Montessori Education Week

This week, professional associations around the world are recognizing the work of Maria Montessori. More than a hundred years ago, she blazed a new trail into the fields of education and child psychology. She stood out most of all for her bravery in forging a new understanding of the essential nature of a child and their path of development. At every step, her own path was difficult. When she attended medical school in the early 1900’s, she wasn’t allowed to speak in class, was forced to stand in the back row of lectures, and was required to do her lab work at night – all because she was a woman. She faced ridicule and discrimination for her revolutionary ideas that placed the child at the centre of their own life. She endured personal heartbreak, social ostracism and political exile yet her spirit remained generous enough to show patience, understanding and love to some of Rome’s most marginalized children. Eventually, her ideas spread, she was admired by many for her incredible work and Montessori schools opened all over the planet. Over time and distance, her observations of children have held true, the apparatus has not changed much, and the influence of her ideas can be seen in education everywhere.

Today we live in a very outcome-orientated society and the concrete deliverables of a Montessori education appeal to many. Indeed, an understanding of geometry, long division, capitals of countries and sentence analysis are acquired early by this method and this is appealing. It is also appealing that children of two years old can dress themselves and pour water from a jug without spilling a drop or tuck in a chair without making a noise. The true harmony is found when a child reaches a point where they can do their work competently for the pure joy of doing it for themselves, without external reward or motivation.

As we carry Dr. Montessori’s work forward a century later there is, on the surface at least, a greater empathy for children. Our role in fostering that empathy requires constant critical self reflection. Montessori once said that “to give a child liberty is not to abandon him to himself”.  As adults in the lives of children, we have a duty to guide them, to help them understand the expectations of the society they are a part of and to allow them the space and time to construct themselves in accordance with it. For this reason, Montessori schools place emphasis on responsibility for oneself, for their environment and for the people in it. Our work is to support children so they may find the peace within themselves that will guide them toward freedom. To do this, we must remind ourselves that freedom is not something that is given but something that is found.