How the organization of the Montessori environment leads to greater learning
August 13, 2019
If the teacher has the ability to organize sincere respect for and interest in children and knowledge, there is no limit to the possibilities for a meaningful education in a Montessori elementary classroom.
—Paula Polk Lillard, Montessori Today, pg. 151
In her essential handbook, Montessori
Today, Paula Polk Lillard says organization is the key to being a successful
Montessori elementary teacher. That and respect for children. She comes to this
conclusion after in-depth observation in an elementary environment where, as
Dr. Maria Montessori directed, the teacher is in the background. The children
and their work are, and should be, front and center.
As an elementary Montessori teacher, I
observed some profound differences between conventional students and Montessori
students. Usually taken for granted, these differences were usually brought to
my attention when we had a new student enter the classroom. Looking through a
non-Montessori child’s eyes, my classroom probably seemed very chaotic at
first. Not noisy — never that — and
not out of control. But rather, as Lillard states, a “veritable beehive of
activity.” (Lillard, 1996)
In the Montessori classroom, the children
take control of their own learning. They arrive early in the morning, hang up
their coats, put away their lunches, and get straight to work. They may stop to
say hello to a friend or two, but they quickly settle into their morning work
cycle, without having to be told what to work on or when to start. In fact, it
isn’t unusual for elementary students to ask for lessons before the day has
officially started.
Designing your schedule for the child’s success
When I first began teaching in the Montessori elementary environment, I tried to hold a morning circle time to take attendance and help outline our day. I was soon met with resistance; the children just wanted to get to work. Having a morning circle interrupted their natural inclination to work and learn. Bringing them together for circle time was for my convenience, not theirs. I soon realized that they worked better without the interruption, and I removed this from my morning routine. Instead, we came together right before lunch to discuss any issues and questions or do a little quick planning together.
This same busy pace could be seen right up
until it was time to go home. Then, they would quickly and efficiently tidy up
the classroom and get ready for dismissal. Unfinished work was neatly labeled
with the child’s name tag and left in place for the next day, whether it was on
a table or on a floor mat. No one disturbed it; even the custodians knew to
vacuum around work left on the floor. This sense of on-going work helps children
know there is no rush to finish. Learning doesn’t follow a 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
time frame. It is continuous. Some learning is big and takes a tremendous
amount of time and effort. Other
learning is shorter and can easily be put away. Long or short, neat or messy,
learning is happening on all levels at individual paces throughout the day.
Planning to support the child’s learning
Organizational planning also looks
different in the Montessori elementary environment. Lillard tells us that the
Montessori teacher “has to resist the temptation to create her own curriculum
on topics that capture her attention…Her personal interests and knowledge are
of little use to the children. She
serves as a catalyst to the children’s explorations, not as an authority on
specific subject matter.” (Lillard, 1996) At first glance, the Montessori classroom
looks full of learning and didactic materials. This is especially true in the
areas of math and language. But the elementary cultural shelves consist of
nothing more than timelines, impressionistic charts, maps, and nomenclature
cards.
I have heard parents voice concerns over the lack of science materials or
history texts on the shelves. However, we could never put enough materials on
the shelves to satisfy the child’s own natural curiosity. Montessori
cultural materials are not teaching tools like textbooks. Like the teacher, they
serve as an introduction or catalyst to further learning and research. They are
merely a place to start, not a means to an end. They call the child to pull
them off the shelves to use, and in their simplicity, they spur the imagination
so that children are encouraged to seek out more information on their own.
The teacher must understand this, have the
materials available to the child, and be organized enough to know that the
materials alone will drive learning. By having the materials close at hand, the
teacher is ever ready to present lessons and encourage further study. Follow-up
work is not given in the form of formal assignments but as suggestions written
in a journal after a lesson. If children are truly not sure what to do next,
they can refer to their journals for ideas and motivation.
True organization is being able to keep track
of student interests and progress. I did this every Friday afternoon after
lunch. I left my assistant in charge of helping students if necessary, and I
found a quiet corner. There I met with each child individually to discuss what
they had worked on during the week as well as what their plans were for the
following week. Having 35 children in class meant I did not meet with every
child every week. I usually divided the class in half, meeting with one half
one week and the other half the next. If a child truly needed to meet with me, I
would make room in the schedule for them. This long-term strategic planning
helped the children take control and responsibility for their own learning, a great time management and organizational skill that they will carry forward
into adult life.
In all of this, the teacher is not the
expert. Our job is not as teacher but as guide. As Montessori says, this is a
help to life. We teach children to rely not on the adult to lead the way but on
themselves to find the way.
Works Cited
Lillard, Paula Polk. Montessori Today: A Comprehensive Approach to Education from Birth to Adulthood. New York, NY: Schocken Books, 1996.