MONTESSORI METHOD 



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MONTESSORI METHOD 



are exemplified in the cylinders, the rods and 

 the prisms. Rough and smooth, light and heavy, 

 loud and soft, are all experiences encountered in 

 his use of the apparatus. 



The apparatus therefore represents an analy- 

 sis of the environment, and the child's use of it 

 serves in a sense as an explanation, or kind of 

 "introduction" to it, unconsciously establishing 

 an order of clear ideas in his mind, which leads 

 to his observation of his surroundings in an or- 

 derly and intelligent way. As the child, in fact, 

 distinguishes the different sense impressions in 

 his exercises, the teacher fixes the new idea in 

 each case with a word, teaching him the names 

 of the qualities he has perceived. For instance, 

 choosing an opportune moment, she takes two 

 of the color spools with which the child has be- 

 come familiar in the exercise of pairing the col- 

 ors, say a red and a blue one, and laying them 

 before the child, she holds them up, attracting 

 his attention to them in turn, and saying sim- 

 ply, "This is blue," "This is red." She empha- 

 sizes the words red or blue, or repeats them, to 

 fix them well in the child's mind. After a 

 pause, wishing to test if he has understood, she 

 says, "Give me the red," "Give me the blue," 

 and if the child responds correctly, she proceeds 

 to the third period of the lesson, asking "What 

 is this?" "Blue." "And this?" "Red." 



The three periods we have described are char- 

 acteristic of the lessons given in a Montessori 

 school, and a similar proceeding is followed in 

 all the cases of lessons in nomenclature. They 

 originated with Seguin. 



In this way the child learns a large number 

 of general names in their precise meaning, re- 

 ferring to the qualities of objects in his envi- 

 ronment; large, small; high, low; light, dark; 

 round, square, oblong; rough, smooth; and so 

 on. Generalization, however, or the recognition 

 of these in his surroundings, is a further step, 

 and with normal children generally comes spon- 

 taneously. Some children will immediately pass 

 from the particular to the general. For instance, 

 having done the exercise in feeling the quali- 

 ties of different stuffs, they will at once seek 

 similar experiences about them. A visitor, in 

 fact, is often surprised by the approach of a 

 child who lightly takes hold of the stuff of her 

 dress, feeling it between his fingers with evident 

 pleasure. Other children will not generalize at 

 once, but in general the teacher awaits the 

 spontaneous appearance of this phenomenon. 

 A child, for instance, will suddenly become 

 aware of one of these applications in his en- 

 vironment. The fcky is blue ; the window is a 



rectangle ; and these little discoveries come as a 

 surprise to him. He feels a joy akin to that of 

 real discoverers, and this prompts him to fur- 

 ther observation of his surroundings. The chil- 

 dren with senses already educated become spon- 

 taneous observers, and the discoveries which 

 they make fill them with enthusiasm. A child 

 was once seen gazing for a long time at the new 

 moon. He was then heard to remark, "It is 

 part of a circle. No. It is part of an ellipse!" 

 The observations which they make come in the 

 nature of recognitions, entering the mind like 

 old friends, instead of unknown strangers; and 

 they take their place in a classification already 

 existing, each under its appropriate name. The 

 children thus observe with order instead of cha- 

 otically, and an important foundation is there- 

 fore laid in the orderly construction of their 

 mental processes. 



The Lesson of Silence. A game in which the 

 children take much delight, and which, from 

 many points of view, plays an important part 

 in their education, is the "Lesson of Silence." 

 Choosing an opportune moment in the day, the 

 teacher invites them to remain perfectly still, es- 

 tablishing a profound silence in the room. The 

 room is then darkened, or the children close 

 their eyes, and the teacher, going into a far 

 corner, or perhaps into an adjoining room, calls 

 the children, one by one, by name, in a hardly 

 audible whisper. The child whose name is called 

 . has to rise quietly and make his way, with the 

 least possible noise, to the voice which has 

 called him. Little by little a small group of 

 children forms round the teacher. These stand 

 silently watching their motionless companions, 

 who, one by one, "awaken," open their eyes, 

 and trip softly towards the little group in re- 

 sponse to the light whisper of the teacher's 

 voice. 



When the silence is established, many noises, 

 before inaudible, become apparent ; the rustling 

 of the trees in the garden, the hum of a bee, 

 the ticking of the clock; and these fascinate 

 the children, causing them to deepen and per- 

 fect the silence. The children, in fact, take a 

 deep joy in this experience, which is like a rest- 

 ful retreat from the habitual noises which sur- 

 round them. 



To listen to these almost imperceptible sounds 

 and await with keen attention the hardly audi- 

 ble whisper of the teacher's voice, is an exer- 

 cise of the hearing which plays a valuable part 

 in the education of this sense. The efforts for 

 self-control needed to maintain the silence are 

 also of the greatest value. The children have 



