The Purpose of Montessori Education

Dr. Maria Montessori believed that no human being is educated by another person. He/she must do it himself or it will never be done. A truly educated individual continues learning long after the hours and years he/she spends in the classroom because he/she is motivated from within by a natural curiosity and love for knowledge. Dr. Montessori felt, therefore, that the goal of early education should not be to fill the child with facts from a pre-selected course of studies, but rather to cultivate his/her own natural desire to learn.In the Montessori classroom this objective is approached in two ways: first, by allowing each child to experience the excitement of learning by his/her own choice rather than by being forced; and second, by helping him/her to perfect all his/her natural tools for learning, so that his/her ability will be at a maximum in future learning situations. The Montessori materials have this dual long-range purpose in addition to their immediate purpose of giving specific information to the child.

The Importance Of The Early Years

In the Absorbent Mind, Dr. Montessori wrote, one of the most important periods of life is not the age of university studies, but the period from birth to the age of six. For that is the time when man's intelligence itself, his/her greatest implement is being formed. Not only of his/her intelligence, but the full totality of his/her psychic powers... At no other age has the child greater need of an intelligent help, and any obstacle that impedes his/her creative work will lessen the chance he/she has of achieving perfection."Recent psychological studies based on controlled research have confirmed these theories of Dr. Montessori. After analyzing thousands of such studies, Dr. Benjamin S. Bloom of the University to Chicago wrote in Stability and Change in Human Characteristics, from conception to age 4, the individual develops 50% of his/her mature intelligence, from ages 4 to 8 he/she develops another 30%... This would suggest the very rapid growth of intelligence in the early years and the possible great influence of the early environment on this development."

Like Dr. Montessori, Dr. Bloom believes that the environment will have maximum impact on a specific trait during that trait's period of most rapid growth." As an extreme example, a starvation diet would not affect the height of an eighteen year-old, but could severely retard the growth of a one year-old baby. Since eighty percent of the child's mental development takes place before he/she is eight years old, the importance of favorable conditions during these years can hardly be over emphasized.

Sensitive Periods

Another observation of Dr. Montessori's philosophy that has been reemphasized by contemporary research is the importance of the sensitive periods for early learning. These are periods of intense fascination for learning on a particular characteristic or skill, such as going up and down steps, putting things in order, counting or reading. It easier to learn these skills during the corresponding sensitive period than at any other time in his/her life. The Montessori classroom takes advantage of these sensitive periods by allowing the children freedom to select individual activities which correspond to his/her own periods of interest.

 

"A Parents"

Guide to the Montessori Classroom

by Aline D. Wolf

PARENT CHILD PRESS

P.O. Box 675

Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania 16648