A Montessori Education

Paper Summary:

The paper explains how the Montessori method is based on the idea that every child has a natural way of learning. If encouraged and nurtured, the child will flourish and become an educated person. The paper compares Montessori schools to public schools and argues that a Montessori school is a superior place for children to learn. The paper discusses how, unlike most children in public schools, children in Montessori schools become eager learners who do not need to be rewarded or punished for their efforts. Goals for the students in Montessori schools are to grow personally, to explore and appreciate life and to become lifelong learners. The paper emphasizes that the Montessori schools encourage children to love learning.

From the Paper:

"When Dr. Maria Montessori became the director of a school for mentally-handicapped children, she exposed them to an environment that was highly conducive to learning. After two years, the children, who had formerly been labeled ineducable, were able to pass a test with normal children. This dramatic success led her to study how normal children learn. She reasoned that if mentally disabled children could be brought up to the level of normal, then normal children could excel. Following a two-year study of anthropology and psychology, she took over a school in the slums of Rome, where her use of materials and resources led to optimal self-learning on the part of the children. She hired an assistant who was directed not to teach, but instead to demonstrate use of the materials to children who were interested and to show them how to keep their schoolroom clean and orderly. What Dr. Montessori called auto-education (the natural way children learn) gained world attention because of its spectacular results."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bronsil, M. (2005). Counting or playing? Montessori Life, 17 (3), 48-49.
• Celeste, N., DeAubrey, D., Freilino, M., McDurham, R., Noel, A., and Smith, L. (2003). Identifying priorities for success in the Montessori Middle School. Montessori Life, 15 (3), 45-47.
• Montessori, M. (1912). The Montessori Method. Trans. By Anne Everett George. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company. Full text available online: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/montessori/method/method-I.html.
• Olaf, M. (2004). An introduction to Montessori philosophy and practice. Child of the World: Essential Montessori for Age three to twelve. Accessed 4/30/06: http://www.michaelolaf.net/1CW312MI.html.
• Roemer, K. (1998). Outcome based education and Montessori schools. Montessori Life, 10 (4), 38-41.

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