In the United-States, there are more than 4000 Montessori schools. Thousands more dot the world’s six continents and their number is growing every year.

To explain why, let’s start by saying what Montessori schools are not.

Since they allow children to choose their work, an often-heard concern is: «Montessori sounds fun for children, but do they really learn anything? Is it possible to go on from a Montessori education to succeed and have a good career?»

"Montessori taught me the joy of discovery" said Will Wright, the inventor of the globally successful videogame «Sim city»

The two co-founders of Google, the founder of Amazon, the creator of Wikipedia and many other leading figures around the world went through Montessori schools.

According to a US study, at the age of five, Montessori students obtain better results in reading and Mathematics than their peers in conventional schools. Aged 12, they have more imagination, a better sense of community life and of justice. A French researcher has also found that Montessorians adapted better to higher education, with lower levels of anxiety and better results.

 

How does it work?

The Montessori curriculum is over a 100 years. MM was one of the first female physicians. She was interested in children and the way they learn. She was the first one saying she was not the author of her method. Children were. Because that’s how she did: she watched children learn.

 

 What did she discover?

Children are desperate to learn! This truth is the heart beating in all Montessori schools. It is not usually recognized. Most of the time we think children need rewards or the threat of punishments to learn. We could compare the child to a plant. If the gardener wants the plant to grow, is it going to grow faster if he pulls on it? The plant will grow naturally if he gives it the environment it needs. Light, water and enough heat. The role of a Montessori teacher could be compared to the role of this gardener. Bringing all the elements for the children to develop himself.

 

 Multiple ages classes.

One of the most important aspects in a Montessori classroom is that you have children of multiple ages in the same room.

That gives several things. The opportunity for younger children to learn from older children who have already mastered some of the curriculums for the younger grades, and at the same time it gives the older children a chance to be role models for the younger ones, and also to reinforce what they’ve learnt by teaching it to the younger students. As we look, we realize that children love helping each other et that they have more patience when the explanations are given by a fellow than by an adult. 

This makes Montessori classes collaborative and non-competitive spaces.

 

The teacher's role

When you walk inside a Montessori classroom, people usually find it very different than a traditional classroom. In a traditional class you find tables in a row, at the front the teacher’s desk, and the teacher is leading the class. Montessori is not like that at all. The teacher is not there to lead the class, the teacher is there as a guide, a facilitator for the students, as they learn from these hands on materials. The teacher follows the child who is free to pursue his own interests, to an extent of course. Montessori classes still have to cover the same standards than every other classroom. But the children exercise some choice in what they work with on a daily basis. Montessori classes often have three hours blocks of uninterrupted time where children can work with these materials which give them a chance to really get absorbed in what they’re doing. And this really helps them to develop skills of concentration that serve them so well later on in life.

 

Self-correcting material

The material is self correcting. When the student completes the activity, he should be able to tell whether or not he achieved the activity correctly. And what that does, is that it gives the student some independence and autonomy in their own learning. They’re not reliant on the teachers telling them whether they’re right or wrong. The child is therefore working and correcting himself because he wants to go forward, and not to please the teacher or his parents.

 

Life-skills

Life skills are a big part of the Montessori curriculum. You would think that in walking in a Montessori classroom where 25 to 30 children from 3 to 6 are all working on a different thing would be quite loud & chaotic. But it’s not. It’s calm, quiet, everyone is very focused, everyone is very kind to each other, because the teachers work very hard to establish that culture of «grace & Courtesy». They explicitly teach them manners and conflict resolution. Because there are so many interactions between the students in a Montessori class, children are really learning those skills of collaboration that we want to foster in our students so that they can be successful.

 

Each child works at his own pace

What is good is also that it is for children from every types of social classes or cultures, advanced or with mental disabilities, because everyone can work at his own pace. The more advanced won’t get bored and can move ahead while the slower ones can take the time they need without feeling anxious of being behind.

 

Love of learning

The great thing about Montessori is that it really fosters that love of learning in the child. Montessori children are given the time and the opportunity to pursue their interest and to study in depth things that are really interesting to them. What we often find in high school is students that are really disillusioned and disengaged in school. Montessori really keeps students interested in learning.

 

For a better future

Maria Montessori was convinced that a child who had experimented life in this way during the first years of his life would look for similar experiences in his future life. She thought that a child who grows seeing himself as a productive member in a positive society would wish for a world that allows this same experience. It is the basis of a society based on respect towards all the others, recognizing our similarities as well as the richness of our differences.

 

 

      “If we are to create peace in our world, we must begin with our children."

                                Mahatma Gandhi