A Montessori School Is...

A Montessori School Is…

by Cassi Mackey, M.Ed.

The best environments for children are the ones that show them how to use their hearts.

Love is the most essential element in our Montessori communities. It is the foundation of learning and teaching. Like breathing, love is a thing that comes so naturally. We breathe deeply and truly in a way that feeds our bodies, our hearts, and our souls. We love the same way.

Love is the container that holds all the essential elements that make up a fully implemented Montessori program. Selecting a school for your children can be a daunting task, especially since the ‘Montessori’ name is in the public domain. Dr. Maria Montessori never trademarked the moniker, and she didn’t patent her teaching methods. This void makes recognizing a fully implemented Montessori school more important for families.

Through Dr. Montessori’s work, teachings, notes, and writings, several Montessori organizations that are dedicated to teaching and promoting the work of Dr. Montessori were able to extrapolate quality characteristics that sustain the efficacy of a Montessori school and its educational outcomes for the child. While they may differ on qualifying some of the implementation of the methodology, there are universally agreed-upon tenets that a fully implemented Montessori school should embody. What follows are characteristics of a high-fidelity Montessori school. We invite you to consider these when exploring Montessori schools in your area.

The Montessori learning environment is a place that…

· strives to offer each student an individualized experience that fosters the whole child and is a child-centered environment.

· offers each classroom as a living ecosystem that truly “follows each child” by utilizing multi-sensory experiences and adapting the environment to meet the needs of the individual learner.

· employs the finest in Montessori materials in each classroom as is appropriate to each developmental plane.

· allows for a 2.5-to-3-hour uninterrupted work cycle, meant to build independence, concentration, order, and coordination.

· provides ‘windows’ and ‘mirrors’ by which children see themselves in the books in the library, the art on the walls, and the work on the shelves.

· is beautiful, peaceful, and welcoming; there is a busy hum of focused engagement; children move about with purposeful intention respecting their peers and the environment.

Montessori learning activities…

· are individualized (meeting the age and developmental abilities of the child).

· allow children to be independent learners, who are active participants, problem solvers, and planners.

· enable children to learn with engaging hands-on materials that make abstract concepts concrete.

· allow children to learn through direct experience and social interactions.

· are complete and sequential with common elements from beginning to completion.

· support spontaneous activity. The environment and teacher encourage children to explore their interests, as well as introducing them to new challenges and areas of possible interest.

· permit freedom within limits.

· nurture intrinsic motivation. Children do work for the love of learning and not for any external rewards.

· are international in heritage and focus and consciously seek to promote a global perspective.

Montessori Involves a Community of Learners where…

· the child’s developmental needs are met by providing multi-aged classes, which allow the child to learn from an extended group of peers. Students stay with one class and its teachers for an entire 3-year cycle. This 3-year program provides leadership opportunities, peer learning, depth of diversity, a growth mindset, and it minimizes transitions.

· individual learning happens, augmented by cooperation and collaboration within the class.

· children learn how community can be an extended family through supportive relationships with individuals and groups, both in and out of the classroom, while applying that knowledge to the global community.

· teachers model lifelong learning alongside their students.

Montessori awakens and nurtures the human spirit by…

· offering and teaching reflection, soulful learning, and honoring the dignity of each child.

· teaching emotional intelligence skills.

· giving children opportunities to serve others and the environment, inside and outside of the school.

· supporting children as they grow and discover who they are and what they can give to the world.

· teaching self-empowerment and peace through social-emotional learning, diversity, equity, inclusion, and building self-esteem through character education.

· designing social communities and educational experiences that cultivate the child’s agency, independence, self-respect, love of learning, and ability to respect and celebrate the individual spirit within people of all ages and the value of all life.

· emphasizing grace and courtesy that encapsulates basic universal values. These values include self-knowledge and respect, acceptance of the uniqueness and dignity of all human beings, kindness, peacefulness, compassion, empathy, service, personal responsibility, and the capacity to speak one’s truth.

The Montessori faculty and staff are…

· properly credentialed. This requires A Montessori teacher who can thoroughly and specifically respond to the academic, social, emotional, spiritual, and developmental needs of the child at the age level with whom they work.

· affiliated with and/or accredited by a Montessori accrediting agency, for example the American Montessori Society (AMS), the Association Montessori International (AMI), the International Montessori Council (IMC), or the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE).

· mature, skilled, and experienced as observers, facilitators, and guides helping the multiple gifts in each child emerge.

· able to use the needs of the students to determine allocation of resources.

· dedicated to making decisions based upon the mission of the school.

· of the belief that all children should be honored.

· models of grace and courtesy and are, thus, loving, joyous, optimistic, kind, caring, compassionate, empathetic, vulnerable, honest, respectful, and able to see different perspectives.

· of the belief that parents are partners with the school in the growth and transformation of the child.

These guidelines are a great starting point in identifying a high-fidelity Montessori program. You will probably find several Montessori schools, each with its own personality and culture. There may be schools that do not adhere to all of these guidelines and only partially-implement the Montessori Method. You may not be able to access a Montessori school but have access to a school that uses elements of Montessori. Follow your intuition and what feels like the right fit for not only your child but for your family as a whole.

I was once told by a mother looking for a school that the only thing she needed from us was to love her son. She had trouble finding a school that could serve him because of his special emotional needs. It wasn’t that she did not care about a high-fidelity school, just that it may not be her first consideration.

One day, I was asked to come help calm her son, who was having a hard time. He and I had formed a trusting relationship. He knew our agreement: when I came to see him, he would sit on my lap so we could talk. It took him a while to find his way to my lap, but, once he did, I wrapped my arms around him, and we breathed. As we sat there, his back to my heart, I noticed that our breaths and our heartbeats were synchronizing. I could feel it in my bones. There was a place in his heart the exact size as me. There was a place in mine the exact size as him. Every child before this moment had stretched out my heart just so it could be big enough to beat for all of them. I could ‘see’ him in all his glory and aberrations. At that moment, he knew I understood him. His body started to relax; his edges began to soften; he became lighter, yet grounded. He was able to find safety, comfort, and love. He knew I would not let him disappear. He knew it was safe for his heart to beat here… in this Montessori school.

This story is not unique. Such events happen in schools around the world, schools that lead with love. If a child doesn’t feel safe and loved in their learning environment, it is impossible for them (or the teacher or the school) to grow and transform. Love should flow in whatever school you choose for your family. You should feel it, in your bones and in your soul; your pulse will grow, so loud and clear. Plant your family flag in the place most dear and know it’s safe for your child’s heart to beat here. •