True Work:
Discovering the Path to Self-Perfection
through the Prepared Environment
Joen Bettmann
Path to Normalization is through Work
It is easy to be overcome by standards, expectations, and assessments; our whole nation is focused on this in the public sector with the “No Child Left Behind” initiative. Even in private Montessori programs, we can feel the pressure from the elementary teachers to have our children at a certain academic level, meeting criteria for entry into the 6-9 class. It is important of course, that we are helping children achieve literacy and all the competencies that go into this, but we must remind ourselves that we follow the child. This means that we look to the characteristics of the first plane of development, to respond appropriately in serving the child. We are reminded that this is a developmental model, which means that we are concerned about the development of the personality. Our direct aim is supporting the growth of each human being to develop his or her character and individuality. This is the embryonic period of social development, the gestation of the social being, eventually becoming a part of a new kind of society and the creation of a peaceful world. So when we examine our roles, and renew our spirits, we need to return to Montessori’s most important discovery that occurs in the first plane child in the right conditions: NORMALIZATION. We know that normalization is a long process that occurs through repeated experiences of concentration through purposeful work.
Levels of Concentration
Tomorrow you will be hearing about the four levels of concentration over a three-year period that can be observed in a 3-hour work cycle. So I just want to share a few quotes from Maria Montessori, and show you some slides of what concentration looks like.
“…And each time that such a [phenomenon of] polarization of attention took place, the child began to be completely transformed, to become calmer, more intelligent, and more expansive; it showed spiritual qualities, recalling the phenomena of a higher consciousness, such as those of conversion.” (Basic Ideas of Montessori’s Educational Theory, Clio 1997, p.11)
Montessori referred to this moment as a birth of concentration. It is a powerful image or metaphor, because there is a different entity, once this phenomenon has occurred. The child is now able to begin to make links with the environment, rather than impulsive acts, flitting, destructive or whimsical in behavior.
“If the teacher cannot recognize the difference between pure impulse, and the spontaneous energies which spring to life in a tranquilized spirit then her action will bear no fruit. … Only when the teacher has learned to discriminate can she become an observer and a guide.” (The Absorbent Mind, pp. 264-265.)
Realizing that rest follows the first polarizing event helps us respect the growth of levels of concentration. This helps us relax when we see a child who seems to be “just sitting” or “wandering,” so that we don’t hound children to get out more work. There is a quiet process that follows true work. If we respect this, then children won’t have to fake being busy selecting materials to have in their hands so that we will not harass them. We have to recognize this stage, and back off. The more astute we become in our observations, the more we realize the profound difference between keeping children busy, and supporting true concentration.
“….in these movements the little one is seeking the very exercise which will organize and coordinate the movements useful to man. We must therefore desist from the useless attempt to reduce the child into a state of immobility. We should rather give ‘order’ to his movements, leading them to those actions towards which efforts are actually tending…so that he himself grows quiet and contented, and becomes an active worker, a being calm and full of joy. (Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook, Schoken 1965, pp.52-53)
I’d like to share an anecdote that emphasizes the importance of freedom of choice. A child who was preoccupied about her grandmother’s surgery spent most of the morning doing mischievous and unfriendly acts. She then took out the Movable Alphabet, and upon completion of expressing her worries, quietly put it away and walked through the Casa cheerily singing.
“The child was attracted by the object, fixed his attention on it, and went on working and working without rest, in a wonderful state of concentration. After such work, he then seemed satisfied, rested and happy.” (Secret of Childhood, Orient Longman, p. 122.)
“The child who concentrates is immensely happy; he ignores his neighbors or the visitors circulating about him. For the time being his spirit is like that of a hermit in the desert; a new consciousness has been born in him, that of his own individuality. When he comes out of his concentration he seems to perceive the world anew as boundless field for fresh discoveries. He also becomes aware of his classmates in whom he takes an affectionate interest. Love awakens in him for people and for things. He becomes friendly to everyone, ready to admire all that is beautiful. The spiritual process is plain: he detaches himself from the world in order to attain the power to unite himself with it…The result of concentration is an awakening of the social sense, and the teacher must be ready to follow this. She will be a person to whom the hearts of these children will turn directly they are awakened. They will ‘discover’ her, just as they now notice the blue sky and the hardly perceptible scent of flowers hidden in the grass.” (The Absorbent Mind, 1995 edition, page 249)
The child goes through a conversion. She is changed by her involvement. She shows passionate engagement. We witness her immersion into activity. And we see how calm, centered and kind she becomes.
Here is another story to illustrate the same point, which I am sure each of you has witnessed as well. A child all morning was annoying others, putting her hands on their work, bumping them, and making faces. Throughout the work cycle, she kept returning to one part of the room, as though this was her “base.” Eventually the sewing basket was available, which was what she apparently had been waiting for. She took it and worked with focused attention, and then was cheerful and pleasant to all.
“…When the children had completed an absorbing bit of work, they appeared rested and deeply pleased. It almost seemed as if a road had opened up within their souls that led to all their latent powers, revealing the better part of themselves. They exhibited a great affability to everyone, put themselves out to help others and seemed full of good will.” (Basic Ideas of Montessori’s Educational Theory, pp.15-16)
Sensitive Periods and Human Tendencies
It is not just any activity that results in this kind of transformation, but work that follows her interest. And for this to be so, we know that the work must be a response to her Sensitive Periods. The work must awaken her Tendencies.
“…[T]he child, when captivated by a piece of work, repeats the same series of movements time after time…This proves that the external aim was only a stimulus. The real aim was to satisfy an unconscious need, and this is why the operation is formative, for the child’s repetition was laying down in his nervous system an entirely new system of controls…establishing fresh co-ordinations between his muscles…(The Absorbent Mind, 1988, p.164)
“Growth and psychic development are therefore guided by: the absorbent mind, the nebulae, and the sensitive periods, with their respective mechanisms. It is these that are hereditary and characteristic of the human species. But the promise they hold can only be fulfilled through the experience of free activity conducted on the environment.” (Absorbent Mind, Dell, NY 1967, p. 96.)
Timing is everything
“Knowledge can best be given where there is eagerness to learn, so this is the period when the seed of everything can be sown, the child’s mind being like a fertile field, ready to receive what will germinate into culture.” (To Educate the Human Potential, Cleo, England 1989, p. 3)
“A child’s different inner sensibilities enable him to choose from his complex environment what is suitable and necessary for his growth. They make the child sensitive to some things, but leave him indifferent to others. When a particular sensibility is aroused in a child, it is like a light that shines on some objects but not on others, making of them his whole world.” (Secret of Childhood, Ballantine, p. 42.)
“But they are an aid for the child who chooses them himself, takes possession of them, uses them and employs himself with them according to his own tendencies and needs and just as long as he is interested in them. In this way the objects become means of development.” (Discovery of the Child, Kalakshetra, India 1966, p. 161.)
“Childhood thus passes from conquest to conquest in a constant rhythm that constitutes its joy and happiness. It is within this fair fire of the soul, which burns without consuming, that the creative work of man’s spiritual world is brought to completion.” (Secret of Childhood, Ballantine 1966, p. 40.)
“The real aim of all children was revealed as constancy in work and spontaneity in choice of work, without guidance of teachers. Following some inner guide, they occupied themselves in work different for each that gave them joy and peace, and then something happened that had never been known before among children, a spontaneous discipline… So the problem was solved: to obtain discipline, give freedom.” (Education for a New World, p. 61.)
These periods are transient; we must not miss these windows of opportunity. If responsive to the Sensitive Periods, learning is effortless.
“Because sensitive periods do not last forever, but are by their very nature transitory phenomena, it is very important that we should be able to recognize them in order to profit by them to their fullest extent.” (Maria Montessori: Her Life and Her Work, p. 135)
The Misnomer of SCHOOLING children
What is a Casa? How do we fall prey to defining our “programs” as schools? It is vital that we remember the true meaning of education? [educare: to bring forth from within]. This requires that we re-define our role as the guiding of the human spirit and respecting the natural creative laws of development. Seeing each child as an individual with special needs is vastly different than seeing a “class of students.”
PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS and SELF-EVALUATION TOOLS
Learning through Discoveries vs. teaching
I would like to make a point using a Sensorial Example: the constructive triangles. A well-timed presentation has the prerequisites of language from the Geometry cabinet, knowledge of color and shape matching. Not counting the blue triangles, in the other 4 boxes, we have a total of 46 triangles. Demonstrating each matching of the black lines is “overkill.” Almost immediately, the child can take over. If we laboriously align, point out, and construct before the child is invited to do so, it takes away the delight, leaving nothing for the child to explore.
Here is another example from the Math area. Using the Addition strip board, the child is encouraged to find out that there is a different quantity of equations depending on the sum. We can pose the question: Which answer is represented with the most equations? How many equations are there are that have the sum of 10? (9 equations). How many equations are there creating the sum of 9? (8). What other sum has the same number of equations? (11). The child starts seeing a pattern in this exercise, ending with the one equation to make 2 (1+1) and the one equation that makes 18 (9+9).
Presentations as Presents
No matter how many years we have been practitioners, for the child, each lesson is the first time. It should be offered by the Guide as a magical dramatic encounter, as fresh and exiting as a love affair. The possibility of offering a Sandpaper Letter to a child, for example, as a means to see what a sound looks like, and then to feel it, is phenomenal. Do you remember how you felt in training each time a new material was shown? It is this kind of spark and passion that must accompany each of our presentations, every time.
“The inner drama of the child is a drama of love. It is a great reality unfolding within the secret areas of his soul and at times completely absorbing it.” (Secret of Childhood, p. 43)
The directress has to “fan the flame” of interest; it is not sudden, but instead takes many presentations before the child expresses any interest in any material. Then there is sudden “click’ when it comes together; the attention is captured.
“Our care of the child should be governed not by the desire to make him learn things, but by the endeavor always to keep burning within him that light which is called intelligence.” (Spontaneous Activity in Education, Clio, p. 185.)
Exactness and Precision; Deliberately analyzed movements
Last summer, two Guides with over 30 years experience each, came to hear lectures during summer training at the Ohio Montessori Training Institute. One witnessed rolling a mat, and then spent the rest of her afternoon practicing this new way, enraptured. The 2nd visitor watched the presentation for polishing and had an awakening as she gained new points of consciousness about points of interest.
“When children experience pleasure not only from an activity leading towards a special goal but also in carrying it out exactly in all its details, they open up a whole new area of education for themselves. In other words, preference should be given to an education of movement. Practical activities are simply an external incentive to the educational process. They provide a motive and urge a child on to organize his movements.” (Discovery of the Child, p. 87.)
“It is just as if we were standing on the edge of a lake, looking without much attention at the shore, when suddenly an artist came up and exclaimed, ‘What a beautiful curve the shore makes in the shadow of that cliff!’ Then that hitherto dull scene comes to life within our minds, just as if it had been illuminated by a ray of the sun, and we experience the joy of fully appreciating what we had only imperfectly felt before. This is our mission: to cast a ray of light and pass on… This then is the first duty of an educator: to stir up life, but leave it free to develop.” (Discovery of the Child, Clio, p. 113.)
“Normalization comes through ‘concentration’ on a piece of work. For this we must provide ‘motives for activity’ so well adapted to the child’s interests that they provoke his attention. Their success in this is dependent on the use of objects for the purposes they are designed to serve, a thing which is also conducive to the child’s ‘mental order.’ If they are used with precision, this leads the child to the coordination of his movements.” (Absorbent Mind, Henry Holt, NY 1995, p. 206.)
Shortcuts / Partial learning vs. Indirect and Direct Preparations and Explosions in Learning
If we offer the child the full progression of each material, it results in the experience of “AHA” when the child realizes that she can do something that previously she had admired, but now it is hers, without the struggle and fatigue of direct instruction.
Exercises and Games
This is such a respectful way to support the process of learning. Built into any sensorial experience (think beyond the Sensorial Area) are a number of variations to revisit the same idea. (i.e. the many ways to build the trinomial cube; the distance games for color, temperature, texture, weight, dimension; the sequence of the Function of Word exercises where every new function builds upon the child’s previous knowledge, adding one new idea –for example conjunction and then preposition give more practice to the adjectival phrase. Think about the many exercises with the Addition/Subtraction Snakes, and the Multiplication with Bead Bars)
Protected Lessons
What we must protect is the child’s concentration. When a child comes to us and puts his hand on our shoulder, waiting for our attention, the child who is to our side sometimes indicates that this other child is there. This is a clear indication that the concentration is disturbed. It is an important role of the Assistant to help divert the approaching child. Grace and courtesy exercises can be given on how to observe from a distance, or where to go if one needs assistance. Some use a chalkboard as a message center, where the child seeking aid writes his name. Others utilize a formal waiting spot, which when occupied by one child is an indication to the other children that one of their peers needs help, for which they might be able to offer a solution.
Levels of Independence
Timing: the problems from staying too long or leaving too soon. There is a balance of knowing when to be present and active giving presentation after presentation, and then the passive role of quiet withdrawal, switching into active observations. It takes practice to know when the Guide should exit. As is said in northwest terminology: “fade and observe!” Think of the transitioning in a presentation as bridges of support that need to be in place as scaffolding, before one is certain that the child can proceed independently. Let’s use the Dot Game as an example. The Guide presents as the child watches. She starts by orienting the child to the Board, and then by writing addends. She begins to involve the child by asking the child to dictate some of the numbers. Then she invites the child to record some addends. She is watching to see that he has understood how to align the numbers. When a long column has been created, the Guide takes back the pen, and begins recording dots. After the Guide has recorded a few addends, she invites the child to record in the same manner. Again, the Guide takes back the lesson, showing yet another new part: the carrying and recording of partial sums. By the time the units and tens have been added, the child is invited to proceed with hundreds, all the way through the ten thousands. When the final sum has been recorded, the child is shown how to clean the board. The Guide stays while the child begins the entire process with new numbers, and probably does not exit until the child is finding the partial sums in the tens category, seeing that he has understood the process.
“The task of the teacher becomes that of preparing a series of motives of cultural activity, spread over a specially prepared environment, and then refraining from obtrusive interference.” (Education for a New World, Clio, p. 2.)
“When the child begins to show interest in one of these, the teacher must not interrupt, because this interest corresponds with natural laws and opens up a whole cycle of new activities. But the first step is so fragile, so delicate, that a touch can make it vanish again, like a soap bubble, and with it goes all the beauty of that moment.” (Absorbent Mind, p. 225.)
“The mind takes some time to develop interest, to be set in motion, to get warmed up into a subject, to attain a state of profitable work. If at this time there is interruption, not only is a period of profitable work lost, but the interruption produces an unpleasant sensation which is identical with fatigue.” (What You Should Know About Your Child, Clio, p. 92.)
“The teacher must be quiet and passive, waiting patiently and almost withdrawing herself from the scene, so as to efface her own personality and thus allow plenty of room for the child’s spirit to expand.” (Absorbent Mind, Clio, p. 240.)”
Communication: What leads to closure?
It is important that we analyze our own speech. We must be careful to avoid words such as, “Would you like to do that again?” or “Are you finished with that?” By asking these questions, we often give the idea to the child to stop what he is doing and put away an activity. The thought of discontinuing has been given by mistake. Our wording, if even warranted, might lead to repetition when we say instead, “How many more do you think you can do before lunchtime?” or “Are you choosing the short papers or the long sheets for your math equations?” Often times, the best comments are those that are not spoken! Observe and determine if there is any need for commentary. Staying out of the way may result in the most spontaneous choice to repeat and repeat, without any need for intervention / interruption on our part.
Enticements for repetition
Sometimes the way materials are “packaged” can overwhelm the child. In the same way that baskets or trays can be used to transport several Sandpaper Letters at a time, rather than the entire box of 26 letters, math papers can also be available as individual sheets rather than pre-made booklets.
The equal value of beginning, middle and end. Concentration is possible in any part of the child’s cycle of activity. We want to let go of any bias that favors the actual doing of an activity over the setting up or cleaning up.
Children as teachers; peer learning
Are the children giving each other lessons? Here is another anecdote that illustrates how well the children observe us, and quickly imitate our behaviors. One of my graduates shared this story with me in her very first weeks of her first year. Her Assistant was greeting children in the car drop-off, and she was greeting children as they entered the Casa. Several weeks had passed, and it was time for the adults to rotate. So as the Guide greeted one child in the carpool line, she began to assist with the release of the child’s seat belt. She had difficulty. The child undid her own seatbelt, then re-clasped it, and said, “Now you try.”
My early years were filled with the immense sole responsibility of giving all three period lessons with Puzzle Words, Phonograms, Sandpaper Letters, and the words for the Sensorial attributes. In spite of this, I started noticing how the children were teaching each other with the Puzzle Maps, the Geometry and Botany cabinets, and the memorization practice charts. I realized that this was the whole idea of a large class with mixed ages and freedom.
Third year children as models
The children admire and desire to emulate the oldest ones in the Casa. There is no envy. Instead there is great respect, and the realization that someday they will be able to do what their older peers are doing.
Physical arrangement of the environment
Visibility is essential if we are to take advantage of each child’s Absorbent Mind. Are all areas of the room accessible to the children, so they see what the oldest are doing? A child who just turned 3 had recently had a lesson on the World Map. The Guide saw him from a distance while presenting to someone else. She knew to stay with her lesson, but noticed that he took out the US map. She got panicky and came over but not quickly enough! The child already had all the pieces at random, and began building the map outside the frame, correctly, all by himself. She still thought he needed some help, so she said, “Let’s put North Dakota next.” To her shock, he reached for the correct piece, and handed it to her. Had she been free to intervene sooner, she would have directed him to return this map to the stand and only use the World Map.
A child was walking on the line repeating “parallelogram” as the guide was doing a 3rd period on quadrilaterals with another child. She quietly gave each name when the Guide asked, “What is this?”
As a daily procedure in one Casa, the children line up to walk to the park. The Guide quietly counts to see that all the children are present. One day the children said, “Let’s count the Miss Sibyl way.” They proceeded to count the group by two’s, as they had witnessed many times.
Remember that the children are having lessons all the time, beyond what we show them. This is something to celebrate. Listen to find out if you are saying to the children, “You haven’t had a lesson on that yet.” We may be limiting them to what we show, in a formal lesson only, when the living and breathing in the environment includes lesson after lesson.
Individual spaces
Concentration is supported when the tables are singular, and the arrangements of chairs are such that a “domino” effect does not occur. When the child’s will is developing, it is too difficult to overcome the distraction of someone else directly across the way. Tables at right angles allow for interesting spaces, while protecting the right to work.
Spokes of activity
Draw 3 concentric circles, with the adult in the center. Then graph your children as to where they fall. On the inner circle are the children needing to be closest to you for support and direction. On the outer circle are those who are self-directed and self-disciplined. Look at the number of children in each circle. Our goal, of course, is to assist the children so that they find their own work, make independent choices, and follow-through without need for help. It should evolve to the point where the children act as though we did not exist, with order, responsibility, dignity, grace, and harmony.
Assigned work vs. understanding of freedoms. “Work” has become a dirty word in many environments. Children feel hounded, required, pressured, and cornered to perform. Have you heard yourself say, “Where’s your work?” Or perhaps these are the words spoken: “If you can’t find any work, I will help you.”
“A distinction must be made between work and forced labor. The outer appearance may be the same, but the former is of a spirit that finds its expression in activity, whereas the latter is a burden that deadens and crushes any spirituality one may possess and fosters resistance, rebellion, resentment and hatred. Work is the natural function of man, the means to his higher achievements and spiritual development; but it must be work undertaken willingly, not forced labour.” (“Reminisces from the National Conference,” Camillo Grazzini, AMI/USA News, Vol. XII No. 1, p. 7; from article by Mario Montessori, first published in 1948 in India)
Rewards; praise. Research proves that intrinsic motivation is stifled when external evaluation is the norm. Avoid saying, “You may choose what you like after doing something in Language and Math.” This results in an aversion developing for the required activities. The child learns not to trust himself in the ability to make a choice, or the assessment of his own path towards self-perfection. He becomes insecure and dependent on the adult.
Materials
Is there order and exactitude in the environment? This enables her to function independently and spontaneously, so that we are observing the child in the proper “conditions” or state. Are the materials visible, at the front edge of the shelf? Are they clean?
“The first essential for the child’s development is concentration. It lays the whole basis for his character and social behavior. He must find out how to concentrate, and for this he needs things to concentrate upon. This shows the importance of his surroundings, for no one acting on the child from outside can cause him to concentrate. Only he can organize his psychic life.” (Absorbent Mind, p. 202.)
“It [order] is like the land upon which animals walk or the water in which fish swim. In their first year they derive their principles of orientation from their environment which they must later master. And since a child is formed by his environment he has need of precise and determined guides and not simply some vague constructive formulae.” (Secret of Childhood, Ballantine Books, NY 1966, p. 53.)
“It is a vital need at a certain age, in which disorder is painful and is felt as a wound in the depths of the soul, so that the child might say, ‘I cannot live unless I have order about me.’ It is indeed a question of life and death.” (Secret of Childhood, Orient Longman, 1995, p. 52.)
Handmade materials. Are they beautiful, clean, attracting, compelling? Pouches made of velvet, cotton, and silk are enticing. Aprons with varied fastenings, and color-coded to specific exercises help the child identify himself as a baker, or a flower arranger, or one who is preparing to scrub. A brush painted with a carrot on top or a bucket with flower stencils is a detail, making a tool interesting and unique. Although it is helpful to have companies that sell each of the little components of an exercise, it is our personal touches to these items that call to the child, and represent a manifestation of our love.
Man is a builder, but where does he build a nest suitable for his child? It should be a place of beauty and uncontaminated by any outward need. It should be a place where generous love can store up riches not used for production. (Secret of Childhood, p. 206)
“The place best adapted to the life of man is an artistic environment, and that, therefore, if we want the school to become a laboratory for the observation of human life, we must gather together within it things of beauty.” (Spontaneous Activity in Education, p. 114.)
Evaluate what makes this space a Children’s House. Are there lamps, framed art on the walls, a needlepoint pillow on a rocker or an overstuffed armchair, curtains to soften the environment? It should be cozy and intimate, simple yet lovely, with special items to explore – organic in their composition (marble, granite, wood, ceramic or porcelain, cork, brass, pewter, silver, bronze, copper, fibers, etc.)
“The objects surrounding the child should look solid and attractive to him, and the house of the child should be lovely and pleasant in its particulars; for beauty in the school invites activity and work. …. It is almost possible to say that there is a mathematical relationship between the beauty of his surroundings and the activity of the child; he will make discoveries rather more voluntarily in a gracious setting than in an ugly one.” (The Child in the Family, p. 43.)
Understanding Purpose
Is the role of the material being met? What is the difference between Montessori materials and other materials? Montessori materials are developmental; they are not teaching aids for the adult. For example, how to care for oneself or the environment is a secondary aim, but what are the movements, what is the psychological growth of the child’s will and independence, and self-esteem through these activities?
“If persistence is the true foundation of the will, we nevertheless recognize decision as the act of the will par excellence. When the child chooses from among a considerable number of objects the one he prefers, when he moves to go and take it from the sideboard, and then replaces it, or consents to give it up to a companion; when he waits until one of the pieces of the apparatus he wishes to use is laid aside by the child who has it in his hand at the moment; when he persists for a long time and with earnest attention in the same exercise, correcting the mistakes which the didactic material reveals to him; when in the silence exercise, he restrains all his impulses, all his movements, and then rising when his name is called, controls these movements carefully to avoid making a noise with his feet or knocking against the furniture, he performs so many acts of the will.” (Spontaneous Activity in Education, p. 132.)
“The will, like every other faculty, is developed and strengthened through methodical exercises. In our schools exercises for the will are to be found in all of a child’s intellectual exercises and his exercises in practical living. A child seems to be learning how to carry out his movements with grace and accuracy, how to sharpen his sense perceptions, and how to read and count, but actually he is becoming the master of himself and laying the foundation for a strong and ready will.” (Discovery of the Child, chapter 23.)
“We know that we cannot learn to dance without preliminary exercises, that we cannot play the piano without practicing the movements of the hand; but prior to this, the fundamental coordination of movements, that is to say, ambulation and prehension, must have already been established from infancy. It is not yet so evident to us that similar gradual preparations are necessary to develop the will.” (Spontaneous Activity in Education, p. 145.)
“This long process of developing the will may be compared to the spinning of thread; developed by activity in an ever widening field of action, the thread of will becomes stronger and stronger. By associating these activities with a central aim, as in laying a table or serving food, the children’s free wills can be directed continuously to the same purpose, and we get a society by cohesion through the will, more even than a society by cohesion of sympathy. Emotion is not paramount here, but will is the cohesive force, and as all want – or will – the same thing, an association comes of calm behavior that is marvelous to see. But the will first must have developed in each child.” (Education for a New World, Clio, p. 64.)
If you were to go through your albums and highlight the “punch line” of the presentation, it would exaggerate the purpose. It would change the presentation.
For example, the purpose of the Red Rods is visual and muscular discrimination of length. What do we to emphasize the search, and then to start at the left end and FEEEEEEL the rod in its entirety?
Curriculum based or interest based? The material enables the child to use what is in the material and discover its secret. It is not aimed at providing instruction. The materials represent the means by which the child can act upon her environment; by acting on her environment, the small child is creating herself. All areas interlink, so in observing the child who works on the geometry cabinet and then puzzle maps, it tells us that the child is interested in shapes. There is plenty in the environment to respond to that interest. This would not be the time to introduce the sound boxes. The directress who gives random presentations without observation then comes up with conclusions that are erroneous, such as the Montessori material is outdated, or the child is not having a good day. But if we do present based on our observations, explosions of interest are the result. Observation allows us to remove obstacles, and put the child in touch with the materials that respond to her interest. Tomorrow you will hear more about keeping work curves to make scientific observations possible, so that the work offered is a response to the child rather than by a checklist. A lively interaction with the material ensues, and the child teachers herself. Instead of didactic materials where the child is tied to the material, developmental material allows the child to gain what the material has to offer, and then she can apply it to the world without the material.
Mistakes and their correction
Is the child free to experience the Control of Error? We have to combat a very strong message prevalent in our society: “get it right, right from the start.” All around us, the focus is on mistakes; what’s wrong rather than what is right. As we examine our materials, some have immediate feedback to the child. Others, as in Math, have a number of ways of offering an idea before a formal control of error is shown. We must recognize that process is prioritized over product.
“So, whatever intelligent activity we chance to witness in a child – even if it seems absurd to us, or contrary to our wishes (provided of course that it does him no harm) – we must not interfere; for the child must always be able to finish the cycle of activity on which he has his heart set.” (Absorbent Mind, p. 147.)
“We must, therefore, quit our roles as jailers and instead take care to prepare an environment in which we do as little as possible to exhaust the child with our surveillance and instruction. However much the environment corresponds to the needs of the child, by so much will our roles as teachers be limited.” (The Child in the Family, Clio, p. 27.)
In the Casa, we must remember that the child can take all the time in the world, without being harried or harassed or hurried. The child is given the freedom to work as long as she wants to. We must respect the need of the child. The effort to figure out how to put something right requires collaboration of the powers of discrimination, judgment, and discernment; the development of the mental faculties. It is essential to give the least help…just enough to isolate the difficulty so the child can solve the problem. Observation is essential to do this. The adult can easily overwhelm the child and show her what to do. It is the art of being able to give the least help so the child has confidence to go ahead independently.
“Unless I can correct myself, I shall have to seek the help of someone else, who may not know any better than I do. How much better if I can recognize my own mistakes, and then correct them! If anything it is likely to make the character indecisive, it is the inability to control matters without having to seek advice. This begets a discouraging sense of inferiority and a lack of confidence in one’s self.” (The Absorbent Mind, Delta 1967, p. 226)
“Discipline is born when the child concentrates his attention on some object that attracts him and which provides him not only with a useful exercise but with a control of error.” (The Absorbent Mind, Clio, p. 240.)
Beware of EGO! Beware of Substitution of the Adult Personality. Whether it be about power and control, or about perfection and images, we continue to search for transforming experiences so that we are acting out of humility rather than out of superiority.
Complete set of materials vs. omissions? Do we have biases? Have we undervalued the Tasting Bottles, Thermic Bottles, Baric Tablets, or the Bells? Are there extras? For example, at this time of year, if you don’t have any new children starting, do you still have introductory activities? ie. Puzzles? Count how many we have in the Casa just with the Geometry cabinet and its 6 drawers + the Botany Cabinet with 3 drawers; + at least 6 Puzzle Maps + Fraction insets (with the 10 frames).
Psychologically challenging or proportionate?
• Are the children bored? (eg. is the environment flooded with preliminary exercises that have little purpose, or have we replaced them with activities rich with advanced sequences such as baking, embroidery, etc.)
• Are prerequisites missing so that the child is handicapped when shown a particular material? (eg. Stamp Game without knowledge of categories or ability to properly write #s)
• Do we see avoidance by some of the older children? Instead of restricting. 5 year olds from returning to early “easy” activities, consider upping the challenge. Examples: have the child write or read labels for the contents of a Practical Life exercise or for the Sensorial attributes. Invite him to use the Dressing Frames with a blindfold. Ask for her assistance in giving lessons to younger children. Examine why the child is “retreating” to these easy activities. Does he lack confidence? If so, think about incremental steps to build his self-esteem. How can we help build courage and the willingness to take risks? Does she suffer from perfectionism and therefore not try new challenges? Have we modeled friendliness with our own error? Does he experience pressure from home or school to do certain kinds of work? Have we focused on product more than process?
• Respect 5 and 6 year olds who are now conscious of their goal, and can direct their own learning. For example, in the memorization of puzzle words, or math facts, our goal should be to hear the child asking questions such as these: “Which ones do I already know? Which ones do I still need to practice? How can I get faster?” If the materials on the shelves are sequentially ordered, the child is aware of what comes next and his readiness for the progression. The amount of repetition differs from the very young child, who returns to repeat the Practical Life and Sensorial materials many times. Take care to assess what mastery looks like in the older child, so that he is not held back by an adult expectation.
• Another change we see in the 5 and 6 year olds is the ability to direct themselves through a series of freely chosen activities. It is almost like we need to make an “appointment” with them, as they are not readily “available” any more. We might need to greet them in the morning with a request to show them something new today, and inviting them to find us at their convenience!
• As the child is approaching the second plane of development, the tendency for gregariousness is emerging. There is a strong desire to interact with peers. Our goal is to help the children so that they is able to work in partnership, understanding the expectations to accomplish their parallel or collaborative work. Our lesson planning should take this social need into consideration rather than continuously trying to separate friends. Give help in showing how to concentrate together. (eg. searching books for puzzle words or compound words; giving each other spelling tests; playing word study games; writing each other sentences for reading analysis; symbolizing songs and poems together; comparing all the chains for the squares or cubes of numbers; timing the memorization work with practice and blank charts; etc.)
We hope that the five and six year old is so in love with the environment, so comfortable, and so familiar, that he is experiencing the 3rd level of learning. As with language, where we begin with spoken, continue this with writing, and add reading, so that all 3 occur in the 3rd year, this analogy applies to all. Think of the maturation, expansion and consolidation of independence, equilibrium, dexterity, grace, courtesies, thought, expression, humor, generosity, compassion, and responsibility. This child is now master of his environment. He is self-directed, self-disciplined, and ready for the larger world. But he is not alone. We look to the entire group to see how it evolves on the path to normalization, knowing that cohesion of the group results in a higher elevated rapport and synchronicity. These are the children who will change the world. These are the children who become our concerned, noble people of integrity, living with a cosmic embrace and dedicated service.
