COURSES AND RESOURCES
Montessori is a child-centred and child-led method of education that holistically embeds children’s rights. It is a method that is designed to support the child’s intellectual, physical, emotional and social development through active exploration, choice and independent learning.
Children are given the freedom to choose what they work on, where they work, with whom they work, and for how long they work on any activity, all within the limits of the class rules. No competition is set up between children, and there is no system of extrinsic rewards or punishments.
The aim of Montessori education is for the child’s optimal development, intellectual, physical, emotional and social, to unfold.
MONTESSORI MATERIAL EXAMPLES
Concrete examples of how the Montessori Method and materials vindicate children’s rights, with emphasis on child participation created by Edwina Mulcahy, AMI Primary and Elementary qualified teacher and M.Ed. In the full document you can find the complete explanation of the examples.
3-6 Age Group
Practical Life Example
Laying the table
2) Purposeful social task in the community
3) Task completed independently
4) etc.
Sensorial Materials
Matching the colour tablets to the environment
2) Material (colour tablet) is designed for the child’s hand
3) Mixed age group enables discussion about choices
4) etc.
Math Materials
Golden Beads, Bank Game
2) Mixed age group allows for natural dialogue and spontaneous learning
3) Collaborative work
4) etc.
Language Materials
The Moveable Alphabet
2) Language exploration from the child’s perspective
3) Childs focus of subject matter is the point of reference
4) etc.
Culture Materials
The Sandpaper Globe
2) Spontaneous child-friendly dialogue about land and water and the world
3) The child is free to ask open, explorative questions
4) etc.
6-12 Age Group
Cosmic Education
The Human Rights Education Mandate
Language Example
3) Humanity – global citizenship
4) etc.
“These examples of Montessori in practice demonstrate that children’s rights are at the heart of the Montessori Method. Put simply, children’s rights are embedded in Montessori.
While the Montessori environment is a model for children’s rights, this fact is sadly not as widely recognised as it should be. As Montessori teaching professionals, we should speak to others more often about the rights-based practices in our environments and talk more regularly about the intrinsic value of the work that is being carried out day in, day out. We are educating in a way that is highly respectful of children’s rights but that is not enough – we also need to express this in clear language that parents and other stakeholders will understand and respect.
«The evidence shows overwhelmingly that children who learn about and experience their rights are children who demonstrate the fundamentals of good citizenship. They gain knowledge not only of their basic rights but also their corresponding social responsibilities. They develop the attitudes and values that are necessary for the promotion and protection of the rights of others, and they acquire the behavioural skills necessary for effective participation in a democratic society.»
Most educational environments are challenged to embed rights, often they are approached with tokenism and addressed in the form of add-ons, to paraphrase Todres. Rights are often taught as a separate lesson instead of being integrated throughout the curriculum. In a sense, the Montessori Method with its integrated approach to children’s rights, is doing the hard bit. We should now take that next step and include the language of human rights and children’s rights in our communications and in the very lexicon of Montessori Education.”
Edwina Mulcahy
AMI Primary 3-6 Years (London), AMI Elementary 6-12 Years (Dublin) Benincasa Special Needs Diploma, Dublin Master’s Degree in Education, and PhD Candidate, University College Dublin, April 2020