The Montessori Method
Photos of Marie Montessori just brings to mind the smell of rose petals, a warm and comfortable lap, and the feeling of being nurtured in an environment tailored especially to children. I'm speculating on her choice of fragrance and her body temperature, but this woman encapsulated the idea of placing children as the masters of their education.
An Italian physician, Maria dedicated her life to educating children. Her ideas and methodologies are alive today for good reason. Independence, freedom within limits, and child-led decision making are the main philosophies behind this learning style, and it has been successfully implemented in both the private and public education sector, with homeschoolers quickly following suit.
There's a wealth of information regarding specifics on how to set up a classroom, which is a very child-friendly environment with all materials strategically organized to be at the child's eye-level, using bright and vibrant colors to stimulate their senses and give them enthusiasm as they navigate the materials laid out before them. The Montessori method places an emphasis on aesthetics as it is pleasing to the child, not as it's convenient or orderly from an adult perspective. Unlike a traditional classroom where children are assigned seats and are admonished for getting out of them whenever the mood strikes, a true Montessori environment encourages freedom of movement and allows the child to decide which activities they choose to learn with. Rather than over-killing on textbooks, worksheets and structured subject study, the student is free to choose from a variety of stimuli that isn't interrupted by a "bell" or a timed schedule. The student isn't ordered to work via direct instructor of a teacher. They are coaxed by "facilitators" into discovering concepts by lots of hands-on manipulation of materials by the child at their own pace and discretion.
While there's not a lot of historical demonstration of Maria Montessori's methods past the elementary and middle school academics, there's been a wide adaptation of Montessori being applied on the high school level. A large part of Maria's vision centered around connecting the children to nature, and she stressed that reaching adolescence was a time of much "difficulty" for children (boy, what an understatement), and urged that they be led to a quiet, naturalistic setting in order to thrive. Granted, during her time, adolescents weren't as "plugged in" and technologically dependent on their electronic devices as they are now, so I'm not so sure how well that would go over - but I can certainly see the wisdom in giving them space to exercise all the angst that goes along with hitting the cusp of adulthood.
Right after high school, I worked at a day care center that employed a Montessori teacher part-time for the four and five year old groups. I remember the kids being led to her classroom for a couple of hours each day, and although the concept was completely lost on me at the time, I remember marveling how the children conducted themselves in her room. Where they ran willy-nilly/pell-mell throughout the rest of the daycare center, they seemed so relaxed and self-composed in her class. They prepared snacks for each other, carefully and methodically put away their materials when they were done "playing" with them, and they did this with very little prodding. While the rest of us daycare workers literally exhausted ourselves trying to keep the kids entertained and pacified enough to not completely spazz out and climb the walls with all their excess energy, the self-composure and maturity these four and five-year old kids exhibited in that classroom was remarkable. I never forgot it.
While researching the Montessori method, it became apparent that a homeschooling family with limited financial resources would have a tough time recreating a full-blown Montessori atmosphere at home. I can certainly appreciate that you really can't put a price on your children's education, but if we were going to embrace the much-appealing Montessori applications in it's entirety, we'd be better off paying for private instruction in an accredited Montessori academy. Not that it's an option for our family of five on one income (though I could always go back to work to help fund it), but I recoil at the fact that considering this option kind of undermines the entire purpose of putting myself in a take-charge, fully-immersed and involved role in my children's education.
We'll definitely be borrowing from the Montessori philosophy, as I hope to have lots of tactile, hands-on activity centers when we complete the renovation of our garage into our learning arena. I'd definitely like to incorporate the "Mom-As-The-Facilitator" versus "Mom-As-The-Teacher" into it, and I can only hope and aspire to be as enthusiastic and dedicated as the late Maria Montessori was.
Building Our Homeschool Foundation - Part IV: The Unschooling Method
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