by Terri Sherrill

In my mind, THE main difference between Montessori education and traditional, is that students develop a deep understanding not only of academic concepts but how these concepts apply (and how to apply them) in the real world. This is the true goal of any educational endeavor, and its success is built into daily application the Montessori method.

Dr. Montessori’s materials are not meant to be solely isolated to the boundaries of a rug, but rather are tools to help the child understand their world. They are keys that can help open the doors to life’s wonder and meaning.

The materials, and their order of presentation, help to create file folders in the mind of the child for easy and logical retrieval of information. They give the child the framework and knowledge they need in order to collect and organize their own data and impressions. They provide a construct and reference for creativity and logic.

Hopefully, this is well understood by every Montessori teacher.

In pre-school, color tablets must be matched to objects in the room. The children need to take the right-angled triangles from the drawer and match them to every corner they can find (saying “right angle” with every discovery). Lessons in practical life must be used to initiate care of environment, to give meaning to preparatory lessons such as sponge squeezing and transferring water. Math and logic need to be used in daily problem solving, drawing attention to the mathematic components inherent in daily living (awareness of time needed to complete a task, quantity and attributes of resources needed, number of people involved, projections and probability of success under the circumstances to form hypothesis, etc.). Reading and writing should be an integrated classroom necessity. Children should feel welcome to write items on a posted shopping list, add agenda items for class meetings, read a menu for the daily snack, read directions and labels to accomplish a project, etc. The possibilities to connect learning to the child’s experiences are endless.

In elementary and up, students need to build and initiate projects that help to utilize and express their knowledge and abilities. They need to put together cultural festivals, and build structures for research or care of the outdoor environment. They need to gather the resources on their own, and if necessary, create fundraisers or drives to collect needed materials. They develop their project management and social skills. They must own the project from conception to clean up.

Teachers are like managers who help keep each child on tract to developing their personal potential while making sure that academic benchmarks are recognized and logged. They help the child to realize how the concepts they are learning from working with the materials are useful and meaningful to them. A Montessori child should never question the validity of their education or ever lament, “Why do I have to learn this stuff anyway? I’m probably never going to use it.” Learning should be relevant and help them to become even more curious, and confident in their growing abilities.

George Washington Carver said, “Life requires thorough preparation, not just a shallow veneer.” Dr. Montessori provided us the keys and the method to prepare our children for the wholeness of their lives. Our teachers are the preparers of the environments and Keepers of the Keys.

Okay, so I've made the point about why it is important to move the "lesson" beyond the
isolation of the rug and make it real and meaningful to the child's experience.

And, as teachers, you might well rhetorically ask, "Do you know how hard THAT is to do when you multiply that idea, times the number of materials, times the possible extensions, times 25+ children, times the amount of other stuff that is going on in the classroom everyday?!!!"

One of the things that I feel is important is to offer concrete tools that might help real teachers in real classroom to utilize the concepts that we share. Whenever possible, we plan to do just that. So, in that spirit, I would to share a sample chart with you that I have used in my own class. I've included it, not because I believe that this particular chart is important, but to emphasize the point that we should go beyond mechanically recording the lessons that we give, to see each lesson more fully. I have kept a chart like this one taped to the inside of my cabinet, (as well as for record keeping) so that if a child was wandering, and I needed to clarify my thoughts, I could easily mentally place her on the chart and realize what I needed to do to productively engage her and bring the lessons to life.