Whether you are a parent who has been considering the education of your child, or you are merely in a place where you are curious about how children may be best educated, you will find that one learning method that you should explore is that of the Montessori schools. Montessori children’s schools are named after Dr. Maria Montessori, an Italian educator whose theories were formulated at the first half of the century. While many schools will call themselves a Montessori school, and they may do so proudly, there are things you should keep in mind. While a school may say ‘Montessori’, it may have a loose definition and with no standards for using the name Montessori, you will find that the standards and method of teaching may vary greatly from another Montessori School.
When you are looking at traditional public school, you will find that you are in an environment where children are sat down and given material to work with. They may find that they are in a place where they are learning about numbers and words and history that have no relevance to them and that they need to assimilate regardless of that fact. Montessori schools encourage learning in children by focusing on their current interests. In a Montessori school, you will find that a child will be spearheading the learning, while the teacher will be there to guide them on their study and to suggest new ways that they might approach it.
You can expect Montessori schools to be very proactive and engaging during the evaluation process. There is a strong emphasis on coming up with a theory and then heading out to test it, and as a result, you will often see a lot of implementation of the prospects that are being taught at this point. The Montessori method says that a child learns most in bursts of focus and concentration. During this point, the teacher is in fact very hands off and will allow the child to work ahead on their own.
This method of teaching is based off of the Montessori method, which states at its core that children are capable and interested in learning on their own. According to this method it is more important for teachers to watch the child learn than to provide direction.
By watching the child’s behavior during activities and observing what he or she likes to do, the teacher can assess the skills that the child needs to work on and formulate ways to teach to those needs. When looking for Montessori schools you will usually find elementary and junior high schools. Even though the Montessori high schools are a bit rare nowadays, still they do exist.
One reason that you will see so many Montessori elementary schools and middle schools is due to the theory that states that a child has a very absorbent mind from birth to the age of six. According to the theory children have endless drive to learn and to grown and to acquire specific skills and knowledge.
When you take into consideration all the aspects a child needs to learn at his age,like sitting up,walking,reading or counting,it can easily be seen why it is like that. Children of this age are extremely impressionable to learning from their surrounding culture - if they are encouraged to pursue these interests at a young age, it can become a life-long habit.
Examining the Montessori teaching principles will show you the multiple benefits of such an education for your child, not only academically but personally. The child is taught first hand that he or she will be rewarded for thinking on their own and coming up with their own solutions. Also, they have to be taught to continue forward in their curiosity and to work on their problems head on. This is something that will serve them quite well later in life. They will understand how to find solutions and to work on their own.
There are a lot of things to take into consideration if you think you might be interested in a Montessori school. Look into schools yourself and know how their type of Montessori operates; there’s a world of good you can do for your child!
