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From MontessoriWiki
The inexperienced teacher, filled with enthusiasm and faith in this inner discipline which she expects to appear in our little community, finds herself faced by no light problems.
She understands and believes that the children must be free to choose their own occupations, just as they must never be interrupted in their spontaneous activities. No work may be imposed--no threats, no rewards, no punishments. The teacher must be quiet and passive, waiting patiently and almost withdrawing herself from the scene, so as to efface her own personality and thus allow plenty of room for the child's spirit to expand. She has put out a great deal of the apparatus, almost all of it, but this instead of diminishing the disorder increases it alarmingly.
Are the principles she has learned mistaken? No. Between her theories and the results to which they lead, something is missing. It is the teacher's practical experience...
Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind
Contents |
Welcome to MontessoriWiki
This site is dedicated to collecting know-how about Montessori teaching and the design of the Montessori environment and materials.
As a computer programmer, I've learned different techniques for capturing knowledge about work, and I want to see if there are reasonable ways to apply these techniques to capturing knowledge about Montessori.
Know-how about Montessori teaching currently appears in different formats depending on the aspect of teaching that's being recorded. For now, I'm collecting Tips for New Teachers from experienced Montessorians that I meet in training.
At some point, I'd like to invite others to discuss ways of recording Montessori know-how and to contribute to this site.
I also want to collect as much information I can about How Montessori Developed her Method to see what lessons can be learned from her design process.
For the Milwaukee Class of '07
Dave had the excellent idea of using this site to keep track of Books Mentioned in the Milwaukee Course. I started the list with the names of a few of the books I wrote down. If you are a Milwaukee classmate, please send me more titles and I'll post them.
I also thought it might be helpful to have a space to keep track of Assignments and Optional Materials.
- Hints for Coloring Charts
- History Question Charts
- Arrows for Logical Analysis Material
- Biology Handouts
Can it be done?
In many ways, learning to be a Montessori teacher (like many other things) is like learning to ride a bicycle. You can read all about it, but can't know how to do it until you try it for yourself.
However, know-how about Montessori teaching is already recorded in many formats. I want to experiment with ways of collecting, recording and organizing whatever I can so I can use it later.
As a computer programmer, I have some experience with the misunderstandings that can happen between initial discussions and final product, and have ideas on how to minimize these misunderstandings. I've also made use of a particular kind of recorded know-how called Design Patterns.
At some point, I'd like to invite others to discuss ways of recording Montessori know-how and to contribute to this site.
More on Montessori
If you're not familiar with Montessori's work, there are a number of excellent Montessori web sites that provide information about her method of education.
What's a Wiki?
Below are some links to help answer that question and provide more information on Wikis.
