I must admit, the first time I saw the phrase “spiritual embryo” in Maria Montessori’s writing—before I had much experience with the methodology—I thought that she must have gone off the deep end.
However, I learned more, and in fact, her theory on child development was visionary; her work inspired, and arguably laid the groundwork for, the likes of Jean Piaget. And the term “spiritual embryo” is actually quite fitting.
Read MoreProspective parents often ask me, “How is Montessori different from preschool?” and I never know where to begin. Compared with most early childhood centers, everything we do is different. Every process has been thought out. Every item we put out in the room has at least one purpose, usually more. Everything has been considered in regards to students’ development.
Read More“The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist’" (Montessori, 1967a).
In essence, the Montessori Method was developed with a first principles lens on learning and development.
Read MoreA child’s parent stopped me as I was walking by the other day. “Hi, Austin. I don’t know what you have been doing with Amanda [her 3-year-old], but she cannot stop talking about you at home.”
Read More“Freedom in intellectual work is found to be the basis of internal discipline” (*Montessori, 1917/1965).
This quote highlights a notion which goes completely against our conventional wisdom. Shouldn’t internal discipline be instilled externally? Students develop discipline through following top-down mandates, no?
Read MoreMaria Montessori described observing children in a traditional classroom as being tantamount to an entomologist observing dead insects pinned to a board, “where the spontaneous expression of a child’s personality is so suppressed that he is almost like a corpse, and where he is so fixed to his place at a desk that he resembles a butterfly mounted to a pin.”
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