Sensitive Periods - 2nd and 3rd Planes of Development

We refer to sensitive periods as psychological characteristics more-so than sensitive periods in the 2^nd and 3^rd planes. 

The second plane child 

• is in the age of imagination; 
• he has less need for concrete materials in his activity. 
• He develops a herd instinct, desiring social life with others of similar development 
• and he develops a sense of morality, seeking out what is right and wrong, working out the definition of fair play. 

The third plane child is concerned with ethics and finding his place in the world.

Sensitive Periods - Positve and Negative Manifestations

When recognized and responded to appropriately, there are several positive manifestations of the sensitive periods, However, when sensitive periods are ignored or not otherwise fulfilled, this need of the child becomes like a hunger.

Positive:

• deep concentration on the part of the child, as is usually first seen when a very young infant focuses for so long on human speech.
• tremendous activity and repetition of specific activities, particularly work with his hands.
• The child demonstrates great joy and he will reach a perfect acquisition of the skill he is working on.

            “Such then are the positive proofs of a child’s creative sensibilities, but there are also other, much more obvious, but negative proofs, of it. These become manifest when some obstacle impedes a child’s inner functioning. A sensitive period can then reveal itself in the child’s violent reaction.”   Maria Montessori. The Secret of Childhood. 1966. 44. The “some obstacle” to which Montessori refers can be an inappropriate environment or an adult not understanding the child’s particular needs of the moment, or an interruption from a developing state of concentration.

Negative:

• The seeming naughtiness is actually an inner disturbance and unsatisfied need, of which the child cannot yet verbally or authoritatively express.
• Tantrums, or naughtiness, are frustration, negative behavior, aggression or apathy.

The child’s energy, when interfered with or not given proper direction, is diverted into a negative direction, off the normal path of development. The cure for this deviation is purposeful work or activity associated with the sensitive period at hand, within an environment which allows for development of the above positive manifestations.

Sensitive Periods - Role of the Adult

            “It is obvious that a knowledge of these sensitive periods will have a profound effect on the way we teach – especially on what we shall teach at any given age. We must place as the basis of all instruction the fact that a child can understand different things at different ages…. The important thing is to present at any epoch those aspects of the subjects taught which correspond to it. Hence we must see to it that the child’s environment should be furnished with those things which correspond to the needs and special capacities of each successive period.”

Maria Montessori and others. Ed. E.M.Standing. No year given, but a recent re-publishing of the 2^nd edition published in 1965. 56.

Sensitive Periods

            True sensitive periods are generally found only during development, when they are used for constructing the man that the child will become. They are most in number and most obvious in the first plane, from conception to age six. They are observable and have been seen throughout history, but never clarified until recent years.

            During the sensitive periods:

• the child will learn new skills with greater perfection and ease
• there is tremendous energy, compared to that of a mighty river having to squeeze through a narrow opening
• there is great concentration and repetition around the concept or particular acquisition upon which the child is focusing.

Sensitive Periods - List

            “As the individual develops, he passes through a succession of well-defined stages or epochs, each of which is characterized by a peculiar sensitivity to certain aspects of his environment; and a corresponding capacity to absorb them into his mental life.”[1] 

In her writings, Dr. Montessori refers to these ‘stages or epochs’ as sensitive periods. They have been recognized by other more recent researchers and educators who have given them different varying names, noting critical, yet brief, periods of intense interest and learning that cannot be replicated at other times. Sensitive periods bring out tremendous activity geared towards a definite preference for specific aspects of the environment.

            There are four clearly defined sensitive periods, though there are quite possibly more. Some could be identified separately but are part of the four clearly defined ones; some could be quite subtle or have not been noticed due to an insufficiency in earlier development that does not allow a sensitive period to clearly show itself. 

• language
• order
• refinement of the senses
• movement

Sensitive periods are not found in adults; 
they are used for specific constructive purposes in the child.

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[1] Maria Montessori and others. Ed. E.M.Standing. No year given, but a recent re-publishing of the 2^nd edition published in 1965. 56.