Thursday, October 31, 2013
Practical Life in an Era of Helicopters
I began my journey as a Montessorian when my 17 year old was a little one in primary. It was amazing to me, an experienced teacher, to see a classroom of thirty 3-6 year-olds choosing work independently, working with great concentration, and cleaning up their works on their own. At his school, I was allowed to observe a complete morning work cycle as well as lunch. It delighted me to see this hyper little son of mine beg his teacher to mop the floor. It amazed me to see him take such delight in cleaning tables and polishing furniture at school, but puzzled me as to why he did not clean up so readily at home. So I asked his teacher. My question was answered with a question of her own. "What sort of prepared environment are you creating at home?"
I realized then, that I did not expect my son to do any cleaning at home, nor did I invite him to work alongside me. Soon after, I found ways to incorporate his help with meal preparation, including packing his lunch, as well as basic chores such as emptying the dishwasher or setting the table. By third grade, he was happy to scrub the toilets, wash and fold his clothes on his own, and follow recipes with little assistance. Being a Montessori teacher helped me realize how much my children could do when I created an environment where their help was needed and wanted. It did take more time in the beginning, but I was grateful that I kept stepping back and let my sons do their work, however imperfectly, because I knew he was going to eventually master those tasks and become enabled and empowered to master bigger challenges in the future.
Practical life in the Elementary Montessori classroom looks very different than in the primary environment. The foundation for practical life is laid at home and in the Children's House. While in the 3-6 classroom, children learn practical life skills by working with individual works on the shelf, in the 6-9 or 9-12 classroom, these skills are integrated with all subject areas. Because of the careful preparation laid in earlier years, children in the elementary are expected to be able to clean up after themselves in the classroom, manage their time and task completion on a daily basis, take care of plants and animals, and when they are ready, plan their own excursions outside the classroom.
Sometimes developing these skills needs extra guidance at home, particularly for those who may not have attended Montessori programs at that young age. Sometimes this means stepping back to let a child gain the practice of doing his work on his own, even if it is not as perfect as it could be. Sometimes it means giving a needed lesson on a specific task, such as cleaning the bathroom, or using the washing machine. Maria Montessori did not believe in doing everything for the child, but helping the child to do for themselves.
I usually begin the year in upper or lower elementary by asking children to complete practical life homework because often children do not realize how responsible they can be. I ask students to pack their own lunches because I have noticed that children who pack their own lunches, not only eat all the food they bring, but they also gain a greater sense of responsibility. (In my own case, my second son, the picky eater, expanded his repertoire as he packed his lunch and planned and prepared meals.) Additionally, I sometimes ask students to get extra sleep for homework, when I notice they complain of fatigue or aches and pains during the work cycle. Many do not realize what a big difference adequate sleep makes.
When students tell me that it is their parent's fault that they did not return a permission slip, or slept in late, or didn't eat their lunch, I help them remember what they are capable of doing. Even as a traditional kindergarten teacher, I was trained by a highly gifted master teacher to never tie shoes, button clothing, read the clock when asked, or spell out words they were trying to write because they were capable of learning ways to do it themselves. Unless there was a special need, they usually learned more quickly with time and opportunity for gaining these adaptive life skills, but even those with special needs are capable with strategic instruction. Often I could encourage independence by asking them to ask a friend, or reminding them of a strategy that was previously taught.
This year, I have noticed that many members of our learning community lack a a great deal of these practical life skills. I have seen 4th, 5th, and 6th graders who do not know how to tell time, write or count quantities of money, memorize their address or phone number, or even tie their own shoes. While these things may seem like little things, in a classroom of 30, lack of these skills makes a big difference in the amount that is learned and the free time that is available for enrichment. Many students are quite capable, but would rather ask an adult to spell a word for them, than make the effort to sound it out for themselves, ask a friend, or look in a spelling dictionary. Some students have told me they would rather take work home because their mom or dad will do a better job for them. Without gaining these valuable adaptive life skills through personal experience, learning is stunted.
Some parents have expected that school to provide all the instruction in these valuable life skills, and while we do cover them in class, the lessons can fall flat when those expectations are not present at home. Often parents (and this even includes me!) don't realize that their child is being helped too much at home for their developmental level. I remember being approached by my sons' teachers and being just as guilty of impeding my children's development without even being aware that it was happening. Maria Montessori spoke of the importance of not doing too much for a child because of the learned helplessness it can create. She said, “Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.”
I realized then, that I did not expect my son to do any cleaning at home, nor did I invite him to work alongside me. Soon after, I found ways to incorporate his help with meal preparation, including packing his lunch, as well as basic chores such as emptying the dishwasher or setting the table. By third grade, he was happy to scrub the toilets, wash and fold his clothes on his own, and follow recipes with little assistance. Being a Montessori teacher helped me realize how much my children could do when I created an environment where their help was needed and wanted. It did take more time in the beginning, but I was grateful that I kept stepping back and let my sons do their work, however imperfectly, because I knew he was going to eventually master those tasks and become enabled and empowered to master bigger challenges in the future.
Practical life in the Elementary Montessori classroom looks very different than in the primary environment. The foundation for practical life is laid at home and in the Children's House. While in the 3-6 classroom, children learn practical life skills by working with individual works on the shelf, in the 6-9 or 9-12 classroom, these skills are integrated with all subject areas. Because of the careful preparation laid in earlier years, children in the elementary are expected to be able to clean up after themselves in the classroom, manage their time and task completion on a daily basis, take care of plants and animals, and when they are ready, plan their own excursions outside the classroom.
Sometimes developing these skills needs extra guidance at home, particularly for those who may not have attended Montessori programs at that young age. Sometimes this means stepping back to let a child gain the practice of doing his work on his own, even if it is not as perfect as it could be. Sometimes it means giving a needed lesson on a specific task, such as cleaning the bathroom, or using the washing machine. Maria Montessori did not believe in doing everything for the child, but helping the child to do for themselves.
I usually begin the year in upper or lower elementary by asking children to complete practical life homework because often children do not realize how responsible they can be. I ask students to pack their own lunches because I have noticed that children who pack their own lunches, not only eat all the food they bring, but they also gain a greater sense of responsibility. (In my own case, my second son, the picky eater, expanded his repertoire as he packed his lunch and planned and prepared meals.) Additionally, I sometimes ask students to get extra sleep for homework, when I notice they complain of fatigue or aches and pains during the work cycle. Many do not realize what a big difference adequate sleep makes.
When students tell me that it is their parent's fault that they did not return a permission slip, or slept in late, or didn't eat their lunch, I help them remember what they are capable of doing. Even as a traditional kindergarten teacher, I was trained by a highly gifted master teacher to never tie shoes, button clothing, read the clock when asked, or spell out words they were trying to write because they were capable of learning ways to do it themselves. Unless there was a special need, they usually learned more quickly with time and opportunity for gaining these adaptive life skills, but even those with special needs are capable with strategic instruction. Often I could encourage independence by asking them to ask a friend, or reminding them of a strategy that was previously taught.
This year, I have noticed that many members of our learning community lack a a great deal of these practical life skills. I have seen 4th, 5th, and 6th graders who do not know how to tell time, write or count quantities of money, memorize their address or phone number, or even tie their own shoes. While these things may seem like little things, in a classroom of 30, lack of these skills makes a big difference in the amount that is learned and the free time that is available for enrichment. Many students are quite capable, but would rather ask an adult to spell a word for them, than make the effort to sound it out for themselves, ask a friend, or look in a spelling dictionary. Some students have told me they would rather take work home because their mom or dad will do a better job for them. Without gaining these valuable adaptive life skills through personal experience, learning is stunted.
Some parents have expected that school to provide all the instruction in these valuable life skills, and while we do cover them in class, the lessons can fall flat when those expectations are not present at home. Often parents (and this even includes me!) don't realize that their child is being helped too much at home for their developmental level. I remember being approached by my sons' teachers and being just as guilty of impeding my children's development without even being aware that it was happening. Maria Montessori spoke of the importance of not doing too much for a child because of the learned helplessness it can create. She said, “Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.”
HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO HELP YOU CREATE GREATER INDEPENDENCE IN YOUR CHILD:
Create a home environment with expectations of independent work and participation. This can include daily chores and opportunities to earn and spend money, and practice practical life and grace and courtesy skills on a smaller scale.
Give practical life lessons as needed, such as telling time, counting money, understanding how to double a recipe, interest rates, etc. At the same time, it is important to also ask leading questions to help your child construct their own meaning and learn and practice on their own, rather than just providing all the answers.
Talk with your child about their work at school, and your work in the real world. Help them take responsibility for confronting any challenges they may have with friends, homework, or other situation. Ask them what they can do to help find a solution.
Help children organize for themselves by allowing them to carry their backpack, unpack and organize its contents with a minimal amount of guidance. While some parents may feel they are doing their child a favor by organizing their backpack or cleaning their child's room, too many students have told me things such as, my mom didn't put my work plan, permission slip, etc, in my backpack and it is lost. These same students often lose things in the classroom and because they lack practice in organizing.
Please remember the importance of natural consequences. Maria Montessori also knew the importance of learning through the experience of natural consequences. For example, she wanted most items to be breakable in the classroom so that the children would realize the need to be careful. If plants were not watered by the children, they would die. If a child does not complete the minimal required work, they may have to wait to get to do extra enrichment activities in the classroom. When adults create a world for the child without natural consequences, it does the child no favors for his or her independence.
When children bring work home, please allow them to complete it with the greatest independence possible. It is a sad experience for a child to bring completed work to school that was done by a parent more interested in perfection than experience. Imagine the message that is being sent to the child who is not allowed to do it for him or her self! Self esteem is not built built by shielding children from challenges, but by enabling them to conquer them at their own level.
When children make mistakes, respond in as neutral a way as possible, without excessive criticism or blame. Constructive questions mixed with empathy help build problem solving skills.
Why Montessori Education is Better
Why Montessori Education is Better
Originally posted by me on FB, May 11, 2009 at 12:39am
Some years ago, I read a newspaper article about the life story of a child prodigy. Apparently as a young teenager, he was attending a nearby university. The accompanying photo showed his mother standing behind him, putting books into the backpack he was wearing. The article went on to explain how well this teen was doing in college and how his mother would wait in the hall during classes and support him in his studies.
It made me wonder how we define success and intelligence. Was this child really successful academically if he depended extensively on his mother to organize himself? I remembered my first year in college, after struggling through high school. I watched other students, who arrived with better grades than me, drop out or lose their scholarships because they were not able to independently schedule their time to do homework, housework, and attend classes.
Learning that encompasses all aspects of growth
In Montessori, our main goal is not academic intelligence, but educating the whole child. This means we expect a lot more than a typical Elementary school. We expect your child to take initiative in learning. We expect the children to clean up after themselves and keep their classroom environment clean and orderly. We expect the children to set goals and reflect on their progress. This makes a lot more work for the teacher, who must monitor every child’s individual plan and give lessons and guidance as needed to support each child for success, but the work pays off later as the child takes control of those things and learns those life skills through personal experience.
As a teacher, I never cease to be amazed by the power of the child on a daily basis. Yesterday, some children were interested in counting and sorting marbles and turned this activity into works in fractions, graphing and area. Last week a child independently figured out how the algebraic patterns built into the materials can be used to solve calculations involving reducing fractions to their lowest terms. She later learned even more as she taught other children her discoveries.
Freedom and responsibility
This year, I have had the satisfaction of watching students make plans and learn further lessons as they carried them out, like a scientist testing her hypothesis. Whether a child has a plan to earn money, present literature, or establish order, all children learn most deeply when given a structure for success within a safe learning environment that allows choice and accountability. Higher level thinking skills mix with basic skills as children follow their ideas to fruition. Over the years I have watched students make plans for trips, meeting with adults or calling businesses on their own, creating lesson plans to teach other students, making product or business plans and other types of student-initiated work that becomes the child's own cherished possession.
It made me wonder how we define success and intelligence. Was this child really successful academically if he depended extensively on his mother to organize himself? I remembered my first year in college, after struggling through high school. I watched other students, who arrived with better grades than me, drop out or lose their scholarships because they were not able to independently schedule their time to do homework, housework, and attend classes.
Learning that encompasses all aspects of growth
In Montessori, our main goal is not academic intelligence, but educating the whole child. This means we expect a lot more than a typical Elementary school. We expect your child to take initiative in learning. We expect the children to clean up after themselves and keep their classroom environment clean and orderly. We expect the children to set goals and reflect on their progress. This makes a lot more work for the teacher, who must monitor every child’s individual plan and give lessons and guidance as needed to support each child for success, but the work pays off later as the child takes control of those things and learns those life skills through personal experience.
As a teacher, I never cease to be amazed by the power of the child on a daily basis. Yesterday, some children were interested in counting and sorting marbles and turned this activity into works in fractions, graphing and area. Last week a child independently figured out how the algebraic patterns built into the materials can be used to solve calculations involving reducing fractions to their lowest terms. She later learned even more as she taught other children her discoveries.
Freedom and responsibility
This year, I have had the satisfaction of watching students make plans and learn further lessons as they carried them out, like a scientist testing her hypothesis. Whether a child has a plan to earn money, present literature, or establish order, all children learn most deeply when given a structure for success within a safe learning environment that allows choice and accountability. Higher level thinking skills mix with basic skills as children follow their ideas to fruition. Over the years I have watched students make plans for trips, meeting with adults or calling businesses on their own, creating lesson plans to teach other students, making product or business plans and other types of student-initiated work that becomes the child's own cherished possession.
Cooperative and collaborative improvement vs. coercion
No child is perfect, not even in a Montessori system. Perfection is a process we continue to refine even as adults. Borrowing a line from my voice teacher, I tell my students that “practice makes permanent,” meaning that the habits we have now will stay unless we make corrections. As problems arise, we strive to help each child find his own way to solve them. We encourage cooperative learning and collaborative conflict resolution. It is our goal that our children will be prepared to handle greater challenges that will come later . This happens through all the lessons we teach not only in the content areas, but also the social areas in our daily interactions.
Cooperative learning takes guidance in the beginning to become successful. Lessons are given initially in simpler settings that we hope will transfer into the larger world; we will never know until we step back and let the children practice. Sometimes it is hard to do this when we see children doing things incorrectly. Will they figure it out on there own, or do I as a teacher need to provide further guidance? As adults, it seems easier to correct children's mistakes as they are happening rather than approaching them as an opportunity to empower and enlighten.
I am still learning the difference between correction and empowerment everyday in how I choose to respond to such opportunities for improvement. For example, after sitting at lunch with my upper elementary children, I discovered their table manners fell far short. My first response would have been to “constructively” criticize at each wrong turn, but instead I turned it into a lesson. At the end of the lesson, the children were so proud of knowing things like how to properly butter a roll, that they continued supporting each other in this, even when were not given butter knives at future meals!
Failure can foster growth
A favorite line from the secret garden musical, says, “getting lost, is how you learn” That is exactly what happened when during our class trip as I watched 2 children having a disagreement that seemed impassable because one child would not budge. At one point, I stepped in, which only made things worse. The next day, this child didn't follow directions and her camera fell into the rocks of the jetty and completely disappeared. That was a lesson in and of itself! But it got better as the other girl she saw as her enemy came to her aid; burying her hands in the grimy rocks until she found it for her. A conflict resolved, and the bonds of friendship and respect tightened. This group cohesiveness would never have come about if I had enforced all the rules strictly to prevent any such mishaps.
Creating a climate for the child's will to grow beyond our expectations
Future habits are built from the lessons and experiences unfolding today, within the learning community and beyond. A child who understands the importance of setting realistic goals and accomplishing them as he uses his planner to record, reflect and readjust, will find college life a joyful journey of further learning. A child who learns through positive experiences to respect other children and refuses to take part in gossip, will not find himself losing friendships or job opportunities in the future. A child who has come to appreciate diversity and work with children of a variety of ages and learning styles, will not feel the need to demean those who are different to feel better about herself. Children who practice and utilize grace and courtesy as it is modeled on a daily basis will possess skills that are valuable in all aspects of healthy and happy living. Of course all children are different in how they learn, how they work, and how they respond to their environment, but these differences are a strength when all members of the classroom community learn to come together to discover, create, and enhance their environment.
As parents, the most valuable lessons at home are things that prepare your child for success in daily living. This could mean allowing your child to carefully make her own lunch, even if it takes an hour. This could also mean stepping back as your child makes a less than ideal choice and allowing him to deal with the consequences of his decision. Sometimes one of the hardest things is to let go, when our child is in the midst of finding a solution to a problem.
But we can be patient. Through practice and personal experience each child will grow stronger. As a parent and a teacher, I understand that we all try our best and that one good way to learn is to evaluate the past in order to improve the future. By allowing our children to become reflective learners, we are empowering them early on as they learn from their choices for themselves.
Standards aligned with the child's agenda
Each year the majority of children in the US demonstrate their mastery of language, math and science by participating in high stakes testing. Few people seem to question the validity of such tests and even fewer realize that the tests cover such a narrow range of thinking skills. Testing is a reality and test-taking and important skill, but hopefully more people will realize that true success results from mastery in a variety of areas, only one part of which is academic. Ironically, colleges are starting to notice that today's successful children are not as prepared as those from previous generations.
How often we forget that many of the leaders and innovators of society did not do well in schools that adhered to the factory model of education, with its strict scope and sequence; check marks along every step. History is replete with stories of leaders who succeeded in spite of a less than ideal education. The power of the child cannot be held back.
While many parents worry about tests, what I discovered this year was that the children who had low test scores improved only after the adults stepped back in such a way that the children were able to take charge of their learning. The children did not need more drills and forcefulness, but works that connected with their sense of purpose. In the case of two children, their ability to retain information increased after they started taking better care of choosing works, planning their time, setting goals, and organizing themselves on their own.
In Montessori, learning is a natural state of being. We strive to give lessons at that crucial time when the child is ready to learn more. Since the vast majority of traditionally delivered group instruction is neither fully retained, nor appropriate for every student's current understanding, we find that individualized instruction is far more effective. And when students teach each other, the learning continues to increase exponentially.
These techniques are slowly being implemented by progressive educators nationwide, but have been part of the Montessori method of education for one hundred years. Just as Maria Montessori did when she opened her first children's house, I try to watch and see what the children need. Building on their interest, my job is to create an atmosphere where learning happens joyously and spontaneously, where lessons are given to enhance and guide rather than to complete my checklist within a predetermined time frame.
I have often wondered about the genius who needed his mother to pack his backpack. Was he able to clean his room, record goals and follow them in his own planner, or write a thank you note spontaneously? If he were a Montessori child, I wouldn't worry about his preparation for real life. In my classroom I see children willing to take risks, ask questions and try new things, not afraid to fix their mistakes; children not only prepared for real life and taking part in it, but more able to make the world a brighter place along the way. This is why being a Montessori teacher is one of the most satisfying jobs on earth.
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