Montessori Education

        The Montessori education method is a particular educational approach or philosophy of education that emphasize on the independence, freedom within limits, and respect for the child's natural psychological development and technological advancements within society in general. The Montessori educational approach was developed by Italian educator and physician Maria Montessori. The Montessori educational approach and its practices are applicable for the age levels of: zero to three years old covering infant and toddler, and preschool and kindergarten; six to 12 years old covering the primary or elementary school age children; and 12 to 18 years old covering the middle and proper secondary school levels.

        However, the Montessori education is commonly used for the educational levels of preschool, kindergarten, and primary school levels. If you are a parent who is considering in getting the Montessori educational approach as the primary method for educating your child, and planning to enroll him in a Montessori school, you should first read and study about the advantages or benefits of the method. Information and materials about the Montessori educational approach is available in the local library, in various Internet websites that provide free information about the Montessori method, and in the printed materials distributed by the various non-profit organisations that are dedicated to promoting the Montessori approach.

        Reading and studying about the benefits of the Montessori education would help you in making an informed and wise choice of determining and deciding if the Montessori method is the best approach for educating your child. The main benefits of the Montessori approach includes letting children on learning on their own because a Montessori classroom is equipped with self-correcting materials that would help a child to learn through the trial and error, which would result in the child in learning to make correct decisions. Moreover, the Montessori classroom has an environment that provides a natural sense of discipline for the child.

• classrooms where students from different ages converge
• a special set of educational materials
• students can choose their own work given in long time blocks
• student mentors that foster a collaborative environment
• no grading and testing system
• instruction of individuals and small groups alike
• instruction of both academic and social skills

• Montessori students are significantly better prepared for elementary school by having more knowledge in reading and maths than their non-Montessori counterparts.
• Montessori educated children also performed better on social and behavioral tests, in particular demonstrating a better sense of justice and fairness.
• Outside of the classroom Montessori children were also more likely to engage in emotionally positive play with other kids and have a lesser tendency to engage in rough play.
• Montessori education also tends to increase the children's executive function, or their ability to adapt to changing and more complex problems.

• A bachelor's degree in education majoring in primary or high school education, English, mathematics, science, and communication arts. Then, you should select the age group of the children that you want to teach. The age groups of the students are: infant to toddler class (from zero to two years old); primary class (from three to six years old); lower elementary class (ages six to nine years old); upper elementary class (nine to 12 years old); and secondary level class (from 12 to 15 years old and 15 to 18 years old).

• Obtaining training and certification to become a certified Montessori education teacher is the most important part. Just like what I did, I searched the Internet for training centers or professional organizations that offered accredited teacher training programs. It is important that you select a program that is accredited by a recognized accreditation body or organization to ensure that the certification and training you obtained would be recognized by educational institutions. In the United States, the three leading accreditation bodies are the American Montessori Society, the Association Montessori Internationale, and the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teach Education Commission.

• Availing of distance learning training programs offered by various training centers if you are currently working as a non-Montessori teacher and your work schedule would not allow you to attend formal classes. Just make sure that their programs are accredited by any of the three accreditation bodies.

1. Early Roots – Montessori opened her first classroom in 1907 which she called Casa dei Bambini which means children's house which is located in a tenement building in Rome. Right from the start, she based her work on what she observed in children and her experiments involving materials, environment and lessons available to pupils. To her, her work was “scientific pedagogy.”
2. Reach to the United States – Montessori education reached the United States of America in 1911 and became popular in the academe and the media. After three years, however, the spread of Montessori's ideas was away because of conflict between Montessori and the American educational establishment, more specifically the publication of a critical booklet titled The Montessori System Examined which was written by William Heard Kilpatrick who was an influential education teacher. The Montessori system re-emerged in the US in 1960; since then, it has spread to thousands of US schools.
3. Comprehensive Model – During her lifetime, Montessori continued to develop and extend her calling and advocacy which is now the fully developed Montessori education system. She developed an encompassing model of psychological development which pertains to the ages of birth to 24 years. The model also involves educational approaches for children ages 0-3, 3-6 and 6-12. Montessori taught teachers about teaching young people aged 12 to 18 and older learners beyond age 18. However, these programs were developed after her lifetime.

• Practices – The Montessori education emphases mentioned are practice using the essential elements of mixed age classrooms, student choice of activity, uninterrupted work time, learning theory of constructivism and specialised educational materials. The most common mixed age classroom involve children aged 2 ½ or 3 to 6 years old. As far as the activity choice is concerned, the choices come within a prescribe range. Uninterrupted work time comes in blocked times. In constructivism, students learn concepts by working with materials as opposed to listening to lectures. The Montessori approach also uses specialised educational materials which was developed by Montessori herself and her collaborators. Lots of Montessori schools design their own programs basing on Montessori model of human development which is found in her published works. These schools also use lessons, pedagogy and materials based on materials introduced in teaching courses conducted by Montessori.

• Model – Montessori education is basically based on the model of human development; it is also a model of human development itself. Two basic elements is featured in the model. They are (1) children and developing adults are involved in psychological self-construction through interaction within their environments and (2) children, especially under six years old, have an innate path of psychological development. Montessori believed, based on her observations, that children can act spontaneously towards best development if they have the freedom to choose and act freely within an environment which is prepared for them using the development model developed by her.