilità di studiare approfonditamente grazie al mio corso di laurea siano abbastanza indicative di quanto sia ogni giorno più convinta e soddisfatta della mia scelta(sebbene mi abbia condotto ad un livello di esaurimento non indifferente). "Educare alla libertà", in verità, ha generato in me una leggera tristezza, dato che la mia laurea non mi abiliterà all'insegnamento negli asili né nelle scuole primarie. Ma, dall'altro lato, anche se part-time, in un asilo ci lavoro da tre anni - e quindi, per adesso, sono più che contenta così.
È stata proprio quest'esperienza a rendere ancora più significativa la mia lettura. Non facevo che rapportare, infatti, ogni situazione descritta alla realtà che vivo settimanalmente: la Montessori mi ha permesso di vederla sotto una luce completamente differente, di prendere atto dei miei errori ma anche di provare, in fondo, soddisfazione per il metodo da me assunto sin dal primo giorno di scuola. Un metodo inconsciamente ispirato proprio a quello montessoriano, che concede ai bambini libertà di scelta, che cerca in loro un confronto continuo, trattandoli come dei "piccoli adulti" piuttosto che come dei "fantocci". Perché è a questo che si riducono quei bimbi dei quali si limita potentemente l'indipendenza, con tutta una serie di conseguenze negative che vanno dalla prepotenza (propria di chi è "servito", secondo la Montessori) all'obbedienza passivamente vissuta. Al contrario "il bambino, cosciente e libero, rivela se stesso", si esprime liberamente, agisce con uno scopo e, se obbedisce, è perché decide di farlo.
Ma allora, se gli alunni devono essere liberi, noi (concedetemi il pronome) di quale utilità possiamo essere? Beh, mi è piaciuta moltissimo la concezione di una maestra-"fata invisibile" che getta soltanto "un raggio di luce" (assimilabile allo stimolo) sul suo allievo, per poi lasciare che egli si autoeduchi, ponendosi pertanto non come dittatrice e nemica, ma come direttrice, guida e insostituibile alleata.
"Noi non possiamo sapere le conseguenze di un atto spontaneo soffocato quando il bambino comincia appena ad agire: forse […] soffochiamo la vita stessa. L'umanità che si manifesta nei suoi splendori intellettuali nella tenera e gentile età infantile, come il sole si manifesta all'alba e il fiore al primo spuntar di petali, dovrebbe essere rispettata con religiosa venerazione."
Leggetelo, fosse solo per la scrittura piana, scorrevole e coinvolgente, e per la miriade di esempi (quello della bacinella dei galleggianti il mio preferito) che chiariscono straordinariamente ogni singolo concetto.
***
Lettura: 16/01/2020 - 17/01/2020
Studio: 18/01/2020 - 19/01/2020
Esame: 30/01/2020
Voto: 30 e lode
Suppongo che le cinque stelline che inevitabilmente assegno ad ogni classico che ho la possibilità di studiare approfonditamente grazie al mio corso di laurea siano abbastanza indicative di quanto sia ogni giorno più convinta e soddisfatta della mia scelta
È stata proprio quest'esperienza a rendere ancora più significativa la mia lettura. Non facevo che rapportare, infatti, ogni situazione descritta alla realtà che vivo settimanalmente: la Montessori mi ha permesso di vederla sotto una luce completamente differente, di prendere atto dei miei errori ma anche di provare, in fondo, soddisfazione per il metodo da me assunto sin dal primo giorno di scuola. Un metodo inconsciamente ispirato proprio a quello montessoriano, che concede ai bambini libertà di scelta, che cerca in loro un confronto continuo, trattandoli come dei "piccoli adulti" piuttosto che come dei "fantocci". Perché è a questo che si riducono quei bimbi dei quali si limita potentemente l'indipendenza, con tutta una serie di conseguenze negative che vanno dalla prepotenza (propria di chi è "servito", secondo la Montessori) all'obbedienza passivamente vissuta. Al contrario "il bambino, cosciente e libero, rivela se stesso", si esprime liberamente, agisce con uno scopo e, se obbedisce, è perché decide di farlo.
Ma allora, se gli alunni devono essere liberi, noi (concedetemi il pronome) di quale utilità possiamo essere? Beh, mi è piaciuta moltissimo la concezione di una maestra-"fata invisibile" che getta soltanto "un raggio di luce" (assimilabile allo stimolo) sul suo allievo, per poi lasciare che egli si autoeduchi, ponendosi pertanto non come dittatrice e nemica, ma come direttrice, guida e insostituibile alleata.
"Noi non possiamo sapere le conseguenze di un atto spontaneo soffocato quando il bambino comincia appena ad agire: forse […] soffochiamo la vita stessa. L'umanità che si manifesta nei suoi splendori intellettuali nella tenera e gentile età infantile, come il sole si manifesta all'alba e il fiore al primo spuntar di petali, dovrebbe essere rispettata con religiosa venerazione."
Leggetelo, fosse solo per la scrittura piana, scorrevole e coinvolgente, e per la miriade di esempi (quello della bacinella dei galleggianti il mio preferito) che chiariscono straordinariamente ogni singolo concetto.
***
Lettura: 16/01/2020 - 17/01/2020
Studio: 18/01/2020 - 19/01/2020
Esame: 30/01/2020
Voto: 30 e lode
May 5, 2012
Inspired, inspiring, careful and visionary. Also outdated, peculiar, quaint and psudoscientific! I feel Montessori's particular voice comes through so clearly in this volume-- her insights into children's fascination, her sharp scientist's mind, her fanciful digressions.
From the introduction: xxxii: "Let me be concrete. Interesting and valuable as the didactic apparatus assembled and invented by Montessori is, there should be nothing sacrosanct about it."
xxxiii "The point is that the standard assembly should be viewed only as a starting point, and those revisiting Montessori should imitate her resourcefulness in inventing pedagogical apparatus and in adapting it to the use of individual children."
xxxiv If a teacher can discern what a child is trying to do in his informational interaction with the environment, and if that teacher can have on hadn materials relevant to that intention, if he can impose a relevant challenge with which the child can cope, supply a relevant model for imitation, or pose a relevant question that the child can answer, that teacher can call forth the kind of accommodative change that constitutes psychological development or growth. This sort of the thing was apparently the genius of Maria Montessori."
154- In all this progress of modern child education, we have not freed ourselves from the prejudice which denies children spiritual expression and spiritual needs, and makes us consider them only as amiable vegetating bodies to be cared for, kissed, and set in motion"
From the introduction: xxxii: "Let me be concrete. Interesting and valuable as the didactic apparatus assembled and invented by Montessori is, there should be nothing sacrosanct about it."
xxxiii "The point is that the standard assembly should be viewed only as a starting point, and those revisiting Montessori should imitate her resourcefulness in inventing pedagogical apparatus and in adapting it to the use of individual children."
xxxiv If a teacher can discern what a child is trying to do in his informational interaction with the environment, and if that teacher can have on hadn materials relevant to that intention, if he can impose a relevant challenge with which the child can cope, supply a relevant model for imitation, or pose a relevant question that the child can answer, that teacher can call forth the kind of accommodative change that constitutes psychological development or growth. This sort of the thing was apparently the genius of Maria Montessori."
154- In all this progress of modern child education, we have not freed ourselves from the prejudice which denies children spiritual expression and spiritual needs, and makes us consider them only as amiable vegetating bodies to be cared for, kissed, and set in motion"
June 4, 2021
Warning: I read this with the lens of going into my first teaching job at a Montessori after having taught in public and charter schools in two states and three countries with the intentions of
A. Being able to understand what montessori is, which I believe I accomplished: a montessori education is one founded on the principle that children are naturally curious and innovative and that if a child can do it, they should be allowed to do it themselves. For example: I've seen grown adults in college who didn't know how to do laundry, didn't understand taxes, and couldn't cook for themselves. Montessori would provide a way for children to perfect self-mastery externally and internally.
B. To be able to implement a Montessori middle and high school education.
This book did not allow me to accomplish B as it appears Montessori was intended for birth to 5th grade.
I downgraded her method because it is overly scientific to the point of measuring the circumference of each and every child's head, some of her educational principles are outdated, and she completely neglects social-emotional and collaborative teaching principles.
I did learn a lot though and appreciated her writing style: heavy on metaphors and examples, which oftentimes were delightful and apt. And there were plenty of quotes that stopped me dead in my tracks because I needed the space and time to meditate on them before continuing. Worth the read, but definitely outdated and deficient in the 21st century.
A. Being able to understand what montessori is, which I believe I accomplished: a montessori education is one founded on the principle that children are naturally curious and innovative and that if a child can do it, they should be allowed to do it themselves. For example: I've seen grown adults in college who didn't know how to do laundry, didn't understand taxes, and couldn't cook for themselves. Montessori would provide a way for children to perfect self-mastery externally and internally.
B. To be able to implement a Montessori middle and high school education.
This book did not allow me to accomplish B as it appears Montessori was intended for birth to 5th grade.
I downgraded her method because it is overly scientific to the point of measuring the circumference of each and every child's head, some of her educational principles are outdated, and she completely neglects social-emotional and collaborative teaching principles.
I did learn a lot though and appreciated her writing style: heavy on metaphors and examples, which oftentimes were delightful and apt. And there were plenty of quotes that stopped me dead in my tracks because I needed the space and time to meditate on them before continuing. Worth the read, but definitely outdated and deficient in the 21st century.
February 27, 2010
I think this is a must read book for anyone in education, even adult education. Montessori did something completely new at her time, she experimented with a different type of instruction. I'm all about choice and opportunity. Her method of teaching is a low cost method that teaches children to be self-reliant. I say low cost because low and behold- there is no technology involved. She mentions sand paper letters and yarn lace up cards as part of her curriculum. I think many would argue that this type of instruction would yield to a classroom run-a-muck, but in Montessori's experience, and in the many Montessori schools that are out there, this is not true.
From a collegiate perspective, we are now faced with two very different types of students. The one's who can't take care of themselves and have their parents calling the college for them, and the student's that's parents don't care about them, probably never complete college because they lack the support. Perhaps the Montessori Method offers parents some options, for the parents that care, at least.
From a collegiate perspective, we are now faced with two very different types of students. The one's who can't take care of themselves and have their parents calling the college for them, and the student's that's parents don't care about them, probably never complete college because they lack the support. Perhaps the Montessori Method offers parents some options, for the parents that care, at least.
did-not-finish
August 9, 2013It was my thought that reading what seemed to be a general explanation of the Montessori Method by Maria Montessori herself would be my best introduction to the method. I am a teacher who is considering homeschooling my own children and am in the process of researching various methods, beyond what I was taught in my education classes. Instead, this is a scientific tome, defending the method against practices and criticisms that are long outdated. I kept skimming ahead, hoping to find where it would finally just explain the method, but I reached a point where I couldn't take it any more. While there are differences between the Montessori Method and modern schools, many of the research Montessori began has worked its way into the approach in preschools and kindergartens, and the fact that she was writing before that happened was a barrier this reader couldn't cross.
I'll be looking for a more recent, basic introduction to the method.
I'll be looking for a more recent, basic introduction to the method.
October 16, 2017
الكتاب أكثر من رائع في أفكاره التعليمية للأنشطة و الأسلوب و النظام الذي يتبعه المربي. لن أقول عنه كتابا تربويا فهو يفتقد القيم و الأخلاق بشكل كبير، إلا ما ذُكر على مضض. كان تركيز الكاتبة على تنمية ذكاء و حواس و مهارات و قدرات الأطفال من خلال الحرية و العفوية (الفطرة)، فلا يتصرف المربي إلا بالتدريج بقيادة الطفل نفسه و الذي يظهر في تصرفاته و ردات فعله. بالنسبة للكاتبة المعلم هو مراقب و موجه أكثر من ملقٍ للإرشادات و التعليمات وحسب. فيه كثير من الإبداع الفكري و الإتقان في مبادئ التعليم و لكن كما قلت سابقا يخلو تماما من الإيمان و الخُلق و الفطرة الدينية. و الغريب أن شدة إيمانها بأن فطرة الطفل و خلقته البديعة هي النقطة الرئيسية التي ينطلق منها التعليم إلا أنها لا تتحدث عن إله إلا الطبيعة الأم حتى ظننتها ملحدةلا كاثوليكية كما علمت لاحقًا. عمومًا يفتقر الكتاب إلى توجهيات تربوية عقدية و نفسية و أخلاقية و روحانية. و لكنه تقنيا أدى المهمة بالإلمام بالكثير من الأنشطة العملية و التعليمية التي تسعى إلى تطوير حواس الطفل و تعزيز نموه الذهني و تحقيق التهذيب و النظام في الفصل.
March 26, 2009
I thought I was "in to" Montessori method for a period... reading some Montessori books I realized I am not in to Montessori method at all. I am in to children being a part of a home and a family and helping out with all of the chores and activities that make these things work. I don't think children need contrived settings to learn this. Also, reading the whole socialist background on the Montessori method was quite shocking to me. The message I got from this book was, more or less, "You don't need parents---the state can take their place!"
I will hang on to some of the more practical Montessori books in my homeschool collection, if only for some help with coming up with activities.
I will hang on to some of the more practical Montessori books in my homeschool collection, if only for some help with coming up with activities.
Read
February 7, 2023I didn’t finish it, her vocabulary was dated and offensive and I have researched enough about her philosophy without having to read the words she labeled people with. I know it was appropriate for the time but I couldn’t do it.
October 5, 2013
I've been looking into Montessori teaching methods and gave this a look since it's from Montessori herself. I have to admit that I skimmed a bit in places. Some of the information didn't interest me, and some of it is just outdated like the meal plans for rich vs. poor kids in 1907 Italy. Interesting to see the formation of ideas that are almost universally accepted in western society now.
July 2, 2010
This book is well-written it's just a little more technical and theory-based than I had expected.
February 26, 2022
Avendo frequentato il liceo delle scienze umane, conoscevo già abbastanza bene (e amavo) il metodo Montessori. Trovo che questa piccola antologia sia un ottimo modo per approfondirlo.
June 30, 2023
Finally got to read about the Montessori Method from Dr. Montessori herself. Here are my thoughts- The Method differs from the traditional approach across the Why, the How and the What.
The Why-
Dr. Montessori starts dismantling the traditional system starting from how ubiquitous the school bench is! She asserts that while society at large is realising that liberty is a fundamental human right, education system is still stuck in the era of slavery and/or military discipline. I find myself totally agreeing to her (even after 120 years!).
The How-
Liberty as a core-tenet means that the way of teaching has to evolve. She figures out via experimentation how to exploit the human brain's innate curiousity and playfulness so that children can "auto-educate" themselves. She stresses how learning anything from language to arithmetic to (exceptionally) discipline can be achieved via letting the child be spontaneous with (almost) no need for external reward/punishment stimuli. I find myself agreeing to a lot of this especially for young humans and their learning needs.
The What-
The didactic materials and methods flow from the above principles. Dr.Montessori describes in detail how she used experiments to come up with ingenious ways to teach young students She asserts that young children are to be taught hygiene, discipline, independence, use of senses, language, arithmetic, etc. Per me, there is a scope for evolving on the "what" of the system becuase the society has evolved a lot in the mean time too.
In summary, I think I learnt a lot from this book and look forward to explore this topic more. It is amazing how much Dr.Montessori achieved by being a contrarian and it is slightly scary that not much has changed in the education system since her time.
The Why-
Dr. Montessori starts dismantling the traditional system starting from how ubiquitous the school bench is! She asserts that while society at large is realising that liberty is a fundamental human right, education system is still stuck in the era of slavery and/or military discipline. I find myself totally agreeing to her (even after 120 years!).
The How-
Liberty as a core-tenet means that the way of teaching has to evolve. She figures out via experimentation how to exploit the human brain's innate curiousity and playfulness so that children can "auto-educate" themselves. She stresses how learning anything from language to arithmetic to (exceptionally) discipline can be achieved via letting the child be spontaneous with (almost) no need for external reward/punishment stimuli. I find myself agreeing to a lot of this especially for young humans and their learning needs.
The What-
The didactic materials and methods flow from the above principles. Dr.Montessori describes in detail how she used experiments to come up with ingenious ways to teach young students She asserts that young children are to be taught hygiene, discipline, independence, use of senses, language, arithmetic, etc. Per me, there is a scope for evolving on the "what" of the system becuase the society has evolved a lot in the mean time too.
In summary, I think I learnt a lot from this book and look forward to explore this topic more. It is amazing how much Dr.Montessori achieved by being a contrarian and it is slightly scary that not much has changed in the education system since her time.
June 12, 2023
To me there's a difference between a book being good, and a book being important. The Montessori Method is an important book, because it was one of the first of its kind to really delve into childhood education that actually suits a child's needs and desires, rather than an adults. If you're interested in implementing Montessori style education in your own childrens' schooling, however, you can skip this book. There are many books that came after this one (even some by Montessori herself) that abbreviate and elaborate on the important parts of this one. This book is more of an introduction, in which Montessori spends a lengthy amount of time proving her qualifications, and then even more time effusing on the tragedy of the current state of childhood education in her time, which I found very melodramatic, but could tell was for the pathos. Both of these things served to get her foot in the door of actually being taken seriously, but is not useful for a modern day reader who actually wants a methodological approach to follow with their own kids. Also, there was a fair bit of extreme ableism and some potentially harmful dietary guidelines, making the book overall not very useful as any kind of curriculum. But it is pretty interesting as a historical document. The main tenants of her teaching style were solid and I found it a fairly easy read overall, though it took me a while to get through as really poignant insights were few and far between. Maybe find a book summarizing this one and expounding on the actual education.
March 9, 2020
Indubbiamente le idee della Montessori sono state un bel fulmine a ciel sereno nel panorama educativo del 1900. Il bambino visto come un soggetto dell’educazione e con come mero oggetto passivo, un metodo di osservazione scientifico e rigoroso che mette l’insegnante nella posizione di poter cogliere moltissimi dettagli comportamentali e cognitivi dei singoli alunni.
La lettura di questo libro però non ha però arricchito particolarmente la mia conoscenza della pedagogia montessoriana e non mi convinto della sua bontà in senso assoluto. Resto convinta che, come molto metodi validi, quello montessoriano dia dei favolosi spunti di riflessione, delle dritte imperdibili, sia ricco di intuizioni geniali che abbiano dato una svolta al mondo dell’educazione e dell’istruzione ma che, a conti fatti, non sia “il metodo per eccellenza”, l’unico valido. Personalmente lo percepisco come un po’ statico e impostato (che poi è una delle critiche maggiormente mosse all’impianto della Montessori) e non condivido quello stacco (non sto dicendo distacco) che viene sottolineato dover esserci tra adulto e bambino.
In più ho trovato il modo di esprimersi della Montessori non poco supponente.
Sarebbe oggettivamente interessante poter vedere questa pedagogista alle prese con le sfide educativo-didattiche che presenta la società moderna, confrontarsi con lei per poter cogliere meglio quanto sta alle basi di questa metodologia.
La lettura di questo libro però non ha però arricchito particolarmente la mia conoscenza della pedagogia montessoriana e non mi convinto della sua bontà in senso assoluto. Resto convinta che, come molto metodi validi, quello montessoriano dia dei favolosi spunti di riflessione, delle dritte imperdibili, sia ricco di intuizioni geniali che abbiano dato una svolta al mondo dell’educazione e dell’istruzione ma che, a conti fatti, non sia “il metodo per eccellenza”, l’unico valido. Personalmente lo percepisco come un po’ statico e impostato (che poi è una delle critiche maggiormente mosse all’impianto della Montessori) e non condivido quello stacco (non sto dicendo distacco) che viene sottolineato dover esserci tra adulto e bambino.
In più ho trovato il modo di esprimersi della Montessori non poco supponente.
Sarebbe oggettivamente interessante poter vedere questa pedagogista alle prese con le sfide educativo-didattiche che presenta la società moderna, confrontarsi con lei per poter cogliere meglio quanto sta alle basi di questa metodologia.
January 16, 2025
- Here is a great quote that I believe summarizes Dr. Montessori's first complete work detailing her namesake program: "The greatest triumph of our educational method should always be this: to bring about the spontaneous progress of the child." Montessori revolutionized early childhood education by changing the way we approached children. She wanted to provide the space for them to dictate their trajectory of maturity on their own. At that point in history, educators wanted to force children to abide by their laws with strict ideas about placement in the classroom and preparation for a working life. Montessori was more adamant that teachers, who she referred to as "Directresses", bring a spirit of scientific observation to the forefront and support children in their independence. She felt that all kids have a "spirit of humanity" inside of them that was only emboldened to arise if kids were given an arena to explore in their own chosen manner. There are some great passages that really explore who we are as individuals and examine the idea that this journey begins way earlier than people thought at the time. Montessori was a visionary who had a great hope and love for mankind and its potential. I hope Dune enjoys her time in the program, and maybe Madam Montessori is looking down at Little Acorns with admiration and pride!
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