Tim Seldin & Paul Epstein Ph.D. An Education for Life

MONTESSORI PROGRAMS
(Above) Students participate in a lesson on the geological folding of the Earth’s crust.
who are given worksheets over and
over again. These are children who are
engaged.
Montessori schools are normally
small close-knit communities of children,
teachers, and parents. They
are like an extended family. Everyone
knows everyone else. Children become
close and remain friends with
their teachers and both younger and
older classmates. They grow up and
study together for many years. While
there may not be as many other children
in the school as they would find
in a larger school, their friendships will
tend to be closer.
Elementary Montessori students
can move around. They don’t have
to sit at a desk all day long. Students
work together most of the time, either
helping one another master skills and
information or on group projects.
Parents are normally very involved at
the elementary level as partners
in supporting their children’s education.
They may come in to teach lessons,
take small groups out into the
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community for field trips, and help
with celebrations and performances.
Elementary Montessori Teachers
Serve as Mentors, Friends, and
Guides
The Elementary Montessori educator
is not so much a “teacher” in the traditional
sense as a “guide.” In more and
more schools, this title is actually used
to describe their role.
The Elementary Montessori curriculum
is very broad and requires the
teacher to have a broad and thorough
education of his or her own. With lessons
that range from the history of
mathematics to the physics of flight,
mineralogy, chemistry, algebra, geometry,
and literature, to name just a few,
the average teacher would be lost.
The best Elementary Montessori
teachers are “renaissance” men and
women; individuals who are equally
interested in mathematics, the sciences,
the arts, architecture, literature,
poetry, psychology, economics, tech-
nology, and philosophy. Beyond this,
the Elementary Montessori educator
needs patience, understanding, respect,
enthusiasm, and a profound
ability to inspire a sense of wonder and
imagination. Such teachers are very
rare, but they are absolutely magical!
Becoming an Elementary Montessori
teacher requires a year of graduate
study and student teaching and countless
hours of hard work to gather or
create the curriculum materials that
constitute a prepared Elementary
Montessori environment.
Academics
The Elementary Montessori classroom
offers an environment in which children
tend to blossom! This may sound
like propaganda, but it’s true!
Dr. Montessori was convinced that
children are born curious, creative,
(Right) Elementary students often prefer to
work on the floor with their friends.