These are structures that are based on the educational principles of Maria Montessori, who see the boy or girl in the center and the patient adult and attentive in the care of every detail of the environment and activities. But what are the real differences with the “traditional” school?
Entering a Montessori school what could most skip the eye is the movement of children in space. The children, in fact, are usually not grouped in a room or on a carpet to carry out shared activities, but move freely in a common space – as at home – carrying out their occupations, helping themselves when there is a need, being close or distant according to their will.
In a Montessorian school it is therefore normal to see at the same time a child who paints while another carve, a little girl who slices a banana and another who works with numerical auctions, someone who writes or draws and someone else who collects leaves in the garden. This is because free movement, provided that it is constructive and respectful of others and the environment, is favored at all times.
But What are the Features of a Montessorian school? What the principles that regulate it?
How does a Montessori school work?
The Montessorian school is based on the educational principles that Maria Montessori spread all over the world and that have contributed to changing the gaze of adults on childhood in an important way.
But let’s understand in more detail how a Montessori school works. The educational environment is ordered, simple but very well cared for, with soft colors, rich but not saturated with materials, which will have to be well cleaned, intact and arranged on sight, so that children are able to reach and use them when they wish.
In the Montessorian school, children, as mentioned, move in the space freely to seek the necessary necessary to satisfy their projects. At the same time, however, the Master or the teacher will constantly observe the group and will be ready to intervene to support every single child when needed.
Whether it is a nest, of a structure for childhood or primary or secondary, the application of the Montessori method at school It requires a lot of commitment, training, passion and constancy.
Differences between Montessori school and “traditional”
What changes between one Montessorian school and a “traditional”? What are the differences in educational approaches? Given that the answers to these questions vary according to the age of the children (since depending on their age they change their specific needs), however it is possible to find transversal characteristics for all Montessori -style structures, whether they are nests or schools for children or primary.
In the School with Montessori method The environment is preparedthat is, everything present in space has a purpose, shared by everyone, and each object has its own stable location and, if visible, it can be used by children when they want it.
As we explained, in a Montessori school, moreover, children choose independently their occupations – obviously always among the proposals in the environment – and a precise activity is not imposed on them. This is one of the main differences with the “traditional” school, in which the activities are coordinated by the teacher and, usually, carried out by the entire group.
In the Montessorian school, the adult intervenes only when the child acts destructively and not aimed at any type of exercise, otherwise he remains under observation of the group. The masters and teachers turn to children using a rich and forbidden language, they know where to position themselves in space so as not to disturb and, at the same time, to support, direct or fascinate children. We therefore find another big difference with the “traditional” school: the latter sees the adult in the center, while in the Montessorian school the center is the boy or the girl and the adult has the task of supervising.
We see below other differences in the Montessorian school compared to the traditional one:
- The front “lessons” are short, significant, well -kept and occasional.
- The materials present in space are sufficient for all children, so that they can use them in rotation, they are intact, resistant and with soft colors.
- Work times are dictated by the child and almost never imposed from the outside. The speed of resolution of the exercises is not a quality to cultivate, rather the care and real understanding of the teaching offered by the lesson or activity that is taking place.
Pros and cons of a Montessori school
Maria Montessori based her studies on the scientific observation of the child, who thanks to his free movement offers adults important information about his needs, his interests, his nature, his difficulties. Through this observation, the adult can consequently organize an environment adequate to the needs of children, offering organizational solutions, materials and spaces that meet their needs and, at the same time, guarantee safety and autonomy.
We summarize below which are the Advantages of the Montessorian school:
- education to critical thinking and responsibility for one’s choices;
- respect for self and their desires and respect for others;
- freedom of movement (fundamental to guarantee a good psycho-physical balance);
- free choice, when constructive and sustainable;
- accompaniment by a patient adult and attentive in the care of every detail of the environment and activities.
If instead we must identify some Disadvantages of the Montessorian school, The enormous investment required – to families and teachers – to respect the foundations of the pedagogy of Maria Montessori, or in the care of the environment, in the continuous training of staff, in the educational continuity between home and school, should be underlined.
Marrying Montessorian philosophy is very demanding, it requires constancy, perseverance and few compromises. In fact, choosing to adopt the principles of Maria Montessori occasionally, only in some spaces, or make it a superficial reading, it is somewhat useless if not even harmful. Maria Montessori asked for the child’s freedom in a prepared environment and after a process that defines as “normalization”, otherwise we can only speak of chaos.
