Montessori Philosophy

Excerpt from Montessori Made Easy:

THE BASICS

 by S.V. Wilhelmi

The Montessori Method facilitates learning by discovery rather than by mere instruction. With instruction, a child must react by listening to something that is spoken or by reading something that is written by someone other than himself. The result of instruction is information - the facts of what is being taught. Discovery promotes a deeper level of learning from the very beginning of the process. In discovery a child responds to what is natural, or of the world. Learning is processed through the senses and the imagination. The senses perceive "concrete" concepts through material that can be observed directly. The imagination helps the child to progress to levels of "abstraction" where concepts that cannot be observed directly must be constructed. The result of discovery is a self-directed process that leads to a new and deeper understanding of the concepts. More simply put, discovery is the process of learning something without being taught.
Maria Montessori believed that education, rather than being a rote transfer of information, must seek to serve the "whole child" and to nurture the human potential of each individual. A child naturally learns to walk and talk and Montessori found that within the child is the same type of ability to naturally acquire skills for reading, writing and mathematics. In the Montessori environment the material are designed to be self-correcting, which allows the child to learn in an atmosphere of success and positive reinforcement. The child corrects his own errors as he works towards mastery of concepts, through repetition of manipulations with the material. His motivation is not for external reward but for internal fulfillment.
The educational philosophy and methodology of Montessori is not just another educational theory. It is the "scientific method" of education. Montessori employed the scientific method in her observations of the child and applied her knowledge of medicine to create a new model of the human stages of development. She found a progression of four Planes of Development in which there are Sensitive Periods where development occurs most naturally and quickly.

"To follow the child" and to meet his needs is the basic philosophy of Montessori. This is achieved through the pyramid of Montessori principles: Individualized Liberty of the Child, Observation of the Directress, Preparation of the Environment.