As per the physical environment this needs to allow the child to move freely and safely around. Everything must be in order because this helps the children to organize the information and satisfies their internal need for consistency and predictability (Montessori, 1966). The whole environment should encourage the child participation in the activities. The furnishings must be child-size, so he/she can actively use them. It needs to offer objects that stimulate the child’s senses and arranged in a way that can attract his/her attention and activate a strong interest. They must be kept in perfect order and must be freely accessible, so the child can work independently with them. The environment and the objects need to change to respond to the changing interests of the child. In fact children go through different phases, characterized by “sensitive periods” (Montessori, 1966), transient moments during which the child shows predominant interests and sensitiveness. When a sensitive period becomes active he/she gets drawn towards specific elements in the environment that are important for his development and he/she learns the related ability effortlessly. The child should be allowed to choose and engage in activities that match the specific sensitivity. He/she will then deeply concentrate and repeat them over and over, without rewards or encouragements. The materials must also present different difficulty with built-in “control of error” (Montessori, 1966), which supports self-learning and makes external help less necessary.
The teacher can help the children to get the most from their surroundings by taking care of the physical space (furnishings and materials); by facilitating his/her interactions with the materials and by observing his/her work to note the progress and to respond to his/her needs. The teacher needs first of all to organize the space, since “no prepared environment, no Montessori school” (Standing, 1998, p.304), and then must become its “guardian” (Montessori, 2007b), making sure everything is at its place. As a facilitator, the adult must initiate the children to the correct use of the objects. He/she needs to observe attentively the child, so to know when he/she is ready to approach a new activity, according to his/her interests and needs and to his/her experience. The activities must be right for that specific child, not too easy to cause boredom and not too difficult to discourage him/her. The teacher must allow the child to explore the material freely, without intervention or unnecessary help, keeping in mind that the object contains the lesson in itself. This role might be challenging, in that the adult needs to leave the active part to the child, who cannot understand through arguments, but only trough activity and experience. The teacher must thus prepare him/herself, not only by acquiring a solid knowledge of the developmental stages and the materials, but also working on his/her own prejudices and wrong habits, showing compassion and honesty and never forgetting the immense potential the child has.
Indeed the adult can be the biggest obstacle to normalization (Montessori, 2007a). If he/she has not faith that the children will direct themselves to what they need from the environment he/she will not let them free to choose according to their inner urges. Without a deep understanding of the child functioning and needs, he/she will not provide the activities necessary to the child’s psychic growth, causing him/her to detach from reality and to show those deviations which are considered normal characteristic of childhood, as lying, aggressiveness, and possession.
To facilitate the natural development of the child the teacher needs to know in depth how this occurs and its phases. Normalization, in fact, takes place during the conscious stage of the “absorbent mind” (Montessori, 2007a). The absorbent mind is a peculiarity of the child under six years, who is drawn to absorb from the environment, according to the sensitive periods, the knowledge he/she needs to build his/her skills. This process is initially guided by an unconscious power and later by the child’s will. When involved in activities that respond to these sensitiveness the child will more likely experience that concentration that leads to normalization. The child in the conscious phase uses incessantly his/her hands guided by the intelligence and works to develop and organize his/her knowledge. He seeks freedom to choose independently those activities that will better serve his/her development. The child, in fact, seeks independence soon after birth, trying to overcome the obstacles which prevent him/her from mastering him/herself (Montessori, 2007a). His/her development is a gradual conquest of independence through his/her experiences in the environment. If he/she is allowed to try any activity he/she is ready for, he/she will learn new skills and will become more confident. The adult intervention, which is necessary at first to set the child on the right track, should steadily decrease as children learn to do things by themselves.
This stage was also called by Montessori (2007a) “social embryonic” because of the social attitude the child now presents: he/she becomes aware of living with other people and thus develops that sociability that is one of the signs of normalization. Affection and friendships develop, play becomes cooperative, and the norms of social relations are absorbed. He/she is able to be patient and delay the gratification of impulses, not because he/she is asked to, but because he/she has learned it from experience. This is for example the scope of making available only one sample for every material, so children will experience the meaning of waiting their turn. Patience and respect for others puts the foundation of social life and therefore the teachers should not always step in to resolve disagreements, but let the children find a solution. A multi-age class will also be of benefit, since it offers a variety of social situations which reflects real life (Montessori, 2007a). The smaller children learn more easily from older ones rather than adults, because they share a similar language and mind set. On the other hand the older child will need to make sure his/her knowledge is correct, thus reinforcing his/her own understanding, and will feel happy to be of help. Envy and jealousy will be less likely to develop, since everyone is working on something different. There is no competition and comparison, but true affection among the group, the younger will admire the older, and this will protect the other. Normalized children are able to offer support without interfering with the others’ efforts, they show feelings of belonging and desire to contribute to the success of the group. This spontaneous, strong sense of community Montessori (2007a) called “cohesion in the social unit” and represents the birth of future society. It is the role of the teacher to support and respect these dynamics.
When the child enters a Montessori classroom for the first time he/she is usually not normalized and carries the signs of previous experiences that blocked his/her normal development. The teacher must initially be active and guide him/her to those objects which, from her/his observations, will most likely create a deep interest in him/her. S/he must know very well how the materials work and when is the right moment to introduce them (Standing, 1998). Sometimes she/he might need just to stay aside, if the child at that moment only wants to observe others. At first the activities proposed could be “practical life exercise” (Montessori, 1966), or other physical activities which put the child into contact with reality. Later on the teacher can offer the apparatus, presenting the activities one child at the time, regularly and as precisely as possible. She/he must be able to distinguish between pure impulse and the child’s awakening (Montessori, 2007b) and must stop disturbing behaviours or non-constructive and aimless activities. In this case she/he should redirect the attention. Otherwise, any act with a form of purpose must be allowed and observed. Once the child is set on the path to normalization the teacher has to make her presence as small as possible, and let the child explore.
If the adult believes that children are not competent and they need to be corrected, they could compromise the optimal development of the child (Montessori, 2007a). He/she could in fact urge them to action using encouragement or rewards and punishments, instead of letting them free to follow their nature, but this will affect the intrinsic motivation to work. He/she could instigate competition, so the children will learn not to help each other but rather to think of their own advantage. Correcting the children’s mistakes instead of enable them to do it will humiliate them and will harm their self-confidence. Interrupting their work to impose a pre-fixed routine will break their concentration and jeopardize the future work. The teacher must therefore first of all trust the children and then learn to understand each one’s needs.
The role of education should be facilitating the true nature of the child to unfold, by eliminating those blocks that often adults create on his/her course. The return to normality can be supported by the teacher when he/she understands and learns to observe the individual needs of the children. He/she can then create a space rich of accessible and available activities, which can bring his/her mind into contact with reality. Her role must adapt to the child’s progress: initially she will offer guidance towards the activities which will facilitate the unfolding of his/her potential, but once the change has happened within the child, and concentration has been observed, she will have to, humbly and respectfully, step back and let the child shine.
Bibliography:
Montessori, M (1966) The Secret of Childhood, New York: Ballantine.
Montessori, M (2007a) The Absorbent Mind, Amsterdam: Montessori Pierson Publishing Company.
Montessori, M (2007b) The Discovery of the Child, Amsterdam: Montessori Pierson Publishing Company.
by
ariapsico (student)
