Assignment: Course Module - I Miss Saba Dost
Assignment: Course Module - I Miss Saba Dost
Assignment: Course Module - I Miss Saba Dost
ASSIGNMENT
Introduction to Montessori
Question No 1. Discuss the life and work of Dr. Maria Montessori and why she is
referred to as a lady much ahead of her time?
In 1900 Montessori was appointed director of the new Orthophrenic School attached to the
University of Rome, formerly a municipal asylum for the "deficient and insane" children of
the city, most of whom would be diagnosed in the twenty-first century as autistic or mentally
disabled. She and her colleagues initiated a wave of reform in an institution that formerly had
merely confined these mentally challenged youngsters in barren settings. Recognizing her
young patients' need for stimulation, purposeful activity, and self-esteem, Montessori
dismissed the caretakers who treated the inmates with contempt. Facing a desperate lack of
staff to care for so many children in a residential setting, she set out to teach as many as
possible of the less-disturbed children to care for themselves and their fellow inmate.
She also read and studied the works of 19th-century physicians and educators Jean Marc
Gaspard Itard and Édouard Séguin, who greatly influenced her work. Maria was intrigued by
Itard's ideas and created a far more specific and organized system for applying them to the
everyday education of children with disabilities. When she discovered the works of Jean Itard
and Édouard Séguin they gave her a new direction in thinking and influenced her to focus on
children with learning difficulties.
The first Montessori school was named CASA DEI BAMBINI (The House of Children) and
was inaugurated on Jan 06,1907.
This first Casa dei Bambini (Children's House) was located in the worst slum district of
Rome, and the conditions Montessori faced were appalling. Her first class consisted of fifty
children, from two through five years of age, taught by one untrained caregiver. The children
remained at the center from dawn to dusk while their parents worked, and had to be fed two
meals per day, bathed regularly, and given a program of medical care. The children
themselves were typical of extreme inner-city poverty conditions. They entered the Children's
House on the first day crying and pushing, exhibiting generally aggressive and impatient
behavior. Montessori, not knowing whether her experiment would work under such
conditions, began by teaching the older children how to help out with the everyday tasks that
needed to be done. She also introduced the manipulative perceptual discrimination and
puzzles and eye-hand manipulative exercises that she had used with mentally disabled
children.
To Montessori's amazement, children three and four years old took the greatest delight in
learning practical everyday living skills that reinforced their independence and self-
respect.Soon the older children were taking care of the school, assisting their teacher with the
preparation and serving of meals and the maintenance of a spotless environment.
Montessori made a practice of paying close attention to the children's spontaneous behavior,
arguing that only in this way could a teacher know how to teach.She continued to observe the
children deeply, made educated guesses and finally experimented. For example, one day the
teacher arrived late at the center. The children, meanwhile, had crept in through the window
and started their work. They even took the material themselves from the cupboard, which
normally used to be locked, but was open just by chance. This seems to be a small change,
but it actually was against all the educational theories and practices of that time.
Worldwide Response:
Dr.Maria Montessori’s first Casa dei Bambini became famous in the entire world in a very
short span of time. Thousands of visitors went away amazed and enthusiastic. After the
success of her first school, she started the second one and then the third and so on. Her
system worked everywhere in so many different settings. Even, in America, figures like as
Woodrow Wilson, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford supported and
praised her work. Numerous publication and articles written about and by Montessori, made
her a well-known personality to parents and teachers.
The number Montessori schools soared up to 1000 by1925 and many tens of thousands more
around the world. But things took a dramatic turn by 1940. Montessori movement virtually
disappeared from the American scene and declined in many other countries. In America, only
a few schools had the courage to pronounce themselves Montessori school, although many
continued to operate without using the name. However, since 1960s, there is a surprising
revival and resurgence of Montessori movement in America.
The credit goes to Dr. Nancy McCormick Rambush who "Rediscovered” and brought
Montessori back to North America.
Maria Montessori was pictured on the Italian 200 lire coin and through the 1990s on the 1000
lire bill, by far the most common one, replacing Marco Polo, until Italy adopted the Euro. She
was also nominated for Nobel Peace Prize thrice.
Maria Montessori left the world in the Netherlands in 1952 but would always stay alive as
she lives as an immortal through her method, which has helped and would continue to help
children of all times to be better human beings. She lived in old days but was definitely “A
WOMAN MUCH AHEAD OF HER TIME”
Question No 2. Which are the main requirements to be considered to start a house of
children? How do you implement them?
Montessori is the place where children can do whatever they want and meet their needs and
interest. Therefore, one has to be very particular and consider numerous things when start the
house of children. It is the most difficult task to start it. There are several requirements which
one should be keeping in mind.
1. Class room design is the most important place where children have to stay.
Montessori educational apparatus, tables and shelving, and related activities
equipment should be appropriate and several in number so that children could
approach them.
2. The number of students in the classroom should not be exceeding more than 30
students.
3. The size of the classroom should allow minimum of 20 square feet per students at the
early level, 30 squares for the elementary level and 40 squares would be for secondary
level.
4. Montessori house should be child-sized where he could enjoy his age. A child sized
kitchen, science lab, an art studio, bath rooms, hobby workshop, everything should be
according to the size of a child. They lead him to fulfill his desires and enjoy his own
world.
5. A house should be design in such a way that the child could face outdoor
environment. There must be window through which the children could face sunlight
at a daytime and become a natural source of ventilation.
6. There must be the children garden where child can grow vegetables and fruits of their
choice. It leads them to close to their natural environment.
7. There should not be any prohibition of doing something which the student is not
allowed at his home. “Prohibition is sweet or bitter, prohibition is prohibition.”
8. Children are usually not allowed to do by themselves what they want at their home so
Montessori room should provide them this opportunity.
These are some factors which should consider while starting any house of children.
How to implement?
Considering requirements are very important but implementation is more important than
them because implementation is something which we have to implement and how it works is
based on it. There must be a lot of things which should be implement those are:
Respect is the basic thing which everybody requires. Every child needs respect. Parents try to
force them to follow the parents without regarding their needs and interest. Therefore, first
we should take great care of the respect of the child.
Every child is different from one another. Teacher should focus on individual child as his
learning progress, growth and understanding is different from other children.
Prepared environment is very important. When they have prepared environment, they are able
to do what they want. The material is available for the child which they can easily access and
do whatever their interest.
The teacher is the role model for the student. Her behavior should be polite towards students.
As the teacher is the spiritual mother of the students, they learn a lot from them after their
mother. So, her behavior and attitude should be very good.
There must be parent-teacher meeting as parents should know the progress and development
of their student and the most important about the attitude and the nature of the student.
Montessori teacher can guide them according to the nature of their children.
Conclusion
To sum up, the house of the children is the place where children can meet their needs and
interests. So, these requirements should keep in mind when starting the school.
Question No 3. What are the discoveries made by Dr. Maria Montessori by observing
the child?
Introduction
Maria Montessori made a lot of discoveries by observing the children. She is a founder of
Montessori education. She conducted a lot of experiments and observed children by spending
a lot of time with them. She discovered several aspects of children. She has specified some of
the discoveries she had made during her work.
She used a scientific approach. She worked tirelessly observing children, analyzing results
and developing new materials. In start she worked with mentally disabled children and
achieved astonishing results. After that she thought to work with normal children. She
believed the ‘secret of childhood’ that every child have a potential and it’s the responsibility
of adults to help them and flourish this potential. Montessori was the revolutionary who
created her method from observation, not just from old theories.
Here are some of her observations that have the most importance for early learning
activities:
1. According to Maria Montessori children work until they reach to their goal. They are
very enthusiastic about the work which makes them select and concentrate on
different activities which lead them to make them perfect in their inner development.
1. The inner drive is sufficient. The adults need not be motivators or conventional
teachers but only have to provide the necessary conditions. They just have to follow
the child, who is following a purposeful inner urge. Total development is possible
only when the child can work in various fields of human activity at specific times,
whose awareness and urge comes to him naturally.
2. Maria discover that When a child does activities again and again or when there is a
spontaneous repetition of an activity is done with great interest the result is
concentration. The child concentrates more when they found right conditions. And
condition is just a beginning not an end.
3. Maria discovered that children really need an order in their life. She found out when
she saw her children putting their things back to their places; same in the case of
values, functions and other human activities. The child wants to learn by practice that
is the truth, the need to see it being practiced. Montessori students in this age, built up
their personalities, they needed consistency in all aspects of environment.
4. Normality is depending on all the human powers for working in unison in
collaboration. very often children deviate from this normality because they do not find
the conditions necessary for their development. Dr. Maria says that during the early
childhood it is possible to rectify any developmental errors and bring the child back to
normality. Activity was essential.
5. Dr. Maria discover that A child needs those activities which help him to develop
sensorial concepts, language, arithmetic art, and culture. These are very important for
building of child’s personality. Montessori found that these activities can bring
intelligence in the children as they love to perform these activities.
6. She observed that a child can learn almost everything in early childhood, as it was
previously thought, that many things are too complex for children.
7. Maria Montessori discovered that real discipline comes through freedom. This
suggested that discipline must come from outside because true discipline is born in
freedom. Freedom and discipline are two faces of the same coin.
8. Maria Montessori believed Real obedience is based on Love, respect, and faith.
9. She believed that the child’s behavior depends on the environment. A child can be
disobedient, stubborn etc. or a child can be disciplined, happy and healthy. It depends
on the environment. If proper, healthy and interactive environment provided to
children and their rightful needs fulfilled, they behave normal otherwise not. The
second condition is called deviation.
10. She observed that most of the activities presented to the children in Montessori houses
of children are results of observing the child, and therefore, may be constructed as
discoveries. The silence activity exercises of practical life and walking on the line are
some of the examples.
11. She discovered that children love to do their household work. They believe in a
statement that “Help me Do it myself” but parents don’t pay any heed towards this.
So, she says we should trust the child.
12. Maria had a view that we should provide a very good environment to the student in
order to attain good result. For this purpose, she used child size table and chair rather
than heavy desk. She discovered the child wants everything according to its size.
Tables were so small and light in weight so two children could easily move it.
13. Montessori further studied the traffic pattern of the rooms, arranging the furnishings
and the activity area to minimize congestion and tripping. The children loved to sit on
the floor, so she bought little rugs to define their work areas and the children quickly
learned to walk around work that other children had laid out on their rugs.
14. 15.Maria observed that the building and outside environment should be according to
the size of a child. For instance, toilet, low sink, windows, shelves, garden tools etc.
designed in child sized.
Montessori method bases itself on these and various other discoveries Dr. Maria made while
she worked with children.
Question No 4. What does “PILES” stands for when we talk of human development ?
discuss the physical ,lingual and intellectual development taking the place during 3 to 6
years of age?
Introduction:
There are several keys of areas of development, which can be remembered by saying
P = Physical
I = Intellectual
L = Language
E = Emotional
S = Social
The age from 3 to 6 is the first phase of a child development. In this phase, the child needs
proper environment and freedom to practice his activities which he has learns, observes and
watches. Now he wants to put them in action. Children are very curious and want to explore
the world in this age. In this phase, there is a great development in their lingual, physical, and
intellectual development.
Physical development:
Physical Development between 3 and 6 years. It is very important and rapid in this phase. A
child is very active, imaginative and energetic. When children grow, they acquire skills which
are appropriate to their age. These skills are milestones to measure their development.
Physical development is as important as any other kind of development
Intellectual development:
The child’s intellect also improves with the passage of time. In different age, the child
strengthens his intellectual power.
1 He may name all colours but sometimes mixes up blue and green.
2 He can hold pencil properly.
3 He can copy a circle and V, T, H and a cross .
1 He can draw figures with all features with including head, body, arm, legs and face.
2 He can now copy a square and triangle.
3 In this age child will draw more detailed house including the windows, door and roof.
Language development:
Language development also improves with the passage of time and the child is able to
conversation more clearly. Children learn from the environment. we can make the
environment peacefully for children.
1 They start asking meanings of different words as their vocabulary builds up.
2 He takes pleasures in humorous stories.
3 He still loves to listen stories, and he will use them in play later.
4 A child is increasingly articulate in this age.
Question No 5. Write a comprehensive note on the role of Teacher in a Montessori
classroom?
1. Productive Art
2. Cooperative Art
Productive art:
It refers to an “art in which the activity of an artist is the principle and the only cause of
production” i e. shoemaker or tailor. They both have end product as shoemaker have shoes
and tailor stitches the clothes.
Cooperative art:
In this type of art, the end product is not predefined. There are three cooperative arts which
are: farming, healing, and teaching. Montessori teacher’s main concern is with teaching under
this art.
Guiding:
The Montessori teacher is a guide, mentor and friend. The Montessori teacher's role is quite
different from the role played by teacher in many schools and is the right role which a teacher
should play. Traditional teachers present a lesson to large group of students who are expected
to listen and absorb the information provided.
Montessori teacher will normally be found working with one or two children at a time,
advising, presenting a new lesson, or quietly observing the class at work. The focus is on
children learning, not teachers teaching. In this way, children work at their own pace in a
peaceful environment.
Montessori teachers are careful observers of their children's progress, needs and sensitive
periods. They don't just keep a track of all these developments but act as dynamic links
between children and the prepared environment. They are constantly experimenting,
modifying the environment to meet their perceptions of each child's needs and interests, and
objectively noting the result.
Giving lessons:
Montessori teachers keep their lessons as brief as possible. Their goal is to bring the children
in a state of mind, so that they will come back on their own for further work with materials.
Teachers going to the child and taking consent to work with that material. They are telling
ground rules for use. Teacher leaving the child to continue work himself with concentration
and without obstruction.
The teacher presents the materials and lessons with precision. Initial lessons are brief
introduction, after which the children repeat the exercise over many days, weeks, or months
until they attain mastery.
Primary goal of the teacher:
Dr. Montessori believed that teachers should focus on each child as a person, not on the daily
lesson plan. Our ultimate objective is to help them to learn how to learn independently,
retaining the curiosity, creativity, and intelligence with which they were born. Montessori
teacher are taught to nature and inspire the human potential, leading children to ask question,
think for themselves, explore, investigate, and discover.
Dr Maria Montessori used the title ''DIRECTRESS'' instead of teacher. Today, many
Montessori schools prefer to call their teachers guides.
Montessori Teacher are the dynamic link between children and the prepared
environment.
They systematically observe their students and interpret their needs.
They observe and evaluate each child's individual progress.
Teachers are supportive, offering warmth, security, stability, non-judgmental
acceptance to each child.
They facilitate communication among the children and help the children to learn how
to communicate their thoughts to adults.
Montessori Teachers are peace educators, consistently working to teach courteous behaviors
and conflict. They are diagnosticians who can interpret patterns of growth, development, and
behavior in order to better understand the children and make necessary referrals and
suggestions to parents.