The Benefits and History of Montessori Method

Various studies on alternative teaching methodologies have proved that children from Montessori schools do better in all domains as compared to children from conventional schools. Dr. Maria Montessori introduced this method in early 20th century. In her study on children for over 40 years she realized the flaws of conventional teaching methods. She understood the true nature of a child and devised her own set of laws of imparting education to kids. She marks the shift of state of mind of kid through Montessori Method as Normalization. The Montessori way relies on promoting kids to use their own freedom and space. They are not taught directly instead they are just provided with material that would help them to understand various subjects. The kid also gets the freedom to choose what he wants to study at a certain point of time.

Maria Montessori was a great visionary who choose to differ from what she saw in the society. Her disbelief in the existing methods motivated her to come up with her own. Maria always wanted to study engineering but when her parents disapproved of the only all boy school she was sent to study medicine in Rome. She was extraordinary and hence became the first Italian Physician. Maria had a keen interest in psychiatry and education systems. She had this urge to help out children with mental disorders. She proposed various theories and wrote papers on education for the mentally challenged children.

In years to come Maria was offered to lead a low budget school in Rome. This was the time when Maria realized the need of an alternative study methodology. Through extensive experimentation and research she understood the psychology of a child. She also understood why the existing methods were inefficient. Maria then started working on a mixed classroom with children of varied age group. She devised Montessori equipment on her own so that a child can learn faster through physical engagements. She saw a sheer improvement in her students and started publicizing as the new convention for learning. Later the concept was carried by her to United States where it was received very well. She spoke about her findings at various international conferences and presented various research papers.

Today this method is known as the most efficient alternative study method. You will find schools all over the world that rely on her methods. The vast reach of this method explains its effectiveness. Children who were considered dumb were promoted to learn on the own, at their own pace, as a result they proved to be successful. Now you will see successful people who studied on Maria’s ideologies from different walks of life.

The sole purpose of the teacher here is to regulate the whole classroom instead of just a student. This is a very healthy learning environment as kids have the choice. It is natural that a person learns things best which he wants to learn. Imposing thoughts and materials are only going to make them refrain from listening to their teachers. It is also an efficient method as kids only pay attention to what they like and bypass everything they think is not interesting at all. A typical Montessori classroom is constructed on the basis of mental health and not physical. This results in a classroom with a varied age group. Many people think of this as a setback but in fact this is the way it should be. Everyone has his own learning curve and sorting kids in terms of there is entirely superficial.

IN such classrooms a kid may stay in a particular grade for more than one year. During the long time teachers are able to establish a good relationship with kids to influence them personality, attitude, strengths and weaknesses. Many people are now choosing to send their kids to Montessori schools while some are still skeptical about it. Here are some ways which can help kids in a Montessori classroom environment:

1. Learning material pays an important role here and as they get involved physically with the subject they learn more. Dr. Maria explicitly studied the influence of such material on mentally challenged kids. She found that such physically engaging material was helpful in imparting education. Later she tried it with normal kids and got even better results. Teaching through experiences and physical engagement is still considered as one of the best methods of teaching.

2. A kid here gets to learn at his own pace, standardizing with teaching everyone at the same time doesn’t seem reasonable for kids. Learning at a personal pace ensures better concept building which would last forever. No one is trying to force teach them, instead they are learning according to their own interests. This builds the interest of kid in the subject and he or she thinks of study as a fun process. It is understood that kids learn the most when they enjoy it.

3. You can’t just give kids books and expect them to study and understand. These are how an adult studies, not kids. In this method kids are facilitated not only with books but with relevant equipment which could engage them physically. A teacher just plays the part of a facilitator while kids learn on their own. Children of the age group 4 to 7 years are perfect to be molded. This is the period where kids can learn the most provided the system is efficient. This method also gives kids to discover their inclination at an early age. The build interests and hobbies related to a particular field. Kids who study under conventional teaching method often have this shortcoming of finding their inclination.

Today you will find a lot of Montessori related products in the market and its presence can also be seen online. SchoolBazaar.net is a leading online retailer of such products in India. They also stock on furniture for schools for kids of different age groups and grades. If you browse the website you will also find a lot of outdoor and indoor play equipment for kids.