I was greeting everybody as they they arrived, gently guiding them towards work if they didn't yet have anything in mind.
I approached the girl in the reading corner, hesitant as to whether I should interrupt her or not. I asked her what she was reading. She told me she was reading a book another girl wrote for the class.
It was a handmade book about pets; it had been beautifully illustrated. It sort of reminded me of the beautiful handwritten and hand-painted ancient books on display at Trinity College in Dublin. It got me deep in thought.
Montessori children are so full of self-confidence and especially creativity! How many children write books?! And how many then feel so sure of themselves as to display them in the school library?!
This also made me think of the fact that our Montessori classroom is truly alive. First of all, nobody asked the author to write anything, it wasn't an "assignment". Second, she felt free to "publish" her ideas.
This made me think of the different ways people describe Montessori in different countries. Ever since I moved to France, I have noticed that here people often mention the fact that a good quality Montessori education helps children build their self-confidence. And what is self-confidence?
Self-confidence is a feeling of confidence in oneself and in one's powers and abilities; it's a synonym of self-assuredness, self-esteem and self-trust.
And how can we get anywhere in life if we don't believe in our own capabilities?
Indeed, in a Montessori environment children are given endless opportunities to develop these skills because of three main important aspects which represent the foundation upon which the method is based:
1.- The mixed age groups.
The mixed age groups allow children to play different roles in each three-year cycle. When they first come into the environment they are the youngest who look up to their older peers as their role models - children always learn better from each other than from a seemingly "all-knowing" adult. In their second year they become role models for the younger children while still having the ones who are older as role models too. And finally, in their third year they get to be the ones with the most experience, so they get to do what the older children did to help them when they first came into the environment.
2.- The Material's Inherent Control of Error.
The Montessori pedagogical material has been developed in such a way that the child realizes for himself if he has made a mistake. With certain materials it is simply impossible to make a mistake, and with others it will take time before the child will develop the fine perception to see that something "looks" wrong. More about this on another post.
3.- No Praise, no Exams, no Grading.
Yep, you've read correctly. Because of the control of error, mentioned above, there is no need to judge or evaluate, just as there is no need to praise. This may be shocking to some, but actually the role of the educator is to constantly observe each and every child and make regular notes of their progress - something which they children may not even be aware of. If I notice for example, that a child has not quite mastered a specific skill then I know that child simply needs more time to practice with the material before I move on to what follows. In Montessori children work at their own pace, and that's our motto!
Now, the issue with praise is another controversial aspect of this philosophy. Praising and pampering children for no apparent reason does not actually help them in their construction of a positive self-image because it doesn't guide them in mastering real and useful skills. Only when they are involved in tasks which they are capable of succeeding at do they start to develop a confidence in their real abilities.
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