Tag Archive for: Montessori

Packing School Lunches

Three Wonderful Videos, One Central Idea (Part 2 of 2)

Part Two: One (of Many) Integrating Principles

What words came to mind when you watched the three videos we linked to in Part One of this post?

Here’s some common answers:

  • Persistence
  • Independence
  • Autonomy
  • Drive
  • Mastery
  • Competence
  • Achievement
  • Confidence
  • Joy

All of these describe what you see, in all three of these videos—and all of these are what children in Montessori experience every day.

video1When Ruby reaches for the toy, and her mother lets her struggle for it, instead of handing it to her, Ruby learns to be persistent, to work at what she wants. She learns if she works at something, she can get it. She learns that her mother trusts her to succeed, rather than bailing her out at the first sign of struggle. She gains the confidence that comes from slowly mastering her own body.

video3When Jackson walks into his classroom, he has the freedom to choose his activities. When he feels trusted, he will, over time, make good choices—empowered by the environment that enables him to complete his chosen activities successfully. When he gets to choose where to work, with whom, for how long, he experiences autonomy, a powerful motivator. When he can repeat an activity until he is done, without interruptions for mandatory group activities, he discovers the thrill of mastery.

video2When the little girl in the FastDraw video expands her division problem until it reaches from the ceiling to the floor, she experiences that the sky is the limit. She gets to know herself as someone who, with effort and persistence, can tackle touch challenges. She acquires a growth mindset (in addition to great math skills).

 

 

In all these examples, the common thread, the unifying principle that makes all others possible, is what Montessori educators call “freedom within limits.”

In Montessori, children at every level—infant, primary or elementary—spend their time in a carefully prepared environment. In that environment, they have a big say in what they want to do. They are free to act as they see fit, to make choices and experience the consequences. And yet, it is naturally healthy behavior, not anarchy, that reigns. Because the environment is prepared, a child’s spontaneous choices end up being directed towards productive, meaningful ends. The environment (and the teacher) provide a framework that guides and clearly delimits the exploration. The child is not abandoned or neglected; instead, she’s empowered and supported in her natural quest for learning.

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Take Ruby. Her mother created a safe space, and equipped it with appropriate toys. She was there, next to Ruby, a presence in her daughter’s day. She also had the discipline of observing without interfering, a task that must not have been easy when Ruby struggled so much! Ruby was free to move, free to explore, within the safe environment her mother had set up, and within a safe emotional environment by virtue of her mother being there with her.

Jackson’s freedom is much wider than Ruby’s. He has the freedom to walk within the classroom at will, and even walk to other classrooms or maybe the yard without constant direction by a teacher. The limits aren’t that visible in the video—but that’s only because he has internalized them. He’s learned to walk around his peers’ mats. He’s probably using a calm inside voice. He knows to place his materials back on the shelf when he is done. And he knows, in accordance with the “ground rules” of the Montessori classroom, that materials which haven’t yet been demonstrated to him are off-limits until he is ready for them and the teacher gives him a lesson. He’s not tempted to grab a material from another child who has it, because he has internalized the simple rule that materials may only be taken from the shelves, never from another child.

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The Montessori elementary child’s freedom to move about the classroom, to work with peers, to progress to whatever challenge she feels ready for (like ceiling-to-floor long division) is in sharp contrast to the adult-directed learning typically found in traditional schools. That freedom, again, takes place in a carefully designed environment. The young girl wasn’t able to just jump into long division on day one in first grade, because she wanted to touch the colorful materials. Instead, her teacher introduced her to materials by means of carefully sequenced lessons, each of which optimally challenged her, and then gave her space to explore and practice. Over time, through voluntary engagement, she became comfortable with numbers. The passion and confidence to tackle big problems also similarly grew in her over time, instead of being extinguished by handing out gold stars for minor achievements. The result was that she was both capable and eager to take on a big challenge, within a framework of inner and environmental limits.

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“Freedom within limits” is a cornerstone concept within Montessori. It distinguishes Montessori from the two most common educational approaches. In contrast to traditional or classical education, which is largely determined by the teachers and adult led, Montessori allows true freedom and supports the child’s autonomy. In contrast to progressive education or the unschooling movement, which often lack clear limits or curricular structure, Montessori autonomy operates within the limits and guidance of a carefully prepared learning environment—an environment with clear rules, a carefully structured curriculum and deliberate coaching and guidance by a highly-trained teacher.

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“Freedom within limits” is one of those hidden, beautiful ideas that make the Montessori magic happen. Look for it the next time you observe in a good Montessori classroom. I bet you’ll be surprised by how much it helps you understand just how different authentic Montessori at LePort is from the other educational alternatives you might consider.

Discipline in the Montessori Classroom (2 of 2)

Part Two of Two— Lack of Skill or Unmet Needs, not Badness: How We Handle Discipline Problems in Montessori

IMG_7400In part one of this post, we argued that discipline in Montessori is about helping the child to achieve mastery of his mind and body, so he is capable to willingly conform with (reasonable) rules of life.

This raises the question about what we do when a child does not act in a self-disciplined manner. In other words, how do we handle discipline problems?

As always within Montessori, our answer is individualized to the child and situation before of us. If the child is new to Montessori, we frankly expect her to not be able to be disciplined! As we outlined in part one, discipline grows through practice, not by command. With a new child, our goal is to help her acquire mental and bodily control by connecting her to interesting work in the environment.

A true discipline challenge arises when a child either isn’t able to connect with materials and thus doesn’t achieve self-discipline after an extended time in the Montessori environment, or when a child who previously was behaving well suddenly starts to hurt others or to violate our community rules.

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In both cases, our core assumption is that the child has some unmet needs, whether physical or mental. In effect, we view a lack of discipline as an illness, rather than evidence that the child is bad—and our treatment reflects this perspective. We don’t cajole, punish or shame. We don’t administer punitive time-outs or withdraw love and affection. Instead, we try to diagnose and treat the underlying problems. This can take many forms, depending on the child, the classroom setting and the family. Here are a few examples:

  • A young toddler who bites.
    Biting is a very common issue with young children. To manage it, we try to observe carefully and identify the root cause. Is the child teething and just needs his gums stimulated? In that case, providing sturdy food (bagels, carrots, apples) to chew on or a teether (if very young) can help him feel better. Is he upset by another child who is intruding in his space, and unable to express his needs with words? In that case, we may need to supervise him more closely, keep him apart from the other child, and work on providing words to signal his needs: “I see you are upset that Max took your toy. You can say ‘stop that’ to let him know, then come find me to help you.”
  • IMG_7247A new three-year-old who runs in the classroom or yells loudly.
    If the child is new to the class, we may need to give him a more productive outlet for his big movements and loud activities, while he learns to better control his body. We may just take him and a few friends out on the playground, and encourage them to get their needs for rowdy activity out of their systems outside—fully realizing that acquiring self-discipline isn’t instantaneous!
  • A child who keeps interrupting his peers and annoys them.
    Often, this type of behavior happens when the child hasn’t yet found work he finds engaging. So our first thought will be to offer him some choices that we think will meet his need for mental nourishment. If that doesn’t work, we may separate him from his peers—not in a punitive time out way, but to give him a chance to observe them engaged in the many fun activities available in our classrooms. Often, we find that after some time of watching, the child will be eager to try an activity, and he’ll be able to focus on his own work.
  • IMG_7145A new child who won’t settle down to any activity, despite the guide’s best efforts to introduce her to a wide range of interesting activities.
    Sometimes, a child just can’t seem to get herself settled into our classroom routines. It may be that the child joined at age 4 ½ and just is beyond the activities we normally offer to a new child: this fall at one of our campuses, we had an older boy who was restless, until his experienced teacher introduced him to the Stamp Game, and advance math activity usually introduced to children who have had several years in the Montessori classroom. This boy, who was unable to sit still for anything, latched onto the big numbers, and quickly mastered them, then went back happily to many of the foundational, easier activities.

Sometimes, we may need to call a meeting with the parents to diagnose the problem. Issues at home can show up in behavior problems at school. Maybe the child is hungry when she arrives in the morning, and needs a breakfast with more protein, rather than quickly digested simple carbs. Maybe her bedtime is too late, and she needs more rest to arrive fresh and able to tackle her day with enthusiasm. Or maybe there was a change in the family—the death of a beloved pet, the arrival of a new baby—and she needs to work through her emotions to regain her balance.

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If we identify a challenge at home, we count on the parents to work in partnership with us to help the child thrive. We recognize that it may not be easy to change the family dynamic—to serve dinner earlier to ensure sufficient sleep when dad comes home late, or to make time for a nutritious breakfast before heading out for the day. Sometimes, we need to ask parents to get children outside help—for instance, if a child acts aggressively because a speech delay prevents him from communicating his needs verbally. We understand that facing challenges like these can be tough for parents. Yet time after time, we have observed that it requires close cooperation between school and home to help children move beyond such behavior problems and flourish.

A child who misbehaves is a child who needs our love and understanding. We will not let her get away with her destructive behavior (that would be abandoning her) nor intimidate her into submission (which would only lead to the problem resurfacing later and probably in a more violent form). Instead, we will work with you as the parents to diagnose and fix the root problem so she can once again participate joyfully in our classroom community.