FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- How do you make the classrooms so peaceful? It is our
primary goal to help the children develop the qualities of respect,
responsibility, and resourcefulness. This guides every decision we
make. If children are not behaving responsibly they are held
accountable for their actions. But most notably, Montessori believed,
as do we, that this peaceful and self-directed child is the true child,
not the disorderly and defiant child. If children are in an environment
of respect and are expected to act respectfully they will follow suit.
- Why do you have mixed age groups? If you want
children to become responsible young adults they must have
opportunities to practice at a young age. A mixed age group allows
children of different ages and abilities to help each other and thus
learn responsibility. In a mixed age class it is not always the teacher
who solves problems. In fact more often it is not. Instead it is
another child. This is not possible in a class with children all of the
same age and abilities.
- How do you approach discipline? It is our goal to
have children internalize good behavior, not just respond to an adult.
To do this we again are focused on respect, responsibility and
resourcefulness. But children do not come to us with all of these
qualities in place. When a child behaves in a manner that is
unacceptable he is held accountable with a logical consequence, one
that is related to the misbehavior. For example, if a child chooses a
particular material and is using it incorrectly, perhaps even damaging
it, he will at first be redirected to use it appropriately. If this
does not remedy the problem the child will be told to put the material
away and may not be able to use it again for several days. We do not
use time outs. If a child is consistently running in the class
endangering himself and others, he might be asked to stay with the
teacher or to stay seated at a table. But this problem was related to
movement, thus the consequence is the restriction of movement. This is
not the same as the notion of a time out.
- Why five days per week? If you want children to
develop the qualities of respect, responsibility and resourcefulness
they need consistency. They need many opportunities to practice. If
they are only coming a few days per week, they do not really feel the
classroom is their own. They are only partially attached, and therefore
do not develop a strong desire to be responsible for it.
- How do the children know what to do when? On a
child's first days of school he is given several lessons each day. Once
given a lesson a child may choose that material without asking
permission. The materials in a Montessori classroom were initially
chosen by trial and error. Only those most interesting to the children
were kept in the classrooms. So the children are naturally attracted to
what is here. If, however, a child is not working in a particular area,
for instance writing, this would be observed by the teacher and she
would direct that the child take out writing work. So it is not just
"do what you want".
- What do you do when two children want the same thing at the same time?
Generally this sort of problem is solved by a senior member of the
class. And they have various solutions. They may suggest that one
person use it first and then the other after. They may suggest they use
it together. Or perhaps that neither use it now because they can't
agree. Any of those solutions would be acceptable. And all would
require the children to draw on their resourcefulness.
- Why so many children in each class? This is a
matter of philosophy, not economics. If you want children to become
resourceful and responsible they must have opportunities to solve their
own problems. The more adults in the class the fewer opportunities for
the children. The ratio we adhere to is what is required by the
Association Montessori Internationale. It was specifically established
to allow the children to become independent and self-confident.
- Why the commitment to remaining for kindergarten?
The Montessori primary program is one that builds each year upon the
year previous. When a child starts in the class at 3 or 4 years of age
he is guided and shephered not only by his teacher but also by the
older children in the class. In the beginning the child appreciates the
help and guidance that his offered him. But as he grows a bit older, he
starts to aspire to that position of leadership himself. He slowly
starts to see himself as capable of offering that help rather than just
receiving it. When his last year in the primary finally arrives, he is
well aware of his responsibilities and assumes them with joy. All that
he has watched his older classmates do for two years is now his to do.
To the children it is like their senior year in high school. If you
understand the Montessori philosophy and fully appreciate what the
program offers the children, this idea is not a difficult one to
understand and the commitment is not a difficult one to make.
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