Assignment 2
Trish Wymore
Development and Imitation
In order to gain the most from imitating adults, the child of 1 ½ and 2 must first prepare himself (on his own schedule) through uninterrupted cycles of physical activity which help to coordinate his movements.
From Unconscious Creator to Conscious Worker
During the first three years, a child is busy “creating” himself. Although he will have no recollection of this work, it comes to fruition when he enters the period of 3-6 when he is able act upon the foundation he previously built.
Further Elaboration Through Culture and Imagination
Vocabulary (especially scientific) is most rapidly enriched during the 3-6 period and sets basis for future learning. Order and precision, the period which is most intense during 3-6 forms the basis of the mathematical mind.
Character and Defects in Childhood
The child who is mentally starved will exhibit all sorts of character defects which can only be fixed through meaningful, mentally stimulating work.
The Child's Contribution to Society-Normalization
If a child's personality fails to become organized, any number of deviations can arise. Normalization will occur when the child's whole personality is aroused and engaged in meaningful work.
Character building is the Child's Own Achievement
Character cannot be taught during the period of 3-6, it must be allowed to unfold with the properly prepared surroundings. After 6 however, character cannot develop spontaneously and it is not merely enough to role model the behaviors we wish to encourage.
Children's Possessiveness and Its transformations
The trait of possessiveness will be transformed and replaced with a love for knowledge if the child is allowed to develop his concentration independent of the adult . Knowledge will awaken a great love and a desire learn about things around him.
Social Development
concentration is the foundation for social development and is aided by an environment that protects the child's concentration. The child can then begin to perfect himself through his social interactions which ideally occur in a mixed age environment where younger children look up to older children and they in turn help to nurture their younger peers.
Cohesion and the Social Unit
A social unity among children can be achieved through their own efforts. We must protect their efforts by not encouraging competition, rewards and punishments as a means of control, and giving morality lectures.
Mistakes and their correction
But incorporating a control of error into works, the child can check his own progress and not be dependent upon an adult to construct his knowledge. Free from guessing or waiting for a teacher to confirm his work, the child can continue to improve his performance and increase the likelihood that he will try again in the future.
The three levels of obedience
The child passes through three levels starting with inconsistent obeying, to obeying through self control, and ending with joyful obeying.
Discipline and the teacher
Discipline is not something done to the child, but something that is “born” when a child reaches a level of concentration - uninterrupted. The teacher can protect this concentration by carefully observing for it's first signs, preventing disruptions and imitations of other children, and providing a smile of encouragement when called for.
The teacher's preparation
A Montessori teacher must prepare in several areas: herself (spiritually especially), the classroom environment, her presentation to the children (enticement), and finally by finding contentment in doing nothing at all at times.
Love and its source – the child
Love is our greatest power, and it's source is the child.
Quotes:
“It is not a good thing to cut life in two, using the limbs for games and the head for books. Life should be a single whole, especially in the earliest years, when the child is forming himself in accordance with the laws of his growth” (p164).
“If we examine the progress of work recommended for use in schools, we see at once their poverty and dullness. The education of today is humiliating. It produces an inferiority complex and artificially lowers the powers of man. Its very organization sets a limit to knowledge well below the natural level. It supplies men with crutches when they could run on swift feet. It is an education based on man's lower powers, not on his higher ones. And it is man's own fault if the majority of human beings are inferior, for the formation of their characters during the constructive period has been prevented” (p. 214).
I found this quote to be so sad! It could easily have been written today about my son's school. I do find the techniques to be humiliating, and the daily worksheets he brings home to be so under stimulating and relentless. It is very difficult for me to keep my feelings about his experience to myself. Fortunately (or not) he doesn't know any other way of education and he seems to be handling it in his own way.
“There is only one specimen of each object, and if a piece is in use when another child wants it, the latter – if he is normalized – will wait for it to be released. Important social qualities derive from this. The child comes to see that he must respect the work of others, not because someone has said he must, but because it is a reality that he meets in his daily experience. There is only one between many children, so there nothing for it but to wait. and since this happens every hour of the day for years, the idea of respecting others, and of waiting one's turn, becomes an habitual part of life which always grows more mature” (p. 223-224).
Prior to learning about Montessori, I did not believe that young children should be forced to wait for anything! I couldn't understand why little children should be forced to wait when they were clearly unable to!! The first year of my preschool (4 years ago) I had five children ages 18 months to 2 years. We constructed a brand new classroom addition to our house and I promptly supplied it with five of everything. No child would be forced to wait in my class!! The first clues I began to receive about my obvious misguided understandings came during the first week of school when the children went to choose from the five identical strollers lined up against one wall. Two little girls nearly came to blows over the same stroller. Needless to say, I witnessed the beauty of of the transformation to having one of everything. I would never have been convinced had i not been a part of it and now see it every day!
“It is hard to believe how deep this atmosphere of protection and admiration becomes in practice. The class gets to be cemented by affection (p. 227).
Our class has a definite feeling of affection toward each other. With only 12 girls, some who have been coming for four years, it is sometimes a very intimate atmosphere. One of the girls has a special condition that keeps her from speaking in school. Her transition two years ago was very difficult for everyone and she screamed for nearly a month. Her condition became quickly apparent at that time, and as I learned more about her special needs, I became fairly protective of her. Over the last three years, the girls have nurtured her, learned to communicate with her on her terms, and have always tried to include her in their work and play. Interestingly, this summer many girls went to her house on separate occasions for play dates. During these play dates in her home, she speaks freely and openly with the girls! Upon returning to school, the other girls rush to tell me that she spoke – loudly! I am so proud of their caring and accepting attitudes toward this girl!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
It seems like children understand eachother better than we do as adults. They see a younger/weaker child and know they will need help or guidance and that an older child will get to do things that they are not ready for. Today I saw a 3 year old boy go out to the playground and stop because his jacket wasn't on correctly. The next girl who ran out was 4 and she immediately stopped and tried to help him get his coat on right. It was so fast you could miss it but it was wonderful to see.
Trish
Thanks for sharing the example of your quote,
This experience is from last year. E is girl, the second child at her family. She comes to school for a full day. In the classroom, she is not very cooperative. She often interrupts other children, and stops in the middle of her work to talk other student, leaving her workplace a mess. She doesn’t like to spend time doing activities or work. She is very interested in noise and other situations. If she sees that something has happened, she will immediately run to the area, and loudly ask “what happened?” She like to be social, but she doesn’t like to have other children follow to her. I found that she liked to tag along with older students. Because I saw this, I found the chance to give her to work with old children. It turned out that she liked it better. She would watch them and then copy them. From this, she learned to cooperate more in the classroom.
Trish, I know how you feel, my son is in 5th grade and he is so bored sometimes. I’ve seen how they teach and present new lesson, it puts me to sleep. He has one teacher that he loves his Science teacher; it’s an extra class they offer once a week, she is so alive, has such passion for her work and gives the children such a love for science. She reminds me of Mrs. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus books. She takes the children the environmental center and we are all marveled as parents at her enthusiasm and knowledge, because of this he loves science and wants to learn more about everything she teachers them. If only all classes could be like that.
Trish,
Have you read on selective mutism?
Your silent little girl needs therapy and most likely so does her family.
Many of us feel sadness when we discover that we can't make our children's school life better. My three adult daughters all pushed me out of their lives at one point and said they can deal with it. They knew what I thought and wanted me to give them credit for being able to handle their own lives. Let's talk about this in Child Development that is how we support them by having confidence in their ability to handle their own problem. a la Parent Effectiveness Training.
What's up everybody, here every person is sharing such knowledge, so it's nice to read this blog, and I used to
visit this webpage all the time.
My website :: weightloss shakes
Post a Comment