When I was raising my child I made the conscientious effort to put him through a Montessori education. Without regret, I felt it was one of the wisest moves I had ever made. But in the beginning I like all of you, wondered what actually goes into a Montessori education and how my child could benefit from it. My son was always a little precocious and was uniquely intelligent. I felt the Montessori system would be a good fit for his one of a kind curiosities.
The founder of The “Montessori” approach is Maria Montessori. Maria Montessori was an italian physician, educator and innovator. Her approach would build on the way children naturally learn. She was very interested in education and learned about educational theory. It was her that started the movement that would become a part of so many childrens’ lives even today.
The foundations for her method are focused on independence, centered on the child, along with being practical and concrete. Some of these Montessoris follow Maria Montessori’s philosophy to a T, keeping in the spirit of the original founder, and others loosely follow this philosophy. Here are a few features to her approach:
Child- centered. The montessori method deals with the strengths and weaknesses of the child. It recognizes each individual child’s unique learning abilities and interests. When children learn what they enjoy they take a greater interest in their own education.
Practical and Concrete. Maria Montessori realized children’s achievements and concrete life skills. Children feel good mastering practical skills like sweeping the floor or cleaning up, etc. Her methods allowed children of all abilities to thrive in an educational setting.
Decentralized. Teachers rarely teach to the whole class here. A lot of the work is self directed. There is a lot of peer teaching going on because the teacher to child ratio is high. Also, students are working with other children sharing their own discoveries. Some children do well with this approach but others do better with teacher directed instruction.
Independence. One of the goals of the Montessori approach is building independence in the child. Children need to naturally follow their own inquisitiveness in order to learn. This in itself is what most educators today focus on.
If you are deciding to send your children to a Montessori program, make sure you spend some time in a Montessori classroom; do whatever you can to find out more information about the methods and the philosophy. For a child that is an active and energetic and a rapid learner sending your child to Montessori may be a great option.