Keystone Montessori

MARIA MONTESSORI

Dr. Maria Montessori, born in 1870, was the first woman in Italy to receive a medical degree. She worked in the fields of psychiatry, education and anthropology, never publishing a theory until she had observed it, with children of all social classes and in many countries, for years.

She believed that each child is born with a unique potential to be revealed, rather than as a “blank slate” waiting to be written upon. Her main contributions to the work of those of us raising and educating children are in these areas:
(1) Learning to prepare the most natural and life supporting environment for the child,
(2) Observing the child living freely in this environment, and
(3) Continually adapting the environment in order that he may fulfill his greatest potential, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually.

Today Montessori teacher training centers and schools exist on all continents. The Montessori Method is dynamic in that observation and the meeting of needs is continual and specific for each child.

The discoveries of Maria Montessori are valuable for anyone living and working with children in any situation. There have been Montessori birth attendants and Assistants to Infancy in Europe since 1947. There are Montessori classes for children up to age eighteen within public and private schools. Many parents are using Dr. Montessori’s discoveries to raise their children at home.

Scientific observation has established that education is not what the teacher gives; education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words but by experiences upon the environment. The task of the teacher becomes that of preparing a series of motives of cultural activity, spread over a specially prepared environment, and then refraining from obtrusive interference. Human teachers can only help the great work that is being done, as servants help the master. Doing so, they will be witnesses to the unfolding of the human soul and to the rising of a New Man who will not be a victim of events, but will have the clarity of vision to direct and shape the future of human society.

Maria Montessori,
Education for a New World

THE MONTESSORI PHILOSOPHY

“Education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the individual and is acquired not by listening to words, but by experiences upon the environment.” Maria Montessori

Over her lifetime Maria Montessori (1870-1953) developed and articulated a rich philosophy of human development and a detailed methodology for its implementation. For more than 70 years her ideas and practices have been implemented successfully across cultures and economic classes throughout the world. Contemporary research continues to validate many of her ideas. The influence of her ideas continues to grow.

Montessori based her philosophy and methods on a deep understanding of and respect for children.

She wrote that all human beings are born with both universal and unique potentials. Every person enters the world with a unique inner plan that directs and drives them to develop, to master and to perfect themselves. Human beings begin life with internal timetables and patterns already established for growth, both physically and psychologically. If free to grow in healthy surroundings under suitable conditions, children naturally grow into intelligent, competent and responsible adults. It is the task of adults to provide such conditions and aid children in their great quests to develop to their full potentials.

Often called an “education for life,” Montessori programs help children learn how to be independent, self-directed learners equipped with the tools needed to accomplish their educational goals and objectives.

To a Montessorian, an education’s purpose includes, but goes beyond the acquisition of basic skills and knowledge. While students are encouraged to become thoughtful readers, clear writers, problem solvers and logical thinkers, they are also encouraged to fully develop their physical, emotional, social, and moral potential.

The keystones of the Montessori philosophy:

1. To respect each person, all life, and the environment
2. To respect each child’s uniqueness
3. To cultivate each child’s natural desire to learn
4. To allow children to choose from a variety of stimulating activities
5. To provide an intellectually and artistically alive environment
6. To lead children to think for themselves
7. To provide “hands-on” learning materials
8. To develop each child’s natural passion and inner drive for learning.