The Absorbent Mind

10/1/2008 Assignment
Philosophy Part II
The Absorbent Mind
Feng Mei Shao

In chapter 1, Montessori stresses the "greatest marvel of the Universe, the human being" and says that teachers can only give their help.

In chapter 2, Montessori continues to stress the importance of a child's learning and living of life through proper guidance.

In chapter 3, the periods of a child's growth are discussed and a rough timetable of what a child should be able to do at that time is shown (ex Age 5: make sounds)

In chapter 4, Montessori discusses the new path of human life and in order to study life effectively, we must start at the beginning.

In chapter 5, sketches and notes are presented on the formation of life and simple cells.

In chapter 6, we look at embryos and their behaviors for different species.

In chapter 7, we learn that man has two embryonic periods and outlines the
importance of a newborn baby and the care right after birth.

In chapter 8, the child's brain and thought process is discussed and we learn that he/she strives to be independent.

In chapter 9, the child's surroundings affect the child's mental life greatly and he will explore to satisfy his "mental hunger".

In chapter 10, language is shown to be a collective thought and a child will gradually develop language skills as he/she pieces words together.

In chapter 11, we see the awakening and the "need to express" of the child, thus creating language.

In chapter 12, we look at possible obstacles in a child's development like speech, courage, and knowledge.

In chapter 13, we see the importance of movement in an early child's development because it provides for his physical well being and puts a man
in touch with his world.

In chapter 14, we see how the hand and the mind work together and see how the brain affects the motor capabilities of the body.


Quote: “But the promise they hold can only be fulfilled through the experience of free activity conducted on the environment” (p. 96)

I observed two boys working on the Broad Stair. M was working on the Broad Stair. The boy Chase approached him and appeared to have made a suggestion. After a negotiation, the two boys agreed and together walked towards one of the shelves. They helped each other to bring back pieces of the Pink Tower. They kept going back and forth, combining the two materials together with frequent discussions, the children having fun while they learn. I believed that the enjoyable self-teaching and self-correcting. The children naturally would interact among themselves when solving their problems

Quote: “Once we have focused our attention and our studies on life itself, we may find that we are touching the secret of mankind and into our hands will fall the knowledge of how it should be governed and how helped.” (p. 17)

S is 5 ½ years old and an only child. He is much excelled in math and reading. S is very sensitive to making mistakes, and failures. Whenever he does something incorrectly, he will throw the material that he is using onto the ground, and become very upset with himself. Because of this behavior, none of the other children tend to talk to him. Because I observed this, I placed S with some younger children in the class. This was to have him see that it was okay to make mistakes as long as he learned from the mistakes.



Quote: “The immense influence that education can exert through children has the environment for its instrument, for the child absorbs his environment, takes everything form it, and incarnates it in himself. (p. 66)

Emily is four years old. Everyday, she will immediately go to the art section. She can focus on her art for three or four paintings. She uses many colors, and I personally think that her artwork is very pretty. She doesn’t go to other sections of the classroom very often. After I started noticing this, I began using art-related materials to teach her lessons. For example, I told Emily to draw out the Pink Tower blocks on pieces of paper, and color in the shape so she could see the sizes of the shapes. In the Practical Life section, I took several beginners materials and changed them into different colors. This way, it would catch Emily’s eye and make her want to come to different stations. After changing these things, I observed that Emily started going to different stations more often. (Although her first choice is still to go to the art section.) In conclusion, the prepared environment is important in motivating or engaging the child to learn.