More Montessori....

Montessori speaks of three external circumstances that may constitute the principles of her method of education:

1. Suitable environment

2. Humility in the teacher

3. Scientific material

At first glance, it seems that it is possible to create these at home as well. The environment can be pleasant and 'child-friendly', in that things are accessible to the child allowing him to choose his activity and to repeat it as many times as he would like and for however long. Today, M went down to the sand in the front garden by herself to play with her beach set. Entirely her initiative. She packed up her things and came up on her own when she was done. A few days ago, she spent half an hour shelling peas. So it is possible to create a suitable environment. 

Similarly, providing scientific material may also not be too hard - the stuff used in the Montessori school is composed of everyday materials - broom and mop to clean the floor, mugs to pour water, seeds of different shapes, sizes and colours, and so on. Some other materials such as calibrated pegs and bars may need to be purchased or made. But that is also not difficult to acquire. 

The difficult one on my list is the humility bit, which refers back to a previous post about anger and pride. Montessori speaks of the negative role of the adult - someone who creates an intellectual calm so that the child is not emotionally thwarted. That is difficult to do for someone who lives in the head much of the time. 'To understand a child' for me is often a process of analysing and judging. Montessori seems to suggest a need for calmness of character and nerves and I am anything but... She also seems to suggest this is the biggest work that an adult needs to do as preparation for being a caretaker, either as a teacher or as a parent. 

I read a piece by Dr. Vijay Nagaswami in The Hindu today on parenting. It echoed my thoughts on why parenting seems so much more difficult these days - I used to feel guilty cribbing about something I should find entirely joyful. (I really don't understand how my mother managed. And to think there were two of us, and what a pair we were!) I think Dr Nagaswami is right that there is enormous pressure on today's parent because s/he is that much more well read and conscious of their own parenting. We don't want to leave too much to chance and want to try and get everything right. Research indicates that much of our personality and real learning is complete by the time we are four years old. That leaves just one and half years for me to get things right for M! Phew!

Sometimes I think, " I will do what I can - anyway she will have to go to therapy at 16 and work on her inner child..."