Montessori Education Week – A Time to Reflect

I’ll admit I am partial to the Montessori philosophy. When I conduct tours of the school, it is interesting to me the misinformation out there. No, Montessori is not a cult (the strangest question I have fielded), nor do we keep children from playing or socializing.  Nor is it a “free for all,” where children just run about with no direction.

Montessori is just the opposite! It is a child centered, enriching environment set to the child’s level. It allows them the freedom to explore their classroom and learn at their own pace, building upon an intrinsic motivation to learn and develop. When was the last time you had to tell an eight month old child, “ok, babble – time to babble”? My point is children are born with a developmental timeline-an inner drive that can be stifled by our good intentions as parents and caregivers. If a child is taught to receive or have to seek external praise all the time, how will she learn to believe in herself and the work she does?

There are many developmental and educational philosophies in the world. I have been fortunate to learn about Maria Montessori’s revolutionary work in child and brain development. When she made her observations one hundred years ago she did not have the benefit of machines to test her theories but the testing today supports the work she did so long ago. As Dr. Stephen Hughes, President of the American Academy of Pediatric Neuropsychology remarks about Montessori:

“If we decided that the purpose of education should be to help every child’s brain reach its highest developmental potential, we would have to radically rethink school. The task seems insurmountable, yet this work has already been done. In fact, it was done over a hundred years ago. When examined through the lens of environmental enrichment and brain development, Montessori education presents a radically different-and radically effective-educational approach that may be the best method we’ve got to ensure the optimal cognitive, social, and emotional development of every child.” 

This is a week set aside to educate the world about this wonderful philosophy. I hope you will find out a little more about this amazing woman who launched a revolution so long ago that is still going strong; thank you Dr. Maria Montessori!

Until next time-

Kathy Raymond

P.S.  If you want to see some interesting videos on the amazing brain and education, check out Dr. Hughes’ wesite at www.buildingbetterbrains.com