Meet+Maria+Montessori

=Maria Montessori=

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Maria Montessori was born in Chiaravalle, Italy. In 1870, she was the only child born to her wealthy and well-educated parents. Her mother was extremely supportive of her when it came to her wanting to pursue a professional career. Her father wanted her to take the more traditional route and become a teacher. She eventually went onto Medical School where she struggled with her father's disapproval and the resentment of her fellow medical classmates. She specialized in Pediatrics and graduated in 1896, making her the first woman in Italy with a medical degree. Her first job was to visit Insane Asylums and select patients for treatment. This is where her interest in children and their needs developed. She noticed that children that seemed "unteachable" responded well to her methods. Because she had trained as a scientist she used observation to determine the needs of the children. She determined that the problems did not exist in the children, but in the adults, in their approaches and in the environments that they provided. Thus, she came up with her theory(Mooney, 2000).
 * About Maria Montessori:**


 * Her Theory:**
 * Child-Centered Environments:** She believed that "Environment" includes not only the space the children use and the furnishing and materials within that space that also the adults and the children who share their days with each other. Montessori believed that children learn language and other significant life skills, without conscious effort, from the environments where they spend their time. She believed children learn best through sensory experiences.


 * Provide Real Tools That Work:** Montessori suggested that the size of furnishings and materials was important. She thought children needed real tools if they were to do the real work that interested them so. In American preschools children are often expected to cut paper with scissors that aren't sharp or cut vegetables with butter knives so they won't be hurt. Unfortunately, these dull tolls also make these simple tasks very difficult, and in some cases more dangerous than if children used sharp tools properly.


 * Keep Materials and Equipment Accessible to the Children:** In addition to having real tools, Montessori stressed the need for children to be able to reach materials when they needed them, in order to help children become responsible for their own learning. Arranging classrooms with low, open shelves means children can see what is available and get what they want without assistance from the teacher. They do not have to interrupt their work to the attention of the busy teacher to ask permission to use the materials they need.


 * Create Beauty and Order:** Montessori used the word "cheerful" to describe well-planned spaces for children. She believed caring for the environment and keeping it bright and orderly should be viewed as a teaching skill. Teachers need to ask themselves what they are providing in the environment to "educate the senses."


 * Competence and Responsibility:** Montessori believed that children want and need to care for themselves and their surroundings. She believed that adults spent too much time "serving" children. She cautioned teachers to remember that children who are not allowed to do something for themselves, do not learn how to do it. Montessori understood that it is sometimes much easier to do something for a child than it is to take the time and energy to teach him to do it for himself. But she also believed that for children to grow and develop skills, the adults in their lives need to make opportunities for children to do things for themselves.


 * Allow Children to Take Responsibility:** Montessori was convinced that the more we manage for children, the harder our jobs will be. Children have a passionate interest in real work. They love to watch the cook, the custodian, and the garbage truck at work. They always want to "help." If a child is capable of doing something, then they should be able to do it. She also believed it is the teacher's responsibility to increase each child's competence whenever possible.


 * Schedule Large Blocks of Open-Ended Time:** Montessori's observations led her to believe that children are capable of great concentration when they are surrounded by many interesting things to do and given the time and freedom to do them. She thought that as teachers allow children to choose what they will do and how and when they will do it, the teachers have more time to observe and assist children individually. Montessori teachers are trained to "teach little and observe much."


 * Observe the Children:** It is important to take time and take a careful observation of each child. Montessori suggested that if we watch children carefully and then reflect on those observations, we can figure out what the children need that they are not presently getting from the environment.

Mooney, C. (2000). Theories of childhood. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Pearson Education, Inc.
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[|Maria Montessori]

[|American Montessori Society]

[|Theories/Maria Montessori]

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