WHAT IS MONTESSORI?
Dr. Maria Montessori believed that "no human
being is educated by another person. They must do it for themselves or it will never be done."
A truly
educated individual continues learning long after the hours
and years they spend in the classroom, because they are motivated
from within by a natural curiosity and love for knowledge.
Therefore, Dr. Montessori felt that the goal
of early childhood education should not be to fill the child
with facts from a pre-selected course of studies, but rather
to cultivate their own natural desire to learn.
In the Montessori classroom this objective
is approached in two ways: first, by allowing each child to
experience the excitement of learning by their own choice
rather than by being forced; second, by helping them to perfect
all their natural tools for learning situations.
The Montessori materials have this dual long-range
purpose in addition to their immediate purpose of giving the
child specific information. |
