What is the Montessori Method?

Montessori History

            Maria Montessori, a medical doctor and pioneer educator, was born in Italy in 1870 and died in 1952.  She lived principally in Italy, Spain, India, and the Netherlands through a turbulent period of World Wars and revolutions.  Although uprooted many times in her life and several times a refugee, she continued to study children, establish schools, give lectures and train teachers on three continents.  Today there are Montessori schools in fifty-two countries on six continents, and their number continues to expand worldwide.

            Montessori based her educational plan upon the observation of children in diverse cultures and in many countries.  Therefore, her discoveries are not accurately described as Montessori principles.  They are universal principles of human behavior, which belong to all people, societies and cultures.  These universal principles are a sound foundation for educational systems everywhere.

            The environment in the Montessori classroom allows the opportunity for exploration, orientation, order, imagination, manipulation, repetition, precision, control of error leading to perfection and communication.  When the teacher takes responsibility and understands the importance of continually observing and responding to the inner behavior of the child then the classroom works well.  Directing the child in his need to explore and interact within the smaller environment of the classroom, relating and communicating with the other children, and interacting and being guided by the teacher leads to self discovery and to their eventual adaptation to life in a larger society and culture.

            Three essential elements of Montessori education:

• The prepared environment—always a place of simplicity, beauty and order.  There should be nothing within the environment that could be considered an obstacle to the child’s development.  Everything is child sized, uncluttered and conducive to activity and concentration.  Children become responsible for taking care of the environment.
• A prepared adult—the adult or teacher acts as a link to the environment for the child.  The Montessori teacher observes the child and is able to focus on individual need based on observations of the child and his individual personalities.  Teachers present materials and activities that match the child’s individual needs. As the child is allowed to independently manipulate the materials or perform the activity, learning takes place.
• Freedom of movement—Freedom does not mean doing whatever one wants whenever one wants to; rather, freedom refers to being in control of self.  Freedom in Montessori’s definition is to be able to do what one chooses to do, not what one’s feelings or illogical thoughts of the moment may dictate.  With freedom comes responsibility and self-discipline.