If there are desks, blackboards and textbooks, it's not Montessori
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Children don't progress under overprotective parents and adults who always tell them what to do. In a Montessori class, if a child wants to climb, he will be offered, without a word, an opportunity to climb safely. If he starts banging on objects, he will be given a drum; if he pushes things around the room, a wagon to push. According to the child's actions, different materials and toys will be presented to him. But not too much, which would be worse than too little. It is also important that materials are chosen only by experienced teachers.
Children develop their own skills at their own pace, what Montessori calls "spontaneous self-development." Teachers intervene only when children become destructive, waste effort, or develop wrong habits. Children must be able to move freely around the room. "Seldom will two or more children be studying the same thing at the same time. Children learn directly from the environment, and from other children. Teachers care for one child at a time, and almost no lessons are given to the whole class.
All children make mistakes. Do they need punishment? Let's say a child drops his glass of milk. The teacher, as well as the parents at home, should say: "Oh! Let's wipe that up together." Never raise your voice; never put the child away from the scene but involve him in the practical action of cleaning. Children's mistakes are not due to misconduct but to something they have not realized. They need to be showed calmly and kindly, otherwise, they will develop fear of being reproached and punished and will not develop their potential.
A prepared environment is essential to physical, intellectual or spiritual results in education. Children need freedom to explore, and the environment must be safe for them to do so. It also has to be calm and beautiful. In a prepared environment, the real world will come out of the child's fertile imagination; he will learn everything without knowing he is learning.
One can see that a non-Montessori-trained teacher can't be expected to teach a Montessori class. During training, the future teachers "practice the many basic lessons with materials in all areas. They must pass difficult written and oral exams on these lessons in order to be certified." Using Montessori's method is extremely challenging, but also rewarding. Now, how many teachers have the needed preparation for teaching in the "300 Chinese and internationally owned kindergartens in Beijing [that] use the Montessori methods"?
Reading the China Daily article, I realized that not only the name "Montessori kindergartens" was used to designate all kinds Western-style preschools, but that Montessori's theory was unknown, misused, and degraded. The article also mentioned "the choice of textbooks" for kindergartens… Montessori kindergartens don't use textbooks. Parents, be aware!
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