What is the essential “hidden hinge” within the educational process of the human child?
The hinge is an almost insignificant part of the door that one tend to forget its role completely when in actual fact without the hinge, the act of opening of closing the door would be a more complex concern. Hence, such should be the position of the educator in the Montessori environment; he should humble himself to such an insignificant position as the hinge.
Only by allowing the child to take centrestage, will he be able to reveal his inner being to the educator who can then tailor to the needs of the child and ease the process of him opening the door to knowledge that exist beyond.
Define the horticultural terms “thriving”, “wilting”, and “stunted” as they apply to the learner.
When a child is thriving, the learning environment is helping him to go to the next stage of his development as is ordained by his inner being. He not only performs at the level that he is supposed to be at but is capable of working towards what is beyond his current level of skills and knowledge.
A student who is stunted is not as easily detected for they might seem to be thriving when in fact they are not moving any further than where they are at already. This can be seen when the child is able to do her work with much ease and can easily lead to boredom and detachment from the learning process.
A wilting learner, is digressing away from what he is actually capable of and this might be the result of either putting him at a level way beyond his reach or a deficient environment. Hence, when a student is wilting or stunting there has been a mistake in how we are responding to what he actually needs and is capable of doing. There must have been something slacking in how the child has been observed and analysed or there might have been a mismatch in approach.
Why did Dr. Montessori say that she had to become a “nobody” when she was there with children?
There was a need to be a 'nobody' for only then will the natural phenomenon of the child reveal itself to the educator. In standard schools, it is the teacher that becomes the centre of attention that all the students need to observe but in a Montessori school, the reverse is true.
To study the phenomena of the child, the educator must be 'invisible' so that the child can carry out his work out of his own inner will and decision. Every child has different needs in him that makes him see the same thing in a different way and this will be reflected in how he responds to the environment around him and how he is called out to the materials.
Being the centre of a class would interfere in the natural learning process that the child is going through for the teacher would then be the 'command centre' where all instructions come from. However, in such an environment, how are we to know that what the child is doing is reflective of his psychic being. It would almost be like a bias in an experiment.
By observing what for example calls out to the child and how he works with it, the educator can decide where the child is in his stage of development and what his natural inclinations may be. He can then find areas to widen the scope of work that the child is working on or decide on the next work that the child is ready to do.
What did the children learn about writing after they had their first “exploded into language”?
When the children first 'exploded into language' they were fervently writing and deciphering whatever words were around then. Dr. Montessori however showed them that there was an even more meaningful part to language and that was 'communication'. She wrote on the board ' if you can read this, hug me' and when the children who were able to read saw that they came to her and embraced her.
From there they realised that language was a powerful tool that they could use to express their thoughts to one another and gain a response from. They soon started writing to each other and were truly enjoying language as a human experience.
Why must a Montessori educator become a storyteller or actor?
A Montessori educator needs to capture the spark in the child when he presents the material to him. This is done through the carefully sequenced acts and expressions which is almost dramatic. When this is translated in other areas of educating the child that does not use that much physical or didactic material, the words become the material and there is an even greater need to express oneself very well as the concept becomes more abstract.
Hence, the educator needs to be a great storyteller or actor for his stories or scenes are what that must capture the child's interest and imagination. The experience will not only be easier to remember but it will leave a deeper impression in the child and hopefully spurs him to further discover what has been introduced to him.
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