CHILDREN'S EDUCATION

 

“Children work for the sake of process; 

adults work to achieve an end result.”

                                                                                                     Maria Montessori

 

The Montessori Method of education practises activities a child encounters almost daily, keeping in mind that these activities play a major role in the development of the child. For example, carrying a chair, using cloth pegs, sweeping, washing hands, etc. Such activities are termed Practical Life Exercises. These exercises provide the child purposeful work and assist him with his physical, emotional, social, mental and cognitive development.

 

Montessori Practical Life Materials are set apart from materials of other institutes due to certain principals like, each material has a definite purpose and is meaningful to the child, the materials follow a simple to complex order, the materials are designed to prepare the child indirectly for future learning, the materials are designed for auto-learning, the control of error lies within the material which guides the child in the use and allows him to recognise his own mistakes, all the material is child sized and reality based, all the material is one of a kind which teaches the child to wait for his turn, all materials are within reach of the children and all materials are always clean and complete.

Practical life exercises are designed to teach children crucial skills required through all walks of life. They are of immense importance as:

• They enhance the child’s control over his movements. As the child grows, he learns to walk faster, turn to either side, clap, etc.

• They develop the child’s gross and fine motor skills, in that he learns to run- albeit slowly, walk on his toes, walk one-legged while maintaining his balance, carry light-weight items, etc. This also improves the child's posture.

• They help young children develop intelligence, by experimenting with all types of solutions till they reach the desired one. During this process, the child indirectly learns other skills through simple observation and remembering what had happened, at what time and under which circumstances.

• They instil responsibility, in that the child makes mistakes during the learning process which could have adverse effects and thus gets to know how and when to avoid repetition.

• They increase self knowledge. The child’s mental faculties hold immense potential and each experience or event is part of the learning curve associated with the growing process.

• They develop the child's concentration, as a natural follow-on effect to the memories stored in the mind of cause and effect, development of higher skills like the commonly spoken language.

• They develop the child’s observation power. As he trudges through the portals of self-education, knowledge, skills and concentration, he starts to absorb all that he sees. Having done that, he automatically looks further afield in his quest for knowledge.

• They help establish order. As the child learns more every passing moment, he observes and concentrates, the first step towards discipline. With discipline comes the sense of the order of things as they exist or occur in the universe.

• They help him appreciate and understand the beauty and limits of his surroundings, the environment with which he comes into contact with and which he now observes, remembers and stores in the deep recesses of his mind.

• They aid in the child in developing a good self image due to build up of knowledge, order and confidence. This helps the child to finally feel independent to some degree.

• They help prepare the child for future learning. As he assimilates more and more, his inquisitive built of mind leads him onto fresher fields, so that he can exercise his acquired skills for optimum benefit. For example, he improves his mathematical skills like division, estimation, logical thinking, etc.

FIRST PUBLISHED IN SEPTEMBER 2012

MONTESSORI METHOD OF EDUCATION 2

 PRACTICAL LIFE EXERCISES

Practical life exercises can be divided into three categories. These are:

1. Development of Motor Skills. Activities for Development of Motor Skills designed to help the child improve his fine motor skills, eye-hand co-ordination, concentration, observation and most importantly, mental development.

“Till now, almost all educators have thought of movement and the muscular system as aids to respiration, or to circulation, or as a means for building up physical strength. But in our new conception the view is taken that movement has great importance in mental development itself, provided that the action which occurs is connected with the mental activity going on. Both mental and spiritual growth are fostered by this, without which neither maximum progress nor maximum health (speaking of the mind) can exist.”  (The Absorbent Mind, 145)

The category Development of Motor Skills contains the following exercises:

• Rolling and unrolling a mat,

• Carrying a chair, carrying a table, carrying a tray,

• Spooning beans from one bowl to equal bowls, unequal bowls, bowls with indicator lines,

• Pouring beans from a jug to equal containers, unequal containers, containers with indicator lines,

• Pouring water from one jug to equal containers, unequal containers, containers with an indicator line, containers with the help of a funnel,

• Transferring objects with tweezers, transferring objects with tongs, transferring and sorting, transferring with the help of a turkey baster, transferring with the help of an escargot holder, transferring objects with chopsticks,

• Pegging using cloth pegs, using board pegs, using paper clips,

• Folding and unfolding napkins.

• Origami.

• Activities of dry pouring, wet pouring and transferring indirectly teach the child mathematical concepts like remainders, volume and capacity.

“The true ‘Motor Characteristics’ connected with the mind are the movements of the vocal organs in language and those of the hand in the service of the mind in working out an idea.” (The Secret of Childhood, Chapter 4, Page 79)

2.  Care of the Environment. Exercises like sweeping, screwing and unscrewing bottles, opening and closing boxes, nuts and bolts, locks and keys, lacing, threading and beading, polishing, cutting, washing a table and tearing come under the category of Care of the Environment.  These activities concentrate on developing the child's observation, concentration, fine motor skills, co-ordination and patience.

3.  Social Graces and Courtesy. Exercises in Social Graces and Courtesy show children how to behave in defined situations and help them to acquire the social skills essential for everyday living in society. By performing them, they heighten their social awareness and develop a sense of personal dignity. Understanding and performing these activities give the children the confidence to approach other people leading them to respect people of all ages and backgrounds.

Activities taught under this category are shaking hands, inviting someone, interrupting- “excuse me”, “pardon me, please”, “may I”, how to cough and sneeze, offering water, offering a pencil, offering a pair of scissors, offering a knife, how to turn pages, the silence game and walking on a line.

MONTESSORI SYSTEM OF EDUCATION 3

 THE MONTESSORI SYSTEM OF EDUCATION-3

"These exercises are intended not to produce a ‘model’ child with artificial behaviour, but to give the child an opportunity to be part of social life.”

All activities are introduced to the child by the teacher. The teacher gives the child a presentation of the correct usage of the material. These are not group lessons. All presentations are on a one on one basis, like mentioned before, since isolation is an integral principal of Montessori Practical Life Exercises. 

“A lesson will approach closer to perfection, in proportion to the number of words which we contrive to leave out. Special care must be devoted in the preparation of a lesson, to counting and choosing the words which will have to be spoken.” (The Discovery of the Child, Chapter 8, Page 139)

Practical life exercises do not end in the classroom. Activities are first learnt in the classroom and then the child applies them at home. There are variations of all the activities taught, like:

• Rolling and unrolling a mat- the child can roll and unroll a napkin, handkerchief, paper for origami etc.

• Carrying a chair- the child can carry a small stool, his tricycle, cardboard boxes etc.

• Spooning- the child can spoon different types of pulses.

• Dry pouring- the child can pour cereals, rice, pulses etc.

• Wet pouring- the child can pour his milk, serve others.

• Transferring- pick up beads and other objects with tweezers, tongs, chopsticks and can help out with the cleaning around the house by sponging up spilled liquid.

• Pegging- the child can work with hair clips, clipboards, paper punches etc.

• Folding and unfolding- the child can fold napkins, handkerchiefs, his own clothes etc.

• Sweeping- the child can help around the house.

• Screwing and unscrewing a bottle- the child can open jars, open toothpaste tubes, door knobs, faucets, turn fan regulators, etc.

• Locks and keys- the child will be able to lock and unlock his own cupboard, can lock and unlock different types of locks.

• Lacing- the child can lace his own shoes, can make jewellery, garlanding etc.

• Polishing- the child can clean the mirrors at home, clean the windows or any glass surface.

• Cutting- the child can peel apples/ potatoes, cut bananas and cucumbers, etc.

•           Dressing frames- the child can zip his bag, suitcases, can put on his velcro shoes, open and close the buttons of his shirt himself, can tie his own laces or make ribbon bows, etc.

    As we have seen, the Montessori Method of education gets a child to perform Practical Life Exercises on an almost daily basis, helping him to develop a variety of skills and learn essential skills needed in all walks of life. These exercises can be divided into four categories, starting with the very basic development of motor skills, where limb-eye-body coordination is brought up to desired levels, progressing to caring for oneself, which include activities designed to make the child conscious of how he looks, both to himself and the rest of the world. Hygiene is associated with this particular facet. As the child graduates through these two phases, care of his surroundings follow, with his learning to observe all that is around him and desiring that they be in a particular order or place. Social graces and courtesy are the next aspects of life that he sees and learns, thereby acquiring a sense of social awareness, pride and dignity. All these are not taught formally by a teacher. Some come to the child at home or elsewhere, where he progresses a step beyond what he saw, practised and learned in class.

VAROSHA: GHOST TOWNSHIP IN CYPRUS

 THE LOST CITY OF FAMAGUSTA

 

WHAT IT WAS IN 2007

If you know of Famagusta, the city on the eastern seaboard of the small island of Cyprus, located beneath Turkey in the Mediterranean Sea, it is probably because you have heard about a beautiful ghost town within it called Varosha, frozen in time for 40 years now.You may have heard about its once-regal status as the Middle East's Mayan Riviera, of its crescent white sand beach that lured 10,000 tourists at a time, from all over the world. Movie stars like Elizabeth Taylor and pop groups like ABBA. You may have heard that the region's waterfront hotels are now empty and rotting, crawling with snakes, fenced off at each end of the beach and guarded by young conscripts of the Turkish army who whistle sharply at tourists daring to flaunt the signs that ban anyone from aiming even a camera into the ghost city, much less stepping on the wrong side of the fence. You may have seen haunting photographs on the Internet.

Turkish military has maintained control over the so-called ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’, (TRNC). Visitors to the TRNC have to buy special car insurance to drive into the north and have their passports checked, but the entry stamp comes on a separate sheet of paper. The port at Famagusta, still its deepest, once handled 60 percent of the cargo of the island but is closed to international commerce. The whole island of Cyprus and its 1.1 million residents are technically members of the European Union, but those who reside in the northern half have no representation in that government, no voice. TRNC soccer teams can't play against other countries. TRNC exports carry exorbitant taxes. TRNC diplomas aren't recognized in the rest of the world.

WHAT IT BECAME

One day soon, you may get to find out. After 40 years of maddening twists and turns for the Greek Cypriots driven from their homes in the chaos of a swift invasion by the Turkish military in 1974 and the Turkish Cypriots who have since found themselves marooned in a rogue nation unrecognized by anyone but the motherland, there is new hope that this ghost city will once again come back to life.The leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities met at an abandoned airport in the capital city of Nicosia on February 11 to announce that they've agreed to restart talks. There is new pressure from the United States, among others, to sort those details out quickly. And if that happens - when it happens? - a broken nation can reunite and heal, stabilizing a region critical to U.S. and European interests and rebuilding an international tourism mecca with an enticing new draw: Come to the Lost City of Varosha.

THE SLOW RECOVERY