Views on Montessori Education

Dr. Maria Montessori is indeed a pioneer in the field of early childhood education. Based on 21 years of observing the child with the objective of understanding its true nature and the conditions that would be conducive for the child to blossom along the right developmental track, Dr. Maria Montessori made some very important and ground breaking discoveries.

They involved gaining insight, knowledge, realizations and understanding about early childhood developmental requirements that were hitherto not fully comprehended nor practiced. Dr. Maria did not create something that did not already exist. She systematically and scientifically studied something that was already in existence and propounded a set of governing principles that stand up to the rigors of scientific experimentation. Her contributions to our understanding of the true nature of the child and how a child learns during the early stage are truly phenomenal.

The Montessori philosophy

The Montessori philosophy is based on the principle that the child is a self-directed individual who is capable of exploring, learning and perfecting knowledge and skills if the right conditions are provided for him. There are three agents of education that define what constitutes the right conditions for a child. They are (a) The environment (b) Specially designed materials (c) The director/directress.

Each of these three agents of education is a distinct and unique piece of a child's developmental puzzle but they have to fit in together and operate in unison to create the conducive and comprehensive developmental experience for the child.

Here are my views about Dr. Maria's conclusions.

1. First of all, I respect all her discoveries and conclusions. They have been based on extensive observation. More over they collaborate with nature. Her discoveries are in the realm of natural realism. Her conclusions have had a pioneering impact on the sum and substance of early childhood education.