Montessori Schools

The Benefits of Montessori Schools

The Montessori schools offer a learning method which should be explored by both parents of school-age children and those who are merely curious about the education of children. An Italian teacher, Maria Montessori, formulated the theories in the beginning of the century that these schools are based upon. While a school may say 'Montessori', it may have a loose definition and with no standards for using the name Montessori, you will find that the standards and method of teaching may vary greatly from another Montessori School.

Traditional public school typically operate where the children sit at desks and are given written material to work with. Children often have trouble retaining information because what they are learning at the time is not important to them and they are still expected to learn it. Montessori schools, on the other hand, seek to foster learning in the child by enlarging on the child's existing interests. The teachers are there to help students when needed, but also give suggestions on alternative ways to learn. This approach not only gives a student the desire to learn, but also sparks an excitement about learning.

You can expect Montessori schools to be very proactive and engaging during the evaluation process. One goal of the Montessori method is that children can learn the most in bursts of intense focus and concentration. At this point, the instructor typically will let the child work on their own while taking a backseat as an observer in the learning process.

When you are looking at schools that use the Montessori method, you will find that they are most commonly elementary schools or junior high schools. Montessori high schools are a bit rarer but they do exist.

One reason that you will see so many Montessori elementary schools and middle schools is due to the theory that states that a child has a very absorbent mind from birth to the age of six. When you consider how much a child needs to learn by certain ages, it's easy to see why this is. Children of this age are extremely impressionable to learning from their surrounding culture - if they are encouraged to pursue these interests at a young age, it can become a life-long habit.

Examining the Montessori teaching principles will show you the multiple benefits of such an education for your child, not only academically but personally. There are a lot of things to think about when looking into a Montessori school program for your child. Montessori School was founded by Maria Montessori who was both an educator and physician of Italian origin. Montessori gained some of her inspiration from philosophers Seguin and Itard. The Method

While previous methods of education included using tactile methods that allowed children to learn and maintain their attention in a tangible manner, Montessori chose to expand the horizons with a technique that involved making the child concentrate on a task without stress or effort. This technique was proven to be more effective as children were successfully learning without the pushy motivation often put onto students from their teachers. The customary learning method encompasses the theory that a child must acquire reading and writing skills before they turn five, so they can have additional training in a learning environment before they begin to go to school. Montessori's method is even more efficient in that children learn through making their own associations and correlations between several objects and concepts, making them motivated to learn on their own. Montessori teachers understand when a child is ready and how vital it is to make sure they begin the next level of learning as soon as possible. This method provides teachers with the knowledge that children are far more capable than adults think that they are and children have the room to define their optimum potential, goals, and limits.