Preface
Shortly after I received my AMI Montessori diploma,[1] I began to teach at a small, private Montessori school owned and operated by a group of parents. Even though the parents liked the positive results they saw in their children because of the Montessori experience, they did not understand why it worked. They requested that I write short essays explaining the method that could be distributed to the rest of the parents in the school. I have continued that practice at every school I have worked at since then.
Parents and teachers alike have found the articles of value and have urged me to get them published in book form. Montessori--Why It Matters for Your Child’s Success and Happiness is the result. This book explains various aspects of the Montessori Method and normal child development for children ages two and a half to six years of age and some characteristics concerning the elementary and middle school child. It is significant to note that this is not just a book that mouths the teachings of Maria Montessori, the person responsible for the development of the Montessori Method. The mouth is my own. My conclusions are based on what I have observed about how children learn and how they think. I did not attempt to make Montessori work because it sounded like it should work. I instituted the method and then observed over and over with my own eyes that it, in fact, does work. Montessori is a philosophy of education that encompasses more than just classroom learning. It is an integrated, consistent approach to the child which promotes his independence. I have, therefore, also explained from my perspective, how Montessori applies to issues such as electronics (computers, television, video games), uniforms, summer vacation and other issues that Maria Montessori herself never wrote about.
Dr. Montessori indicated that parents and children are at odds with each other. I never fully understood what she meant by that until I tried to answer the myriad questions and misconceptions about children that parents had expressed throughout my career as a Montessori educator.
When children are disrespected, it is usually because they are misunderstood, not because they are unloved. Adults need to get inside the mind of the child to appreciate how enormous a task it is to grow up. Children have to learn everything from scratch because they start out knowing nothing. Imagine what it must be like. You come into the world with a blank mind. You see light, hear sounds and move your limbs in reaction. As you grow you begin to recognize your parent’s face and voice as more sensations come in: different sounds, colors, textures, temperatures, weights, odors, lights. At this point, objects in the environment seem like globs. You are bombarded with information and you are eager to put it all together, to make sense of it all. You are excited, like an explorer on virgin land or an astronaut on a new planet. What is it? What is out there? You can hardly wait to crawl so you can discover and explore your world with your hands. But most adults don’t remember this part of their childhood.
During the first three years, the child’s mind is in chaos; during the next three he[2] will learn how to put the whirlwind of information into order, organizing his mind as a kind of mental filing cabinet. The method by which he does this will determine the cognitive functioning of his subconscious. The question is, what method will he use? Will he be active or passive? Will he continue to explore or will he stop? Will he become independent or dependent? Will he continue to want to learn or will he become lazy?
The way adults treat and educate a child during this stage of his development is critical. They can either accept the old beliefs about childhood and unknowingly interfere with their child’s growth; or learn about the true nature of the child so that they can handle him in a way that will give him the best opportunity for success.
I hope that this book will do two things. First, I want parents to understand the Montessori Method better so that they are more able to enjoy and participate in their child’s learning process. Second, I want to help adults see the world from the child’s point of view, so that they understand him during the most serious period of his life, the time when he is in the process of creating the only thing that can bring him success and happiness—his mind.
[1] AMI stands for Association Montessori International, an organization founded in 1929 by Maria Montessori in order to protect the integrity of her work and to ensure it would continue after her death.
[2] To avoid confusion, I generally refer to the child as “he” and adults as “she” except when I cite a specific incident where the child is female or the adult is male.