Preparation of The Spirit

"It is not about learning of ideas but the preparation of the spirit....... A teacher who is to help life has to deeply understand the child...." These were Dr. Montessori's words. 

Handicraft Exhibition on Beach Road

I have been discovering how true these words are.  I am often filled with thoughts of students working and some not working in the classroom.  It is a beautiful experience.  Today we designed small tables and chairs and shelves for the classroom.  The carpenter is so very amazed, he has never made such small furniture.  He is equally eager to see our classroom, he has no idea what is going to be the use of his creation.  I told him that it will give him immense joy when he actually sees what the children will do and accomplish.

I bought three trays that looked beautiful from a craft exhibition yesterday, I kept trying to place one on the table and pick it up very carefully several times.  I totally forgot that people were watching me and ended up receiving some strange looks.  But I was only trying to see if the little hands will be comfortable grasping these trays.  And this is not new for any Montessori teacher out there.

Sunrise Early Monday Morning

I have a great desire to do good in the field of education.  I have the certitude that it is possible and that I am not the only one with such hope. 

Total Freedom Leads to Chaos

Montessori

I have been having a lot of discussions on education as I am meeting people and sharing my ideas.  When I mention 'Montessori', most people think its a new idea of letting the child be free in the classroom, let him do whatever he wants and the teachers are very open minded.  This allows me to speak of the very beginning of Early Childhood Education of which Dr. Montessori was one of the founding and defining authors.  I was very happy to tell the story of how Dr. Montessori came up with the new scientific method of educating the young child in which the child's natural desire for learning is nurtured.  And this method is widely used in various ways in all educational institutes through out the world.

Freedom Vs Structure

Dr. Montessori spoke of an environment which is student driven and not merely teacher driven.  Students are the engine of the classroom not the teacher.  I have always tried to understand the fine balance between freedom and structure.  I have been in classrooms that were totally teacher driven and classrooms that were student driven.  It is difficult to find a classroom that is perfect but however a balance between the both can be brought through maintaining a structured environment.  When the child experiences total freedom his life becomes chaotic which is the result of lack of concentration, coordination, order and independence.  This affects the child's ability to form judgements, make decisions and think critically in the long run.  Structure means freedom within limits.  The young child needs structure, structure in daily routine, structure in the classroom, structure in the playground.  This structure is created in a Montessori classroom through a prepared environment which reduces the chance of experiencing chaos.  Experiencing chaos can be good sometimes in order to appreciate structure and order, but not all the time.  The child between the age of 0-3 experiences an immense amount of information entering into his brain but does not have the ability to sort it out or categorize it, this is when the child is a bit chaotic but once the child is three years old, he begins to practice logic and reasoning and is able to categorize information.  Often external order helps the child to have an image of the internal order and structure and thus it is essential that education to be imparted to nurture inner order.