Adult - Facing Difficulties in Implementing Montessori Principles

Facing Difficulties and Problems in Implementing the Method

            First Stage:

                   A. Spiritual

                   B. Observation

                   C. Intellectual, technical and physical

                   D. Have faith

                   E. Allow the child to reveal himself through his work.

           

            Second Stage:

                  A. The adult is the keeper and custodian of the environment –

                                    without this piece, nothing else can happen.

                  B. Don’t focus on the children when things aren’t working –

                                    focus on the environment in its detail.

                                    *When things are going right, note the environment: what is working?

                  C. Appearance: non-distracting, neat, function, comfort, professional, modest, clean

                  D. Movement: study movements – graceful, gentle, slow

            Third Stage: before concentration and normalization

                  A. Note how we behave towards children – unconditional respect.

                                    Entice the child – be like a flame that heartens and enlivens

                                                be warm, gain trust

                                    Be sweet as can be at first – gain trust and desire to return

                                                quickly become strict to assure and maintain standards

                                                then lighten up to allow the graces to flow

            Fourth Stage: when children show interest in their work

                     A. Do NOT interfere.

                                Don’t praise or do anything that draws attention away from the work itself.

                                    “Once concentration begins, act as if the child does not exist.”

                B. Only present new things when the child has exhausted every possibility of the work that came before.

                     C. The child’s development follows a path of successive stages of independence.

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.