Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952), the first female physician in Italy, began her work while observing the behavior and education of mentally disabled children. She began to develop and apply her method combining her ideas with those of Froebel, Sergi, Itard, and Seguin. In the early 1900's, she was asked to educate a group of "unruly" children in a housing project in Rome where she applied some of these original observations and ideas in child development. She named this classroom, which opened in January of 1907, Casa dei Bambini, or Children's House. Dr. Montessori had discovered that children have an innate desire to learn, explore, and master new skills. Through the multi-sensory materials she designed, children, starting as young as age 2, quickly thrived in the areas of reading, writing, math and self-achievement. Her results in improving the education of children quickly gained recognition and widespread international attention, an effort to which she dedicated her entire life. Dr. Montessori's approach to education stems from a solid grounding in biology, psychiatry and anthropology. She studied children of different races and cultures around the world and witnessed the universal laws of human development. The year 2007 marked 100 years of Montessori education.
Montessori Method at a Glance
Dr. Maria Montessori, through scientific observation, realized that children learn by innate guides that allow them to select activities from their environment in direct relation to their natural stage of development. She described these stages as four Planes of Development covering the years from conception to 24 years old. In order to allow the child to develop to his/her fullest potential within these stages, she discovered that the child thrived given the freedom to choose within a prepared environment. Furthermore, children also flourished within multi-aged classrooms where they could learn from each other and from which to build a community. The goal of Montessori education is to give the child everything he/she needs during each plane so that full construction of the human being can occur. The task of the Montessori teacher is to observe the children and recognize what the characteristics and needs of each child are at all times. Then the teacher can give the correct amount of help or the lesson that is needed at the moment. The child is then the center of the environment, not the adult.
During the First Plane of Development (age 0-6 years) [1], a Montessori classroom, or Children's House, will appear as a quiet hum of activity as children are engrossed in materials they choose that correspond to their individual interests. In the Second Plane (age 6-12), children have a stronger sense of independence and need to form groups among their peers. Lessons are thus presented in small groups where children's intellect is challenged and they are taught how to reason. In the Third Plane of Development (age 12-18)[1] adolescents are in need of valorization to understand and appreciate his/her own worthiness and strength. Activities are structured to encourage empowerment and self-worth. All activity is guided by a respect for the teacher, for the work of others and for the classroom materials themselves. As a result, children develop into self-confident, self-directed individuals with a love of learning that drives their success throughout life.
[1] : Please note, Montessori School of Waukesha starts at age two and continues to age 14, or 8th grade.
Excerpts from Know Your School by Carlyn Wagner
