Children Learn Best in their Freeplay: TREE CLIMBING IS AN ART BUT ITS FULL OF SCIENCE: MY CHILDREN LOVE TO CLIMB THE TREE AS THOUGH THEY HAVE CLIMBED IT 1000S OF TIMES Before capturing the moments of my class activity, I w...
Children Learn Best in their Freeplay: THE LOVE FOR PLANTING IS NATURAL IN CHILDREN AS I ...
Children Learn Best in their Freeplay: THE LOVE FOR PLANTING IS NATURAL IN CHILDREN AS I ...: PLANTING ACTIVITY IN THE GARDEN I love nature as much as any child in this world. So we go ou...
AS SOON AS THE CONCENTRATION HAS BEGUN, ACT AS IF THE CHILD DOES NOT EXIST.............
THE BEAUTY OF AN OBSERVER / TEACHER
“Education should not limit itself to seeking new methods for a mostly arid transmission of knowledge: its aim must be to give the necessary aid to human development.... If the 'Formation of man’ becomes the basis of education, then the coordination of all schools from infancy to maturity, from nursery to university, arises as a first necessity: for man is a unity, an individuality that passes through interdependent phases of development. Each preceding phase prepares the one that follows, forms its base, nurtures the energies that urge towards the succeeding period of life".
MARIA MONTESSORI
Children are capable of leading their own learning process.The learner has all the capacity to build and construct his knowledge, all in their unique way of interacting with the new concept. The teacher's task is nothing but to touch the Imagination of a child so as to excite him to a level of Curiosity, and then the learner is ready to Explore in his own way depending on his interest, experiences, and specific hidden talents. Exploration leads to Discovery; the ultimate goal of Education.
The teacher is always there not as an Instructor or Dictator but as a scientific Observer who specializes in OBSERVATION SKILLS, just to witness what's going on and then to predict what and where he should add.
The teacher has to discriminate between Careful scientific Observation and careless Interference.
This statement is a beautiful expression about the Teachers' Job,
"Praise, help, or even a look, may be enough to interrupt him, or destroy the activity. It seems a strange thing to say, but this can happen even if the child merely becomes aware of being watched. After all, we too sometimes feel unable to go on working if someone comes to see what we are doing. The great principle which brings success to the teacher is this: as soon as concentration has begun, act as if the child does not exist. Naturally, one can see what he is doing with a quick glance, but without his being aware of it.
(Dr. Maria Montessori, 'The Absorbent Mind')
Only Observation leads a teacher to know exactly where the child is ....
Teacher's role is so sensitive that he has to be extremely careful about her looks, attitude, facial expressions, gesture, posture, and even where he stands or sit...and what he speaks, otherwise he can easily make the Learning process disappear.....
"The mind takes some time to develop interest, to be set in motion, to get warmed up into a subject, to attain a state of profitable work. If at this time there is interruption, not only is a period of profitable work lost, but the interruption, produces an unpleasant sensation which is identical to fatigue".
Maria Montessori
Such a scientific Observation is needed by the teacher to go with the laws of nature.
"Before such attention and concentration have been attained, the teacher must learn to control herself so that the child's spirit shall be free to expand and show its powers; the essence of her duty is not to interrupt the child in his efforts. This is a moment in which the delicacy of the teacher's moral sensitiveness, acquired during her training, comes into play. She must learn that it is not easy to help, nor even, perhaps, to stand still and watch. Even when helping and serving the children, she must not cease to observe them, because the birth of concentration in a child is as delicate a phenomenon as the bursting of a bud into bloom. But she will not be watching with the aim of making her presence felt, or of helping the weaker ones by her own strength. She observes in order to recognize the child who has attained the power to concentrate and to admire the glorious rebirth of his spirit."
(Dr. Maria Montessori, 'The Absorbent Mind')
MARIA MONTESSORI
For all this to happen Schools should stop acting as a Prison and stop Producing Confirmists and only then Explorers, Innovators and Creators will be joining the CREATIVE FORCE...and not the (work force).
Children Learn Best in their Freeplay: OUTDOORS BRING SELF-AWARENESS, CREATIVITY AND PROB...
Children Learn Best in their Freeplay: OUTDOORS BRING SELF-AWARENESS, CREATIVITY AND PROB...: OUTDOORS BRING SELF-AWARENESS, CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING AMONG BOYS.
MUD PIE KITCHEN
(This is a series of Blogs which advocate Nature based learning opportunities for children. The goal is simple: unless children live in Nature, the will not develop any love for it , and only love can take them to the point of Protection. Providing Nature based learning is the most essential part of creating Environmental stewardship in children, who will take care of this planet)
. "When children come into contact with NATURE, t...LET'S TAKE A NATURE WALK
NATURE WALK BRINGS FAIRY LAND ADVENTURE...
MAKING FLOWER NECKLACE
Nermeen and her friend are always ready for a Nature walk.
It was a rainy day I was also excited so Nermeen called her friend, and she joined us near the Neighboring Park.
She started picking flowers which fell down on the ground and asked me if she could also pick from the plants.I told her, sometimes if we really wish to pick few, we can but not always.
They talked about their different colors, shades and shapes. They talked about the shades of pink and relating it to some other objects .
So we got few beautiful ones, and put them in the blue basket.
They arranged the flowers on a piece of white cotton and and were excited to discover their colors and textures.
'I want to a make a Necklace, can I?" Nermeen asked me in a cute requesting tone. I liked her creative idea and we started making few Designer-made Jewelry.
They realized it needed a plastic wire or thread to create a necklace, Nermeen got it from her mom. I showed them how to thread a needle, they practiced until they got the mastery.
Now the question is how to arrange the flowers on the thread, they brainstormed and started matching the flowers with each other ,making patterns and analyzing different combinations. Finally they used the needle very carefully all by themselves.
They discovered that the necklace couldn't be fixed by themselve, so they helped each other
(I was a silent observer, noticing how they discover things, explore new ideas and solve problems without any adult interference)
Her friend helped her by making a neat knot at the end.
(estimating the length of a thread that is required to make a perfect knot, keeping in view the Locket size and its perfect length hanging from the neck)
Out of many Necklace they loved the Leaf Necklace
Leaf Necklace was special , it was decorated with small red pearls which has given it a perfect Designer touch.
Learning happens when a child finds a real life connection with the skill learned . It has to be initiated with the key developmental milestones in the mind.
Skills developed;
1. fine motor /Gross motor skill
2. Color identification / differentiation
3. Simple Sewing
4. Sense of Estimation
5. Creativity
6. problem solving
Please add more
MAKING FLOWER NECKLACE
Nermeen and her friend are always ready for a Nature walk.
It was a rainy day I was also excited so Nermeen called her friend, and she joined us near the Neighboring Park.
Nermeen loves to explore the little garden area with lots of flowers, she kept moving with her basket from flower to flower.
She started picking flowers which fell down on the ground and asked me if she could also pick from the plants.I told her, sometimes if we really wish to pick few, we can but not always.
They talked about their different colors, shades and shapes. They talked about the shades of pink and relating it to some other objects .
So we got few beautiful ones, and put them in the blue basket.
'I want to a make a Necklace, can I?" Nermeen asked me in a cute requesting tone. I liked her creative idea and we started making few Designer-made Jewelry.
They realized it needed a plastic wire or thread to create a necklace, Nermeen got it from her mom. I showed them how to thread a needle, they practiced until they got the mastery.
Now the question is how to arrange the flowers on the thread, they brainstormed and started matching the flowers with each other ,making patterns and analyzing different combinations. Finally they used the needle very carefully all by themselves.
And while making it, they were appreciating each other's work, thoughtfully exchanging new ideas, developing new patterns and finally came up with their original works.
They discovered that the necklace couldn't be fixed by themselve, so they helped each other
(I was a silent observer, noticing how they discover things, explore new ideas and solve problems without any adult interference)
Her friend was happy to get the beautiful necklace all made up of multi-color leaves
Her friend helped her by making a neat knot at the end.
(estimating the length of a thread that is required to make a perfect knot, keeping in view the Locket size and its perfect length hanging from the neck)
Out of many Necklace they loved the Leaf Necklace
Leaf Necklace was special , it was decorated with small red pearls which has given it a perfect Designer touch.
Learning happens when a child finds a real life connection with the skill learned . It has to be initiated with the key developmental milestones in the mind.
Skills developed;
1. fine motor /Gross motor skill
2. Color identification / differentiation
3. Simple Sewing
4. Sense of Estimation
5. Creativity
6. problem solving
Please add more
HOW EDUCATIONISTS ARE CHANGING THE DEFINITION OF EDUCATION
"I remember the first that a grading rubric was
attached to a piece of my writing….Suddenly all the joy was taken away. I
was writing for a grade -- I was no longer exploring for me. I want to
get that back. Will I ever time get that back?"
-- Claire, a student (in Olson, 2006)
( this story was mentioned by Alfie Kohn , a renowned education reformer in one of his articles)
Ask anyone what is education and he will clearly state that
it is all about literacy and academics.
Most of the Schools across the world are working under the
factory model of nineteenth century
Industrial revolution . Public schools supplied factories with a skilled labor
force, and provided basic literacy to the masses. This was the education that
the vast majority of the population receive everywhere around the globe.
If we look more deeply we can clearly see that Schools
operate similarly to ‘assembly lines’. The school assembly line is divided into years. Students are sorted by age. Every
day students receive instruction on specific subject. Every subject is
taught during a fixed time period in the day. Students are then tested on each
subject to see if they meet the ‘standards’, so they can move along the line.
Finally they receive their stamp of approval (diploma) at the end of the line.(a
perfect factory model).
Where is the Creativity by the way ?
Where is the Creativity by the way ?
Another blunder is the assessment itself; Psychologists
Maehr and Midgley studied the effects of ‘assessments on student’s learning’,
they concluded in these words, “an overemphasis on assessment can actually
undermine the pursuit of excellence”.
For me the joy of reading can
easily be taken away by a teacher who always
judge a child by his ‘reading skills’.
The ugliest fact which
gives school a complete factory like model is the fact that the Term ‘Standardized ‘ is being attached
with assessments. Factories always rely
on the standardization of their products, so is the school. How can a ‘standardized test’ determine the
vast differences of talents and imaginations of different children ? It can’t, so they just ‘kill the creativity
factor’ of each and every child on a way towards standardization.
Einstein ridiculed the modern education system with these
words, ““Everybody is a genius. But if
you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life
believing that it is stupid.” The question I have for you at this point of our
journey together is, “What is your genius?” This simple statement is a challenge
for our modern day educationists.
What I think personally that there is some value in
‘assessing the quality of learning’ but it doesn’t mean it should be quantified
into numbers . Learning cannot be ‘measured in numbers’. How can I quantify a
piece of writing which is above spelling mistakes?
Its doesn’t ends
here, ‘Grading’ is the next step to humiliate children. Researchers are proving that grades kills the natural human curiosity ,suppress intrinsic motivation
, invoke a ‘preference for the easiest
possible task’ in students and finally
they reduce the quality of children’s thinking from “How can we be sure
that’s true?” to “Is this going to be on the test?
To kill the ‘creativity’ permanently, schools are praising
certain subjects like Mathematics and Science which demand precision and accuracy at the cost of others
like different kinds of Arts which promotes ‘divergent thinking and
creativity’. Now the world economy is thriving towards ‘creativity’ but the
schools are busy suppressing it.
The book published last year “One Size Doesn’t Fit All; A
Student’s Assessment Of School” by
Nikhil Goyal took into account the
‘Prison –system of schools and how it is damaging the young brains. A 17- year
old Goyal indicates bluntly, “we are forced to sit at desks, shut up,
listen, and raise our hands to speak. By the time we make it out of high
school, we have been taught to think just like everyone around us, and our
ability to think critically or creatively has been squandered. What’s worse, we
fail to ask questions and we fear risks, because all of our formidable years
were spent spitting out “right answers” instead of being taught to inquire and
think for ourselves to solve problems”.
Maria Montessori reveals it in these words,
"The basic error is to suppose that a person's Will must necessary be broken before it can obey, meaning before it can accept and follow another person's directions. Were this reasoning to be applied to Intellectual Education ,we should have to destroy a person's mind before we could give him any Knowledge".
(THE ABSORBENT MIND)
"The basic error is to suppose that a person's Will must necessary be broken before it can obey, meaning before it can accept and follow another person's directions. Were this reasoning to be applied to Intellectual Education ,we should have to destroy a person's mind before we could give him any Knowledge".
(THE ABSORBENT MIND)
After a short survey of the schools in my local area, I came
to the conclusion that Educationist needs to Re-define Education, they have to
change the mindsets, they have to bring the ‘Paradigm shift’ and that’s what we
need it desperately.
The new
definition of education will not be accepted until it caters the individuality
and creativity of each child without Stamping him ‘passed’ or ‘failed’.
I love the TED TALK of Sir Ken Robinson released last
year on You tube. He said boldly challenging the mainstream education ,“The
fact is that given the challenges we face, education doesn't need to be
reformed -- it needs to be transformed. The key to this transformation is not
to standardize education, but to personalize it, to build achievement on
discovering the individual talents of each child, to put students in an
environment where they want to learn and where they can naturally discover
their true passions.”
― Ken Robinson, in his book, ‘The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything’.
― Ken Robinson, in his book, ‘The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything’.
More can be said
and written but I would love to end up with the brilliant words of one of the most
amazing Educationist of the world, Maria Montessori.
"How
can we speak of Democracy or Freedom when from the very beginning of life we
mould the child to undergo tyranny, to
obey a dictator? How can we expect democracy when we have reared slaves? Real freedom begins at the beginning of
life , not at the adult stage. These people who have been diminished in their
powers, made short- sighted, devitalized by mental fatigue, whose bodies have become distorted, whose wills have been broken by elders who
says, “you will
must disappear and mine prevail! How can we expect them when
school life is finished – to accept and use the Rights of Freedom?"
Maria
Montessori - Education for a New World.
Last
but not the least are the words of the Vice president of Google, Marissa Mayer, “You can’t understand Google, unless you know that both
Larry and Sergey were Montessori kids.”
She’s referring to schools based on the
philosophy of Maria Montessori, an Italian physician who believed that
children should be allowed the freedom to pursue their interests. “In a
Montessori school, you go paint because you have something to express or you
just want to do it that afternoon, not because the teacher said so,” she says.
“This is baked into how Larry and Sergey approach problems. They’re always
asking, why should it be like that? It’s the way their brains were programmed
early on.”
Written
by Erum
Montessori
Directress
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