Another Montessori Truth

Students are more likely to succeed in a place where they feel known and cared about.  I received my 'Tomorrow's Child' Montessori magazine this weekend-I read it cover to cover.  It has such rich articles about Montessori and I love reading what others are saying about this wonderful philosophy. 

There is an article talking about 10 Truths that teachers/parents should not be ignoring.  One of them is the statement above. 

Children/Adults want to be known.  They want to be cared for.  They want to feel understood and believed in.  In Montessori environments, because children have the freedom to work and unfold at their own pace and interest level, the teachers are able to get to know each child.  And, because the learning is individualized, we get to learn about each child's strengths and areas they need extra work/practice on.  This is a gift for the children and the teachers.  We get to see the uniqueness of each child. 

This was taken from one of the articles in 'Tomorrow's Child' which was taken from the book Feel Bad Education by Alfie Kohn.  "If we took seriously the need for kids to feel known and cared about, our discussions about the distinguishing features of a 'good school' would sound very different.  Likewise, our view of discipline and classroom management would be turned inside-out, seeing as how the primary goals of most such strategies are obedience and order, often with the result that kids feel less cared about-or even bullied-by adults."

Even mainstream education groups have embraced the idea of teaching the 'whole' child, including the physical, social, emotional, artistic, and academic.  However, very few conversations occur about the aspects of the child that aren't academic.  Why is that?  In addition, more and more homework is being assigned so children have even less time to pursue other interests when not in school. 

My experience in the Montessori classroom is that paying attention to the emotional and social aspects of children brings endless fruit:  confidence, leadership, conflict resolution skills, community building, standing up for what's right and a belief in themselves in their learning.  Learning to interact and work together with others (children and adults) is one of the most important life skills-no matter where we all go in life, we will have to deal with people.  Children need to practice these skills and given the opportunity to care about others so they can work together. 


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