What is Montessori education, and what does it entail? The fundamentals / definition

When properly posed, the question should be: who was Montessori? Maria Montessori was a trailblazer in her field. She was one of the first women to receive a doctoral degree from medical school, having been born in Italy in 1870. Her global and humanistic outlook led to one of her life’s greatest achievements: a new educational philosophy that is still relevant today and has been successfully implemented for over a century.
Montessori pedagogy is a method of teaching that focuses on the child’s
Maria Montessori established a pedagogy that is still considered an alternative type of education today. It is in direct opposition to traditional teaching approaches. Montessori education took a novel method to assisting children in their development. “Assist me in doing it myself!” is a great motto for this strategy. The child takes precedence. Mrs. Montessori saw each kid as an individual with a distinct personality and a dignified demeanor. Her primary goal was to instill in them a sense of independence and self-confidence that would serve them well later in life. Her method of approaching this concept of learning was and continues to be fascinating.

Montessori wished to maximize children’s learning processes. She assumed that each child learns at his or her own pace and in his or her own way. This theory is based on the fact that children have an inbuilt desire to learn. They like participating in all aspects of life, even adult life. When children are motivated, they learn more effectively. The goal is to keep youngsters interested in studying and to encourage them to do so, because without it, the system will fail. Adults imitate children. As a result, teachers should first guide the children before allowing them to have their own experiences, with the exception of providing advise when appropriate. Children learn primarily by didactic means, that is, through personal experience. They will be able to better internalize what they have learned in this manner. Each youngster is handled with dignity and respect. It is critical that adults learn as well, in order to adjust to the child’s unique pace and demands and provide appropriate assistance.

Today, the Montessori method is extensively adopted.

In 1907, Maria Montessori established the first children’s home in San Lorenzo, an impoverished Rome suburb, where she successfully implemented her notion of perfect learning for children. Many institutions emulated her throughout her life. The first German Montessori school, for example, opened in Jena in 1923. She wrote multiple publications about the then-novel educational system, and she brought people closer to her methodology through talks and readings, which is now known as “Montessori Pedagogy” in her honor. The educational concept was outlawed during the National Socialist era. The Nazi regime’s philosophy was that everyone should be encouraged to exercise their personal rights and should be let to develop freely. Today, the Montessori concept is taught all over the world, and there are an increasing number of devotees who teach Maria Montessori’s ideas out of conviction or send their children to Montessori schools.

Montessori Early Childhood Education is a type of early childhood education that focuses on the development of

A summary of the Maria Montessori concept:

Montessori – educational institutions include nurseries and kindergartens, as well as elementary schools, middle schools, secondary schools up to the 13th grade, and even special schools. Before working extensively with children and adolescents, educators who want to teach the Montessori concept must first complete two years of supplementary training, usually on the job. Montessori educators are specially prepared to discern the needs of each child, to comprehend his or her emotional state, and to offer the kid with the right direction. They operate less in accordance with the teacher’s instructions and more as a companion to the students.
(Learn more about Montessori kindergartens and schools.)

Adults employ materials and Montessori toys expressly devised by Maria Montessori to create the best possible environment for the care of the children. Because Montessori believed that toddlers internalize learning processes through their senses, this is the case. Because children by nature desire to grasp everything and so “be – grasp,” access to the child is always through the senses, including taste, look, hear, and smell. Special teaching materials were created based on this guiding philosophy. It separated these toys into many categories, including sensory toys. These can be little cans with a variety of noises. Or even stones of varying lengths to demonstrate sizes. Math resources, such as a type of slide rule or slide rule, are another area.

It is up to the children to make their own decisions.

Free work is a fundamental component of Montessori education. It is the child, not the educators or teachers, who determine what the child does. The kids get to choose the toys they want to use! As a result, the youngsters work in a quiet environment, which is unique in traditional educational facilities. Because the youngsters set their own pace, they may choose how long or how intensely they want to engage in something. This does not, however, imply that the children have “fool’s liberty.” They must follow the regulations and, above all, maintain order. Educators provide the appropriate settings, as well as instruction and consequences. The goal is to provide children with opportunities for free choice and development, in which they learn something specific at a certain moment and exhibit interest in it.
The furniture in Montessori homes is tailored to the children. This implies that the furniture is selected based on the age group. Children should be taught to be self-sufficient, but this necessitates that they be able to carry their chairs and clean up after themselves. Free work can only be effective if children have unrestricted access to the learning materials. For example, a game for a youngster with a height of one meter cannot be placed on a shelf 1.6 meters high. Children are taught to treat resources with respect. A porcelain plate, for example, can shatter if dropped. There would be no visible consequences for the child if he or she dropped a plastic plate. If a child is painting and knocks over the water glass, the water is gone. As a result, the child is unable to continue painting.

Conclusion: Well-designed toys and materials aid learning.

The scientific approach to education also entails patience and allowing the youngster to develop. It has also made blunders. Allowing the child time and guidance, as well as accompanying him and observing his progress. The strategy has proven to be effective. Maria Montessori developed an alternative pedagogy that is now being adopted and applied in traditional schools. She was a woman with a love for children, and others today follow her example more than a century after the first Montessori children’s home opened.
The Montessori philosophy is gaining popularity in Germany as well! In the year 2021, new Montessori daycare facilities and schools will reopen.
Jeff Bezos (River Oaks Montessori in Houston, Texas), Heike Makatsch (Montessori Elementary School Düsseldorf), and Herman van Veen were also famous Montessori pupils (Montessorischool in Utrecht, Netherlands) Do you want to learn more about Montessori education? Take a look inside a Montessori school! There are also a number of organizations and foundations that can help you.