Welcome Readers :)

Welcome readers !
Thank you for visiting 'Inside the child' and hope that your time spend reading my blog is educational. It includes my thoughts and approach to a child, based on the Montessori educational philosophy that emphasize on independence, freedom within limits and learning concepts of working with materials hands-on, rather than by direct instructions.

My favorite quote by Dr. Maria Montessori “There is in every child a painstaking teacher, so skillful that he obtains identical results in all children in all parts of the world. The only language men ever speak perfectly is the one they learn in babyhood, when no one can teach them anything!”
As a Children's House Montessori teacher, it is my pleasure to share my experience with children of ages 2 1/2 - 7 yrs old, and how small little things makes a big difference. Enjoy reading. Thank you.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Knowledge Unlimited

I went to a traditional school where ranks and grades encouraged competition and comparison. Yes, it was fun at the same time stressful with some subjects which I never liked. I used to dream of a place where I didn't had to compete but to have fun in learning or learn while playing. In those days learning while playing meant by - Playschool. Thirty years ago, where I lived - a small town, nobody had heard of a Montessori schools, yes, it is a dream place to be in. Montessori schools surely gives children an unlimited knowledge !

Life, nature and learning. Picture taken by Divya Jain.

Now, there are some children who form a circle of trust, love and friendship with their friends and then the other circle of those whom they compete. Forming groups is sometimes natural and sometimes there is no choice. Learning with in these two forms of circles can be an experience, limit knowledge and not fun. For some children competition at such a young age can be strenuous. And, we should help those children by giving them an appropriate environment. I see that learning becomes fun in an environment where everyone is a friend and that happens when everyone thinks alike. By avoiding competition we are getting rid of fears and developing a child's confidence in self knowledge through 'normalization' and faith in every one in that environment.

What I think is that children from a traditional school, learn to achieve a goal by struggling to compete with each others scores as compared to a Montessori school children, who learn to think logically and resolve problems independently or with others without struggling to compete. The materials at the Montessori school are hands-on and are based on logical reasoning that encourages curiosity, independence and repetition, and the environment is set up in an order to encourage a child to work and choose the material from one area to another areas of life, like, Practical Life, Sensorial, Math, Language, History, Science, Geography and Art . Whereas, a child from a traditional school if there is no testing or grading or if a teacher does not take the initiative to teach how would they know anything. Where is the curiosity, choice or charm of learning besides getting A+ every year ! How would a child grow without somebody better than her/him ? A Montessori child does not have a circle of trust because for them everyone is a friend and they share and learn from eachother. They know that knowledge does not have any limits. A 3 year old child can do additions and a 5 year old child can do fractions. They can read a word or a book, paint a painting or scribble, do a science experiment or learn about a country or simply meditate in a Peace Corner. They can help a young child hold a pencil or to trace, make their own lunch box and serve others. There is an abundance of learning in a Montessori classroom. This is how a Montessori classroom environment has - knowledge unlimited !

Adding a great video which will help more clearly what I mean -

Thank you Everyone for reading this post.