Final Assignment

Name : Shyamila Galappaththi Student ID No. : Not available Module : DMT 101 – Montessori Philosophy & Theory Date of Submission : 11th December 2011

“A child’s different sensibilities enable him to choose, from his complex environment, what is suitable and necessary for his growth. They make the child sensitive to some things but, leave him indifferent to others. When a particular sensitiveness is aroused in a child, it is like a light that shines on some objects but not others. Making of them – his whole world. ” Secret of Childhood (pg 42, chapter 7)

Define the term “Sensitive Periods” and explain how teacher’s knowledge and understanding of these periods determine his/her preparation and custodianship of a prepared environment.

A child is gifted with two super natural aids to develop him/her self from birth. That is an absorbent mind and sensitive periods. Child would construct himself with the impressions he receives from his environment. Peaceful and harmonious behaviour of a child can be incarnated at very early years. The teacher’s role in the same and how it can be done was discussed in detail by Dr. Maria Montessori. “It is not enough to know that this child is John, that his father is a carpenter; the teacher must know and experience in her daily life the secret of childhood.” (The Absorbent Mind, Page 282) She said that the child possess within himself a pre-determined pattern of psychic unfolding, which is not visible at birth. She called it the spiritual embryo. For this pattern to reveal itself, two conditions must be fulfilled; the proper environment and the freedom to reveal himself. Dr. Montessori discovered that children have a creative intelligence that exists in his unconscious mental stage. From birth to an age of 3 years, children absorb precise skills and abilities through activities. Given the right conditions, children will develop natural spontaneous goodness and love and natural desire to learn and work.

Name : Shyamila Galappaththi Student ID No. : Not Available Module : DMT 101 – Montessori Philosophy & Theory Date of Submission : 11th December 2011

Children form their personalities through interacting with their surroundings. Children pass through special creative sensitivities from time to time. Dr. Montessori named them as Sensitive periods. Sensitive periods are blocks of time in the child’s life when he is absorbed with one characteristic of his environment to the exclusion of all others. Particular sensitivity towards certain stimuli lasts until a necessary need is fulfilled. Dr. Montessori discovered children have sensitivity to order, learning through their five senses, sensitivity for small and minute objects, sensitivity for walking, sensitivity for language and sensitivity for social interest. During a particular sensitive period the precise function can be perfectly established or can be acquired in a more perfect manner. If it is not been capitalised, natural conquest is lost forever and the child may have a disturbing effect on his psychic development. Hence, it is important to identify and make best use of these sensitive periods. An extraordinarily gifted person; a scholar like Madame Curie, a compassionate soul like Mother Theresa, with a hint of arrogance like Queen Mary, Maria Montessori was always ahead of her time. She became the first woman to receive a doctorate in medicine in Italy. Initially she took care of children’s bodies and physical illnesses. Then with her natural intellectual curiosity, she started to explore children’s minds and how they learn. Her experiments with retarded children proved that there was such potential within a child. Children are capable of absolute concentration provided they have the right material. Opening of first Casa Dei Bambini in Lorenzo gave her an opportunity to work with normal children. Her method was a consequence of her discoveries during her work there. Dr. Montessori created special equipment and introduced the Montessori environment to implement her philosophy. She had great respect for the children and was constantly learning from them. She made many of her own materials and was eternally observing the children. Her material evolved through her constant experimenting, modifying, and adapting things as the need arose. Children were given freedom to choose what they wanted to do, freedom to explore, freedom to work, thus fostering independence within the environment. She believed that the Montessori environment should be a nourishing place to meet the child’s needs for self-construction. All obstacles to the child’s development should be removed from the environment. Therefore, the basic elements within the prepared environment are concepts of freedom, structure and order, reality and nature, beauty and atmosphere, the Montessori materials and the development of community life. Prepared environment is not limited to the classroom which children would sit in. The whole area

DMT 101 – Montessori Philosophy & Theory

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from the entrance of the Montessori to every nook and corner children use during the Montessori time is the prepared environment. Freedom within that environment is important as only in an atmosphere as such a child can reveal himself and the teacher has an opportunity to observe him to aid him in his psychic development. Dr. Montessori’s motto was “Be of service, do not serve”. Freedom in its true sense would be to be independent. He should be given activities that encourage independence. He should not be served by others in acts he can perform for himself. For example - guiding the child to attain self help skills will allow him to be independent and be truly free. Child sized environment emanates a feeling of belonging to children; and the same gives them a freedom to explore that environment. Freedom within limits provided in a Montessori classroom gives a unique opportunity for the child to reflect upon himself and his own actions. Determine the consequences of his actions for himself and others. Learn what activity leaves him satisfied and fulfilled and what activity leaves him empty and dissatisfied. He’s given an opportunity to discover his capabilities and shortcomings. The opportunity to develop self-knowledge is one of the most important results of freedom in a Montessori classroom. It is only in a precise and determined environment, can a child categorise his perception and form conceptual frameworks to understand and deal with his world. Children show sensitivity for order from age two to four. A teacher who identifies this would guide the child through specific structures. Everything in a Montessori environment is structured. From left to right, from top to bottom, from simple to complex, from concrete to abstract, age appropriate material from practical life to sensorial to language development to mathematics to culture. Dr Montessori said that both indoor and outdoor environment must be alive with growing things of all kinds that are cared for by children. Whole Montessori environment is based on reality and nature. She felt the Montessori environment should be simple; everything within it must be of good design and quality. The colour should be cheerful. The atmosphere of the room must be relaxing and warm and invite participation. Montessori material must aid the formation of the child. Material must correspond to the inner need of the child. Material must be presented at the right moment of the child’s development. Dr Montessori suggested that material be introduced at different age levels. However, the sensitive period for the introduction of the


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material must be determined by observation. While observing teachers may discover that a child is ready for a certain apparatus since the child shows an interest in it while another child works on it. But, the same child may show signs of unready ness when the apparatus is presented. The sensitive period for each of the material will differ from child to child. As Montessori class rooms include children of different ages; it urges the development of community life within them. Children offer moral help and reciprocal help to one another. Older children become role models and act as tutors in a Montessori environment. Children create cohesive communities within the Montessori classroom. This leads to a teacher’s greatest achievement to be able to say “The children are now working as if I did not exist.” Though Dr. Montessori gave great emphasis to the environment; she regarded that “Environment as Secondary to Life”. Just because a child is placed in a carefully prepared environment he will not learn and develop. Hence, environment is secondary to life. Potential life is within the individual. “Environment cannot create human power, but only give it scope and material, direct it, or at most but call it forth; and the teacher's task is first to nourish and assist, to watch, encourage, guide, induce, rather than to interfere, prescribe, or restrict.” (The Montessori Method, Introduction, Page xxi) Dr. Montessori was a teacher of teachers. She wrote and lectured continuously. She opened research centres and started training courses to teach her methodology. She believed to foster independence in the Montessori environment and to guide the child to construct himself; the teacher must play an integral role. “To this she must devote her energies, and her activities will change from stage to stage, as in a spiritual ascent.” (The Absorbent Mind, Page 276) “First Stage. The teacher becomes the keeper and custodian of the environment. … The teacher’s first duty is therefore to watch over the environment, and this takes precedence over all the rest. Its influence is indirect, but unless it be well done there will be no effective and permanent results of any kind, physical, intellectual or spiritual” (The Absorbent Mind, Page 277)


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“Second Stage. Having considered the environment, we must ask how the teacher shall behave toward the children. … the teacher must be seductive, she must entice the children.” (The Absorbent Mind, Page 278) Montessori teacher is the carefully placed dynamic link between the prepared environment and the child. A teacher must be a good observer, a growing person, open and lively minded, creative, innovative and should be sincerely and genuinely love children. The teacher plays the paramount role of being a systematic observer of the child and an interpreter of his needs. To understand and follow the child, the Montessori teacher must develop the desire and ability to observe him. Aim of the Montessori teacher should be to develop the whole personality of the child through motor, sensory and intellectual activity. Teacher must observe to learn more about the child, his specific needs and sensitive periods he goes through. It enables to help and direct the child to reach his full potential. One way to make a close observation of the child is to have a regular and consistent work cycle chart. Refraining from interrupting the child, a teacher should try to work on a three hour work cycle. Child’s momentum and train of thoughts can be identified. His concentration level can vary from deepest to no concentration at all. It is through the process of observation that a teacher can identify all this. A child who skips and jump constantly from place to place can be identified as a child who is passing through a sensitive period for walking. When the teacher identify this, she would allow the child to climb and descend stairways as much as he wants, she would introduce games like skipping with a rope, she will use circle time to introduce walking on a line. The teacher does not have a need of words of energy or severity; but she must be able to make prudent observations, to assist a child by going up to him, or withdrawing from him and by speaking or keeping silence according to his needs. As Dr. Montessori said sensory refinement occurs in a child from the age of 2½ to 6. It is the same time period a child’s rapid physical development takes place. It’s the time for the formation of the sense activities as related to the intellect. Sensorial education is to aid the child’s natural development. A teacher who observes a child’s need for sensorial training will introduce the child to knobbed cylinders, the pink tower, the broad stair, long rods and so forth. While a child refine his sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell through the sensitive period for learning through five senses; he also develop


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sense of self-identity and security. Natural development will occur in three folds; biological, social and psychic. A child’s sensitiveness for small objects usually occurs from 1 ½ to 4 years of age. Children will start to focus on small and minute things very intently. They will notice a trail of ants when they take a nature walk. They will start to focus on small fish in a fish tank. They will start to notice little dust bunnies. Teacher who observes this would introduce the child to practical life exercises like use of tweezers to transfer tiny objects; use of chopsticks to move tiny objects; use of eye droppers to transfer water and so forth. Reality and nature will provide the child with opportunities to master his sensitiveness for small objects. By observing the child the teacher can see what motivates him and where his interest lies. While the teacher observes, she can be physically passive but, mentally active in her observations. A knowledgeable teacher will always take mental notes of a child’s behaviour. It is very important to stand back from the child and not to permit the child to rely on the teacher, but to allow the child to become an independent individual person. Montessori teacher must be an experimenter, who would be tailoring the environment to meet her perceptions of the child’s needs and interest, and also would objectively note the results. According to Dr. Montessori, “Language is an instrument of collective taught.” Language connects man, and he uses them to express his thoughts according to the need of his mind. A child learns a language spontaneously. No body teaches him how to form sentences, the rules of the language, the position of the subject, verb and object in a sentence; but, he learns the language unconsciously. What starts as babbling gradually develop through, his first intentional word, one word sentences, phrases of few words; all through the explosion in his powers of expression. At around the age of 2 ½ when a child enters a Montessori, it’s the time that marks a borderline in man’s mental formation, there begins a new period in the organization of language which continues to develop without explosion. At Casa Dei Bambini Dr Montessori asked a child to draw a chimney and he obediently complied. After completing the drawing he exclaimed that he can write. Writing comes to a child before reading. A teacher would acknowledge this fact and introduce her children to creative work such as hand painting and drawing shapes. A child who is experiencing sensitivity for language would thrive at tactical learning; tracing sandpaper letters and later pronouncing ‘a’. When they start refining the senses


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they will move in to reading and telling stories, reciting poems and naming activities. The Montessori teacher is a programmer, preparing the environment and keeping in perfect condition, adding to it and removing materials as needed. Creative teacher would keep the interest and curiosity of the child alive through out the Montessori time. For example - She will keep changing the beans in pouring exercises to different shapes and colours to capture the attention of the child. She will introduce themed weeks like; insects, Christmas, space, nature. She will have colour days like blue day, red day, etc. It’s all to have the children’s curiosity and love of learning alive. With each change they quest for order, refining senses, small objects, for walking, for language, and social aspect of life. Conclusion “The child is truly a miraculous being, and this should be felt deeply by the educator.” (The Absorbent Mind, Page 121) For a child, sensitive periods are a gift of nature to construct him self. If maximum usage is not been reaped the natural conquest is lost forever. Hence it is utmost important for parents and teachers to identify these sensitive periods in children and to guide them to perfect themselves in a manner otherwise not easily possible. Montessori teachers are trained and learned to identify these sensitive periods. It is through love of children and keen observation that a teacher will be able to identify children’s behavioural changes. Once the specific moments identified, teachers can present different sensorial material to satisfy their urge. A creative teacher would change her prepared environment further than to limit herself with Montessori material.


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Bibliography The Montessori Method by Maria Montessori. Translated by Anne Everett George. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company The Absorbent Mind by Maria Montessori. Translated by Claude A. Claremont. New York: Henry Holt and Company Montessori A Modern Approach by Paula Polk Lillard. New York: Schocken Books Inc. Notes from DMT 101 course manual Quotations and notes from student hand book Quotations by Dr Maria Montessori


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Final Assignment

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