636 



REVIEW OF REVIEWS. 



the children in their charge. But despite 

 even this drawback the system 

 triumphed. 



It was applied in the kindergarten- 

 room of the Fielden school, and accur- 

 ate daily records were kept of the results 

 in the case of each child. At the end of 

 four months, those who had conducted 

 the experiment were compelled to give 

 the Montessori system their anproval as 

 one which accelerated the normal de- 

 velopment of the child on many sides of 

 his nature, which fostered independence 

 and self-reliance, and which produced 

 unselfishness and consideration for 

 others. 



An even more interesting and suc- 

 cessful experiment was that conducted 

 during the past winter at the Canterbury 

 Road Council Infant School, on the 

 outskirts of Birmingham. In this school 

 there are now two Montessori classes. 

 One — the " babies' " class^ — has been 

 " doing Montessori " for about six 

 months. The other — the lowest class 

 but two — has been doing it, at the time 

 of writing, for about a fortnight. In 

 the former class there are forty-eight 

 children, and in the latter sixty, and in 

 each case the class is in the hands of 

 only one teacher. .These teachers had 

 never seen a Montessori class at work, 

 but they had made a careful study of 

 the Dottoressa's book. In the babies' 

 class the experiment has been splendidly 

 successful. Of the other class it is too 

 early to say much, but Miss Phillips, the 



head mistress, says that liberty has al- 

 ready begun to humanise the children. 

 It is the effect of freedom (as given 

 under the Montessori system) on charac- 

 ter which impresses her most strongly ; 

 but, apart from this, she thoroughly be- 

 lieves in the system and is going to ex- 

 tend it gradually in her school. 



All this time — i.e., during the winter 

 of 191 2- 1 3, the Montessori Society had 

 been quietly working for the advance- 

 ment of educational reform on the lines 

 laid down by D. Montessori. Students 

 were sent to Rome for special instruc- 

 tion, lectures were given and pamphlets 

 distributed. But until the training of 

 the society's students was complete 

 nothino^ further could be done in the 

 way of establishing schools. 



The work of Montessorians has dur- 

 ing the past twelve months been almost 

 entirel)' that of preparing the soil and 

 sowing the seed. They cherish the hope 

 that a day is coming when children will 

 be treated as individual human beings, 

 each free to develop all the possibilities- 

 for good latent in his nature ; when 

 liberty, not restraint, will be the motto 

 of our teachers ; and when the self-con- 

 trol begotten of that liberty will pro- 

 duce a finer race of citizens, a higher 

 type of humanity than any England has 

 }-et seen. 



Much interest is being taken in the 

 Montessori system in America, and ere 

 long no doubt this revolution in teach- 

 ing will be tried in ^Australasia. 



SCEN1ES FROM THE MONTESSORI SCHOOL AT LYNDHUBST. 



The pictures are used by the courtesy of Messrs. Bell from their forthcoming book on the. 



Montessori method in England. 



