By Michael Dorer
Montessori education is a whole and cannot be fully understood by dissecting it into component parts, no list of elements will fully describe the Montessori philosophy. However, this list may give a general picture of Montessori education.
The ten essentials characteristics are:
1.) Mixed Age Classes
All Montessori programs are predicated upon a mixed age grouping of children. There are no single grades; rather, multi-age grouping is applied in all authentic Montessori classrooms. Dr. Maria Montessori observed that children learn best in a mixed ageclassroom while developing uniquely human social experiences.
2.) Prepared Environment
The prepared environment is Montessori’s term for a carefully readied and organized setting for children. It is especially organized with logical groupings of material sequenced from left to right. Each of these groupings represents aspecialized topical area such as language arts, mathematics, or other such curricular subjects. The room or environment is furnished with shelves to contain and organize the materials, child size furniture, and a variety of interesting workspaces for the children. There may be no teacher’s desk or area, just a specially designated chair.
3.) Montessori Materials
The Montessori materials are a set of scientifically designed hands-on learning devices. The materials for young children are generally made of hard woods or metal. Each of the specialized materials is unique to Montessori and designed with particular purpose in mind. These materials are not the same as conventional materials found in regular Kindergartens and nursery schools.
4.) Repetition
Repetition is not only allowed in the Montessori setting, it is encouraged. In a Montessori school, this means that the child may continue working with a piece of material as long as he or she desires to do so.
5.) Movement
Children may move about the classroom, if that movement has a purpose that serves learning and education. All of the work in the Montessori class should involve purposeful movement.
6.) Freedom of Choice
Children are to have the freedom to make choices regarding their seating spaces, work choices, work partners, and timing. In Montessori schools, freedom brings with it responsibility. As a result, children bear the responsibility for the consequences of their choices.
7.) Independence
The development of independence is seen as a core value in Montessori education. Beginning with the youngest children, a curriculum area called practical life exists, which has, as a main purpose, growth I independence. For the young child, this may mean learning to tie shoes or pour liquids. For older children it includes money management and traveling in other countries.
8.) Respect
The Montessori method is based on a profound respect for humanity and human beings in al stages of development. Montessori offered the insight that children are too often disrespected, indicating a basic prejudice toward children on the part of
some adults. The unique spiritual needs of children demand a nurturing loving adult who can demonstrate respect toward the child and childhood.
9.) The Montessori View of the Child
Montessori saw children as having a special role or significance to humanity as well as to society. Furthermore, the state of childhood is defining for each individual. Children create the adult that they become. “We cannot with our efforts, create a
man. That is the task of the child himself, and it is the most important side of the whole educational question: what the child himself accomplishes of his own power and not what adult man can do for him.” (Dr. Maria Montessori)
Montessori also saw children as being the preservers of culture and claimed that without children we would have neither civilization nor culture. Thus, is becomes critical that the education provided to them be rich in culture to offer the opportunity to carry it forward.
10.) The Trained Adult
The Montessori adult is the designer of the environment, an observer, a presenter, a role model, a resource, and a facilitator. He or she creates the Montessori classroom’s prepared environment, which includes the learning materials and the representation of each learning curriculum. The preparation of this Montessori adult requires five elemental components. These five elements are physical, intellectual, didactic, moral, and spiritual.
