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- I try to find different
ways to light the fire.
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For some children, it may be
taking something that they say
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and reflecting it back to them
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and then saying, how can we find out more?
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What do we need to do? For
other children, it may be
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striking their imagination
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by putting something in their hands
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and saying, you know, we've
gotta find out more about this.
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It's me guiding what
happens in the classroom
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and knowing when to step out of the way.
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- A multi-age classroom is
actually a beautiful thing.
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Elementary one is six to nine,
elementary two is nine to 12,
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and it is a community
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- Because there's multi-age grouping.
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You come into a program,
you spend three years there
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with children within
a three year age span,
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and you can go at the
pacing you're ready for.
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- There's an individual
plan for every child.
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When you master something
in a Montessori curriculum,
-
you can just move to the next level.
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The child doesn't move on
until the child is ready
-
to move on and has a deep understanding.
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- Teacher's gonna individualize
where each child is,
-
but you're also gonna
learn from each other.
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It's not always the older
children teaching the younger.
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It's the student who has gained a skill is
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going to help another student.
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- Even though we do follow a
curriculum, I have the luxury
-
of watching a child, figuring
out what they connect with
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and where they might be struggling,
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and giving it to them as many
different ways as I need to,
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and giving them the time
that they need to practice
-
until it comes together for them.
-
- One of the cornerstones of
Montessori is that we want
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to allow children
-
and young adults to be as
independent as they can.
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In a traditional environment,
children are waiting
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to hear from the teacher
where to go to get something.
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May they go to get
something. Is this allowed?
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Is this not allowed?
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The teacher can move throughout
and children can get up,
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and there's freedom of movement.
-
There's the ability to
repeat tasks if needed,
-
and the teacher's there to support.
-
- Ultimately, we want the
children to be responsible
-
for their own learning.
-
- One of the outcomes that I
have observed in Montessori
-
children is this idea
of critical thinking.
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They've got a problem, they
throw out lots of guesses of
-
what the answer might be.
-
They will think through
each one of those guesses
-
and analyze it.
-
Then they'll eventually get to an answer.
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They may not necessarily
always get the right answer,
-
but they know the process
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and they don't see learning as a chore.
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They certain see learning as as something
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that is really exciting.
-
- Montessori education includes
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specialized learning materials.
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They are really very important
to the learning process
-
because children in the elementary age,
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they learn with their hands.
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They have to be engaged
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- Without telling.
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We allow the child to
use materials to discover
-
and unfold a truth,
whether it's understanding
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how numbers work together,
understanding the history
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of the universe, understanding
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how a culture approaches something,
-
and they get to discover it,
-
and then we say, wow, what
do you think about that?
-
- All the education in
the world doesn't matter
-
unless a child has that
sense of self and identity
-
and has that ability to understand
-
that kindness changes everything,
-
and that through that
they can change the world.
-
- It really develops the foundation for
-
what Maria Montessori saw as
-
a civilized human being moving forward
-
through their learning, which is lifelong.
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- When my sixth graders rock out the
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door, I know they're ready.
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They're ready. Intellectually,
they are ready emotionally,
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they're ready socially
to navigate the next part
-
of their education.