AMI Journal

In this particular “Question and Answer” Judi Orion, Denver, AMI director of training at the Assistants to Infancy level, deals with some of the main aspects to be taken into account when considering moving a child from an Infant Community to a Primary class.

Ms Orion focuses on how best we can prepare teachers and parents to anticipate this move from Nido to Primary and be open to this transition when the child is ready, not when the administration or teachers are ready. She outlines which signs should be looked out for and discusses extensively how the transition needs to be flexible to meet the needs of each individual child and describes the basic differences between the two environments that should be borne in mind.

Time Lines are one facet of children’s work in a Montessori class. They provoke research and they provide tangible personal links with people and events from the children’s own past and present. This new feature is an extension of that idea, charting, year by year, the milestones, developments, achievements, and encounters which combined to make the rich and colourful fabric of Maria Montessori’s work and life. This item is launched with highlights from 1913, with special emphasis on the International Training Course in Rome, the first in a series of courses spanning almost forty years.

January: First International Training Course in Rome
Dr. Montessori gave her first ever training course in 1909 in Città di Castello. By 1911 and 1912, many people in education across many countries and continents had heard of this new and revolutionary method. There was avid interest in finding out more about the Casa dei Bambini, the ideas behind it and the woman who had developed and brought about this ‘miracle’. Interested people from all over the world were writing to Dr. Montessori, literally queuing on her doorstep, requesting to be trained so that they could take back the method to their home country. Less than five years after the first course, Dr. Montessori held an international course in Rome, under the patronage of the Queen Mother Margherita of Savoy and under the auspices of the National Montessori Committee. On January 15, the course opene with a splendid welcome reception organised by her great friend, admirer and supporter Marchesa Maria Maraini Guerieri-Gonzaga.

…Giacomo Boni (…) took the students on a guided tour of the excavations he had carried out on the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. These excavations had brought to light Roman ruins dating back not only to the Republican period but also to the early period when Rome was ruled by kings. This seemingly rather modern introduction to the course was one much desired by Dr. Montessori herself, who wished to give her students a taste of Italian art and culture since most of them were visiting Italy for the very first time.

On Monday, January 20 Maria Montessori began her own lectures for the course. (…) All of the ninety students enrolled on the course were foreign and three-quarters were American. From the English language weekly newspaper the Roman Herald (January, 1913) we quote ‘(…) heads of schools both public and private, inspectors of education, teachers [from] all kinds [of] kindergartens, (...) physicians, psychologists, in fact all who have a close interest in little children and their welfare, have flocked to the Dotteressa (sic) (…) Last year a few students from America, England and France studied with the Dotteressa (sic) and since then they have started experimental schools. Other countries represented [were] Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, India, China, Japan, Brazil, Chile, The Argentine Republic, Canada, Mexico, etc.’

A plan for this environment has been outlined by Maria Montessori in a pamphlet entitled “The Erdkinder and the Function of the University”. In the section dedicated to the Erdkinder, the three pivotal elements included are a farm, a hostel and a shop. These are the bare bones of an environment which can become rich, versatile and productive and, as the need arises, may expand into a veritably self-sustaining working community. Side by side with an academic education suited to young people who have gone through ‘the advanced method’ mentioned by Maria Montessori, this multifaceted environment will provide for young adolescents, side by side with academic instruction, apprenticeships in a variety of arts, crafts, trades, professions and vocations taught by experts in their field. Young people of this age, therefore, are not condemned to the anxieties of intellectual achievement as an ultimate end. They can continue to make purposeful use of ‘the hand —instrument of the intelligence’ thereby not only enhancing their intellect but, more pragmatically, enhancing their possibilities. The self-assurance acquired will allow them to develop hardiness and equanimity with which to face life’s vicissitudes.

The qualifications of the teacher of adolescents should be those required to teach in secondary/high school. There could also be vocational experts and professionals in their own field. In view of this there is no specific Montessori training required. The adolescents are provided with a prepared environment, not a school. Dr. Maria Montessori outlined the syllabus and methods without going into specific detail.

The Pedagogical Committee does not intend to establish training programmes or offer specific guidelines other than those contained in the writings of Dr. Maria Montessori herself.

For further reading on ‘Erdkinder’ the Committee recommends Appendices A & B of Montessori’s book From Childhood to Adolescence (currently published in English in the Clio Series and by Kalakshetra).

Graduating from an AMI course is just the first step in a very challenging but rewarding process, as is clearly indicated in this lecture given by Maria Montessori on an international course in Rome, in the early thirties of the last century.

By taking a different stance from what is generally common in education, the directress allows the child to develop according to his own inner directives. But it is not only the child who develops. In the words of Maria Montessori ‘this school is both for the teacher and for the child...in which the one contributes to the development of the other’. In 2002/1 we ran lecture 1. From lecture 2 we now quote…

‘The actual task of education is shared between the teacher and the environment. The latter plays the greater part in the teaching of notions since, in order to absorb them, special materials are used by the children. It is clear that the ones to be active are the children and not the teacher.

The teacher is, however, not eliminated; only her task is changed. In our concept of self-education the teacher's activity becomes prudent, delicate and multiform. Her words, her energy, her severity, are no longer necessary; they are replaced by a watchful wisdom and by spreading her attention to the whole of the community. Her task consists in serving, in going to assistance and in retiring; in talking or being silent according to the case. As you see, to do this she must acquire a moral essence which has never been asked of her by any other method: she must be calm, patient, charitable, humble. In the old method her preparation was the use of instructing words. Here it is the mastery and possession of virtue.

…The teacher's task is however easy. She is the means of putting the child in relation to its responses. Therefore, she must know how to choose the proper material and know how to awaken a deep interest in the child. In order to do this, the teacher must have a thorough knowledge of the use of the material, the exact technique of the presentation and be able to recognise when the child is ready for this material so that using it will be of really efficient help.

…Another very essential attribute the teacher must acquire is to have very clear in her mind what is the “sequence of the material” and which are the “parallel exercises”. Besides the attitude, the knowledge of the material and how and when to present it, there is a third essential for the teacher. She must take vigilant care of the order. The teacher must also put the child into contact with a sense of order. To do this, she must give the child some external rules of discipline. These are very simple - but sufficient to guarantee peaceful work to the whole class. …

Above all, the teacher must take care that the child who is absorbed in his work is not disturbed by any other child. She must be as a guardian angel for those souls who are concentrated in an effort that will uplift them.’

Fifty years ago Maria Montessori left her work in the hands of her followers to be carried forth with diligence, intelligence and insight into its relevance - a relevance that will persist as long as children continue to be brought into the world.

…Already during Maria Montessori’s lifetime - and most certainly after her death - Montessori became a concept open to an endless variety of interpretations, subject to a kaleidoscopic multiplicity of definitions.

This can be seen from two contradictory perspectives: either as a trivialising fragmentation of the still elusive concept of education as an aid to life, or as the random sprouting of seeds whenever and wherever they fell on fertile ground. If we choose the latter, an image emerges of an inchoate wilderness more akin to Frances Hodgson Burnett’s Secret Garden than to the biblical Garden of Eden of our title.

Taking a closer look at the rambling plantation, we realise that this is the human way to re-create The Garden of Eden, for re-create it we must, since, once having tasted the fruit of knowledge, a return to the original is denied us. Knowledge, once attained, is ineradicable. The pursuit of knowledge is undeniably humankind’s greatest passion and the thought of reinstating the misperceived bliss of ignorance is grotesquely contrary to our evolutionary ethos.

…The environment we prepare for our children, whether in the home, in educational institutions or anywhere else, should be founded on truth and honesty and free from hollow absolutes of which we ourselves are not quite persuaded. A clear and transparent milieu will allow the child the liberty to learn the disciplines of existence, acquiring the knowledge it seeks by following the compelling dictates inherent in its human condition. Thus, the physical, intellectual, and spiritual properties of its world will become the prime matter for its self-construction.

…In the Montessori Prepared Environments for children from three to six years of age, now and again, at a propitious moment, a gentle event takes place called The Silence Game. It had its serendipitous origin in the first Casa dei Bambini in Rome and, to all intents and purposes, was created by the children themselves, as recorded in The Secret of Childhood by Maria Montessori. Children are not afraid of silence, being as they are in a state of grace and as yet unthreatened by the stillness of infinity.

It might take decades, possibly centuries, probably millennia for the entire population of the earth to reach a level of concord that will allow the re-creation of a global Garden of Eden.

Distance Learning - A question posed again and again

Question: I have become very interested in the Montessori method of education and would like to study for an AMI diploma. Can I do this by a “distance learning programme”?

Answer: The Montessori approach offers a broad vision of education as an aid to life. It is designed to help children with their task of inner construction as they grow from childhood to maturity. It succeeds because it draws its principles from the natural development of the child. Its flexibility provides a matrix within which each individual child's inner directives freely guide the child toward wholesome growth.
The preparation of the adult about to undertake work with young children demands a high degree of self-discipline and commitment, and a professional attitude. This preparation can only be achieved through immersion in the Montessori theory under the supervision of experienced lecturers. Furthermore, the special materials to be used with the children in a Montessori class require individual training and supervised practice—as each piece of apparatus has a function in the total scheme of the Montessori Prepared Environment.

These fundamental aspects cannot be covered in sufficient depth by distance learning.

Courses leading to the AMI diploma are run by AMI-accredited training centres throughout the world. These courses are internationally recognised for their high standard and authenticity. Montessori training is a process of re-orientation where students begin to discover for themselves the profound truths underlying the Montessori approach. Courses are full-time and are offered over an academic year or several summers. The course programme includes lectures, seminars and demonstrations on Montessori philosophy, child development and the Montessori materials. Each course also includes significant components of observation, supervised practice with the materials, material making and teaching practice. Students prepare an album which details the purpose, use and presentation of each piece of material. In the words of Dr. Montessori the teacher ‘must give her lesson, plant the seed and then disappear; observing and waiting’ (The Call of Education, Vol. 11, no. IV, December, 1925). This apparently simple proverb continues to be a piece of worthwhile advice and a source of inspiration. It is at the core of the role of the Montessori teacher.

In her closing address at the Annual General Meeting of April 6, 2002, Mrs. Montessori referred to the objectives of the Association Montessori Internationale, as formulated in the Articles of Association and drew attention to the fact that not all articles are being actively and/or fully pursued. To illustrate this statement, she quoted from the Articles as follows:

Article 3: The objectives of the association are to maintain, propagate and further the ideas and principles of Dr. Maria Montessori for the full development of the human being.

She stressed the need to study this article carefully. AMI’s work is not just to follow Dr. Montessori, but should encompass the full development of the human being, a wider perspective to be kept in mind at all times. She remarked on a lack of respect for children as human beings from the time they come into the world, and posed the challenging question: ‘How are we going to respect these children? How are we going to help them to fulfil their potential?’

Mrs. Montessori reminded the meeting that the answers are to be found in Article 4, which reads The association aims to accomplish the objectives referred to in article 3 by all lawful means and in particular by

4a. Furthering the Study, Application and Propagation of the Montessori Ideas and Principles for Education and Human Development.

‘How many of those gathered here today continue to study the writings of Maria Montessori?’ she asked, mentioning Dr. H. Ludwig’s commitment to bring out academic editions in Germany with the aim of helping people study her work in the German language. Dr. Montessori herself was first and foremost a scientist. She was a pedagogue as a result of a combination of sciences; she became a pedagogue because she - as a doctor, as an anthropologist - discovered the characteristics of the development of the human being. She discovered something very simple, something many people throughout time had instinctively been heeding, namely the natural tendencies of the human child when it comes into the world.

But the study of the child is something without end. Maria Montessori continued to study the child throughout her life, maintaining that ‘it is our mandate to become scientists of the child’. Thus our teachers must continue studying the child, and Dr. Montessori gives guidelines for this study. All of us who have studied Dr. Montessori’s books in the past and pick them up once in a while, will always find something new because of her very profound scientific background. We shall, without fail, gain new insights.

Someone who obtains the AMI diploma and consequently applies all the tricks in the classroom, is not a scientist of the child. Applying and propagating the principles of Dr. Montessori require study, and there is no doubt about that.

4b. The propagation of knowledge and understanding of the conditions necessary for the full development of the human being from conception to maturity both at home and in society.

This is a powerful mandate. To propagate the knowledge means that we already have the knowledge. This is also recognised by others, such as the UNICEF representative at the 2001 Congress in Paris who said: ‘You Montessorians have an extraordinarily specialised knowledge and methods to deal with children, a vision of education that is very much in demand and necessary in the world of today. Do something about it. You have something to give, give it’. Likewise, school administrators should not only administer, but also propagate the knowledge, by applying the principles and opening up the schools to the public around them, the parents and the community. That way, ripple by ripple, the knowledge of how to observe children, how to respond to the children's developmental phenomena will become part of our human condition.

4c. accrediting centres where people may be trained according to the principles and practices of education as envisaged by Dr. Maria Montessori.

Mrs. Montessori stated that the objective laid down in this article is currently being realised. She thanked the Committees, the Directors of Training and everyone working in this area and concluded that this aspect of the Association is firmly in place.

4d. helping to create a climate of opinion and opportunities for the full development of the potential of all young people so that humanity may work in harmony for a higher and more peaceful civilisation.

The creation of a climate of opinion comes with the propagation of knowledge. These powerful words require reflection. For instance, at the beginning of an AMI course, students often start preaching Montessori to their partners, neighbours, etc., but that usually has the opposite effect. Therefore we must be more subtle, subversive at times, like going as neutrinos through the tissue of society. We must bring what is important in a quiet way, without criticism, by small measures such as helping people to look at children. Especially young adolescents can be made aware of the texture of this climate, can learn what a child is all about, as they have something in common, namely the urge to become independent. Give young adolescents the opportunity to be with small children. By doing so, a climate of benevolence towards the new human being is created. And when this is built into their being, it will be there when they grow to be adults and parents themselves.

4e. promoting general recognition of the child's fundamental rights as envisaged by Dr. Maria Montessori irrespective of racial, religious, political or social environment.

This objective is easy to understand for most Montessorians. The fundamental rights of men, and of the child, have been discussed in many places and times. How to recognise these rights is another matter. The aspect irrespective of racial, religious, political or social environment is something the whole world is becoming increasingly aware of.

4f. co-operating with other bodies and organisations which promote the development of education, human rights and peace.

AMI is not the only organisation in the world promoting the development of education, human rights and peace. Although it has its own individual approach, there is a lot of common ground with other organisations; and if all were to unite their efforts, a tremendous strength would result. This was very noticeable at the Congress in Paris. It is important to know of these organisations, and to see where aims coincide. By uniting with others, AMI’s own aims can be strengthened.