Traditional
education compartmentalizes learning into 50 minute segments of time for separate
subjects. Montessori education is based on a 3-hour uninterrupted morning work
cycle. This structure allows children to learn in an uninterrupted flow of time
in alignment with their natural rhythms of interest. They stop and start at
their own individual pace. They have the time to develop longer and longer
moments of deep focus and concentration when the individual is most ready and
receptive. This protected work schedule also gives children time for reflection
and absorption of concepts without the need to rush into the next activity.
So how
does this work? Children can pick which subject interests them at a given
moment and decide the sequence for their work based on their own interest. For
example, a child could choose to work on arithmetic with the Golden Bead
material, followed by handwriting practice or reading. They can sit and listen
to music or do art or geography. They also can attend to their own physical
needs whenever they need to such as using the restroom, getting a drink of
water or eating a snack. It isn’t necessary to cover all subject areas every
day. There is an organic flow which evens out over time. The Montessori Guide (teacher)
observes and makes notes of each child’s work and progress. If an area of the classroom (a subject area) is
consistently ignored by a child, then she works to renew interest in it by
giving new lessons or new variations. She may suggest working with another
child who has a high interest in that area. Her own enthusiasm may spark a renewed
interest for the children.
Morning
is the peak learning time for most people and that’s why the 3-hour uninterrupted
work cycle happens early in the day. Children who chronically arrive at school
late in the morning disrupt not only their own opportunity to learn, but also
disrupt the work of others. Many children cannot settle in to work until they
know everyone is present (or accounted for). They want to greet their friends first
and then begin focused work. A child who enters late disrupts the focus of the
children who are already working. Also,
for children who are chronically tardy, this creates an accumulation of lost
learning time which impacts the entire community. Also in the Montessori
community there are many shared responsibilities between the adult and children
to set up the classroom for the day and to clean up at the end. Children who
arrive late do not participate in these group activities and do no uphold their
responsibilities to the group. They are not acting as full members of the
community.
Parents
can support all the children in the classroom and their own child’s optimal
learning at school by making sure to follow a few basic suggestions. These
include making sure their child is well rested, has eaten a
healthy breakfast and arrives on time at school in a calm state, ready to take
full advantage of all the opportunities and
benefits of the 3-hour work cycle. In Montessori education, it is truly the
child who “builds himself” but this can only happen when optimal conditions are
met which include a relatively long uninterrupted time to develop focus and
concentration. It’s truly amazing what children can accomplish when they are
allowed to follow a natural flow of focus!
Marla Nargundkar, AMI Montessori Guide at Tree of
Life Montessori School in Atlanta.
