Describe What Montessori Meant by New Education

Dr Maria Montessori dedicated and committed her life into education of the children. She has witnessed through some years with wars and conflicts and she thought; through education this can be turned into peace to this world. Since the year 1907 Montessori name has been recognized in the education system. Even though it has been over a century to this date Montessori principles are as powerful as it was. Dr Maria Montessori has relied on her actual observations on children to develop her method of education.

During these observations she has discovered that each child has their own urge to learn through their own way.

She brought to light that children has an enormous ability which can be turned into positive energy and a new beginning. According to Dr Montessori; education should be aimed at human progress not only to gain knowledge. “It is the spirit of the child that can determine the course human progress and lead it perhaps even to a higher form of civilization.

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” (The Essential Montessori, Chapter 6, p. 64). Dr Maria Montessori believed in a natural process of education. There was a teacher oriented system in place and she did not believe this was focused on the child fully.

She felt if we focused on child and observe them this would help us to understand the child. “Studying these children and their mutual relationships in an atmosphere of freedom, the true secrets of society come to be revealed. ” (The Essential Montessori, Chapter 6, p. 64). Education should be in a natural way, children has every right to freedom to learn.

Montessori thought we can give importance to every child with new education. She felt that the civilization had the wrong idea about children and this needed to be changed firstly.

She believed that adults did not understand the children, this has led the education system to fail. According to Montessori; “ the fundamental problem in education is not an educational problem at all : it is a social one. It consists in the establishment of a new and better relationship between the two great sections of society- children and adults. ” (Maria Montessori Her Life And Work, Chapter XV p. 231) Montessori felt that the real problem consists in cementing a new relationship between children and adults and she realized something very wrong with the relationship.

Montessori felt that in the past there was many revolution with regards to slaves, workers, women, peasants, child-labourers and so on. Limited to certain place and time. Where as the problem she saw between the adult and the child was universal and did not matter about race, religion etc. “Grace must build on nature”. (Maria Montessori Her Life And Work, Chapter 15 p. 233) Montessori felt that children needed to have child size classroom equipment. She has compared if adults were to be living in gigantic sized environment filled with gigantic sized equipments how uncomfortable it would be compare it to adult scale.

The child should be left to gain his/hers self esteem. This would benefit him/her to have a confidence in himself and not to depend/rely on others in the future. Every child has got a natural power to develop himself. “Children decide on their actions under the prompting of natural laws... Inner forces affect his choice, and if someone usurps the function of this guide, the child is prevented from developing either his will or his concentration.. a negative action is the interruption of work at fixed times in the daily program”. (The Essential Montessori, Chapter 6, p. 64).

Montessori drew attention to how adult and children learn very differently. She has relied on her observations when she explained the differences. What he is able to do, he must do by himself. One of her biggest concern was that adults need to change the way they think about the needs of the child. Adult has reached the development and no longer will be developing where as child’s interactions with his surrounding is helping his development. The children could teach themselves and they can learn from their environment. Children work with a slower rhythm compare to adults.

They can spend a very long time for example changing their shoes into slippers when they arrive at the nursery in the morning. While child is taking his shoes off parents/carers cannot help but taking over the action in order to get it finished and done with. They often lose their patience and complain that their child is taking such a long time! Or they cannot help but saying ‘Let me do that for you’. What adults expect is an adult speed from the children. Montessori says, “ He is following a timetable like the most diligent scholar in the world- following it with the unshakable constancy of the stars in their courses. (Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work, Chapter 8, p. 125).

It is important that in order to help little children, adults firstly needs to learn to respect the rhythm of children. She stressed that children will repeat the same thing over and over. For example a child in the nursery picking the same book each time he is asked to choose a book for teacher to read to children. Another example of a child in the nursery who is choosing the very same practical life transferring water with a turkey baster activity each morning at the arrival of the nursery and going back to it though out the day.

Montessori says “ Now by the very boredom you have experienced in thus repeating and repeating this same exercise, you will be able to measure that imperious inner urge that drives the children to do the same thing. ” (Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work, Chapter 8, p. 129). Montessori believed that there are different periods in the course of the child’s development, corresponding to the different phases in the development of human body. These periods are from birth to six year of age.

Differences does not change the learning type of mind. She observed that the impressions a child takes from his environment, not only to penetrate the mind, but they come to life since the child makes his own mental flesh in using the things that in his environment. She called this type of mind “ The Absorbent Mind”. Montessori through her system of ‘new education’ aimed at using this real constructive energy to create a new world for humanity.