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Why The New School Montessori?
Observing at The New School Montessori, you will see what
is immediately clear. Maria Montessori, the philosophy’s
founder, described a Montessori education as an “education
for life” and indeed, the intention behind some of the best
known Montessori tools, or “work”, the universality of
what the materials teach uncovers the truth behind many
misconceptions.
Parents whose children attend The New School Montessori
often joke at how proficient their kids become at wielding a broom,
a dustpan and a sponge. It’s easy to joke about the
“work” Montessori children learn to do, without looking
for the deeper purpose of the activity, which goes far beyond a
clean classroom. The process of movement is key and the materials
are self-correcting: when you spill, you clean it up, and learning
to do so instills sense of pride and accomplishment. Further work
that is similar in scope is expected in the lower and upper
elementary levels.
Throughout all levels at The New School Montessori, 3-6,
6-9 and 9-12 parents share common goals for their children. They
believe that a school should help children: to develop initiative,
to foster creativity, to provide a strong sense of self and to
teach relationship to community. As an educational staff, our goals
include these themes but also “the development of the whole
child based on social, cognitive, physical needs, with the child
engaged in their own learning.” Just how that engagement
happens is one of the key things that sets Montessori education at
The New School Montessori apart from other approaches to learning.
Montessori education is uniquely self-directed.
Particularly at the preprimary level, children are not ushered
through a series of centers, or lessons and rarely, are all the
children in the classroom engaged in the same activity at the same
time. The materials in a Montessori classroom are often rooted in
the everyday or what Montessorians describe as “practical
life.”
Maria Montessori talked about a child’s
natural inclination for order and indeed, our classrooms are very
organized with students as young as three learning to put back
their materials when they are finished and not to disturb another
child at “work.” Rather than being rigid, practical
life materials and the care of them teaches self-discipline,
courtesy and respect, and patience. It can be a challenge for a
child to learn not to interrupt another child who is busily engaged
in an activity. But learning to watch and observe, particularly in
the multiage classroom, which is a signature of the Montessori
environment, has great educational benefits that are visible
throughout the nine-year cycle at The New School Montessori.
The lessons learned in a Montessori classroom
go a long way to building a sense of community as “everybody
has a way to participate.” We believe that Montessori
education “develops a sense of self that leads the child to
connect in a nurturing way with others,” and that,
“Children learn in a natural environment where it’s
safe. The adults don’t become the obstacle to learning;
rather we set it up and move out of the child's way.”
Another way many describe the Montessori
environment is “Freedom within limits.” "When people
say, ‘Where’s the teacher?’ we tell them
we’re there to balance what’s happening. You put your
work away for the next person, that teaches rights and
responsibilities, this makes us citizens of the world.”
At a time when many are scratching their heads
about how to educate children, we hear repeatedly from our
graduates that Montessori at The New School Montessori Monstessori provides "education for
life" for them. A recent TNSM alum, just graduated from college and
has a fellowship to teach in China, wrote: "I credit The New School Montessori
for instilling in me the belief that I can do and the desire to do
the very best at whatever I decide to pursue."
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