Skip to main content

What is the end for the Montessori child?

Reflect to Refocus
I've been an educator for almost ten years and a Montessori guide for about half that time. One of the reasons I was moved to learn and practice Montessori pedagogy was because of the ways in which the philosophy connects with how I believe children and all people should be treated: with dignity, value, and love. The unique ways that Dr. Montessori considered the child in every aspect of her teaching philosophy is astounding. But equally unique is that she seemed to keep the end in mind.  I'd like to try and do the same. After all, the 3 year old in my class will one day be a 6 year old, then 9, 12, etc. Then what? What was Dr. Montessori aiming at? What should I be keeping in mind in regards to the reasoning behind my work?

Not quite the Miss America Answer
In a statement, Montessori sought to bring out the fullness of humanity, so as to create peace in the world. It's kind of crazy to think about. This brilliant educator was shooting for one of the higher aims in life. And she sought this as systematically as she could. I suppose her reasoning was like this: Since the deviations in people's personalities (which leads to mental and physical disturbances) can be eradicated by providing for the child everything that he needs at every stage, then this creates a harmonious and peaceful child, and thus a harmonious and peaceful adult. Where this educational philosophy is perpetuated, it has the potential to change societies, provinces, nations, and the world. 
He who is the constructor of man can never be a person of no importance. He is capable of doing something great, like a seed. It is only when we realize the wonderful way in which the child creates the man that we realize, at the same time, that we hold in our hands a secret by which we can help in the formation of  better humanity (Just the opposite of a secret weapon to destroy it). Montessori quoted in the book Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work by E.M. Standing
The End for the Adult
In order for this to happen, for children to grow up in an environment where they are safe, have their inner needs met, and the freedom to pursue them, the adult who cares for them must also change. The inconveniences that we attribute to childlike behavior, must instead by seen as they are: the child's desire to discover, learn and grow. We can either help in this process, or hinder it. In the Montessori Method of teaching the goal was to create a way of education that unleashed the full abundance of life within the individual, including the individual within a society. By so doing, the child would become equipped to solve the problems of the world in which they currently lived, while also learning how to work with her peers to achieve those ends. As the child grows into an adult, the problems of her world become more complex, stretching her abilities. But the child will meet them, even as he learns from the past failures and successes of those who've gone before him.
The Snake Game

So to be clear, in educating the child "for life", we do not gloss over the history (and present reality) of racism, climate change and the many other atrocities that have plagued our world for generations. We prepare them biologically, socially, and spiritually for what is necessary to eradicate these maladies (while continuing to do so ourselves).

A child is completely foreign to this organized society of adults. His "kingdom is certainly "not of this world" He is a stranger to that artificial world which men have built above nature. A child comes into the world as an asocial being since he cannot adapt himself to a society nor contribute to its productivity, nor influence its structure [Yet]. Maria Montessori "The Secret of Childhood"

For me the end goes further. Yes, I am actively working to remove boundaries that hinder a child from thriving to their fullest potential. And I do believe that this will aid in creating a future filled with goodness, justice, love and peace. But I do this with a deep love for the child in front of me, praying for the adult they will become, all to the glory of Jesus Christ who made me and them. In the end, I'm just planting seeds and watering. It's He who must give the increase.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A return

 It's been a long while since I've used writing as an outlet for thinking about Montessori pedagogy. But I have been using my voice in other ways.  When I was growing up, I was slow to speak and would more likely be found writing in a journal rather than talking to others. There are some tendencies (not in the Montessori sense) that stick with you, even into adulthood. But lately, even in shyness, I've been speaking more rather than writing; sometimes to my colleagues regarding the lessons I've learned about the classroom; sometimes to parents to remind them that they are doing the most difficult of jobs, and that I know they're child well. But what I'd forgotten is how the written word has a magic to it that cannot--or perhaps ought not--be forsaken. It is in the written word that the ideas of one person can be conveyed, at least in part, to a completely different person. And in that transfer, hearts can be shared as well as minds. It's how I learned about...
Post a Comment
Read more

Riches beyond compare

  Right now I am on Spring break, so it allows me the opportunity to be able to write. I'm thankful for this. But I am also thankful for the privilege of being able to teach in a lot of different spaces, to children of all ages. Teachers are an interesting breed, especially those guides of young children. They tend to have such big hearts, yet can also be prone towards wanting to control our little towns inside our classrooms, forgetting the bigger picture.  Depending on the type of guide you are (in public school, or private school, Montessori or otherwise) you have such a limited time with these little ones. The mark that you have on their lives will go well beyond your own. The same is true for the families we get to serve. Usually we are with them at the beginning of their journey as parents. So it speaks to the type of impact we can have on everyone in the household. What a privilege to carry.  And yet it's so exhausting. The self control and thoughtfulness is far be...
Post a Comment
Read more

Something I want my students to know...

 I've had the privilege of teaching young children for about ten years. From the first fearful step into the 3rd grade classroom of P.S. 154 as a City Year Corps member, to looking up at my ninth and tenth graders during my teacher fellow year at the Collegiate Institute of Math and Science, I've been humbled to be in the presence of these young people. And now, in a primary Montessori classroom, with children who will remember me as one of their first teachers--if not the first teacher they've ever had--the stakes feel higher, even as I have to bend lower to look at my students in their eyes. I sometimes wonder if the message I want to get across to each child comes through in the way I'm teaching. If not, here's what I'd want them to know: Everyday I think about how I can be a better guide to you, and everyday I feel more inadequate to do so. I want you to know that you have far greater ability than you think, particularly the ability to do good in the world....
Post a Comment
Read more