Methods of teaching children are many and varied and there are too many opinions on what is the best method of teaching children in school. One of the most controversial educational methods is the Montessori method because of how different it is compared to other methods. The traditional methods of education in the US focus around testing and assessment, while the Montessori method takes a completely different approach.
According to an article by theobjectivestandard.com, Montessori children never sit at desks while teachers instruct them. Instead, they are required to choose their own activities from a range of options, from Practical Life skills to math skills, and will work independently. Despite its unusual approach of letting students learn at their own pace and learn what they want to learn, this approach seems to foster a love of learning in students and makes it easier for children to learn more quickly and more effectively.
This method works better than other methods because Montessori students acquire the academic skills necessary for their age group, but also because they acquire these skills in such a way that makes them a better student and more curious and open to learning. Many studies have been performed on the benefits of the Montessori method for students and a few studies have proven that there are many advantages to the Montessori method over a traditional schooling attempt, so much so that many Montessori children are proven to have an edge over non-Montessori children in reading and math before coming to kindergarten.
Accordingly, the Montessori method is used because students are able to develop an active mind, as well as develop good concentration skills in a world where concentration is difficult. Dr. Montessori explained that this type of learning emphasizes the most significant thing about a child’s development—the capacity to reason—which differentiates us from the rest of the animals in the world. With the Montessori method, children are able to facilitate this capacity through his or her own effort and will “create the man he will become.”
Lastly, when a schooling system focuses on teacher’s efforts to teach a classroom, students are more passive than active which is the opposite approach of the Montessori method of teaching. Overall, the Montessori method teaches children to learn and discover for themselves—which is the beauty of learning in itself—and should be considered when enrolling your children in a school like the Montessori preschool in Laguna Niguel.