Montessori's Philosophy

Originally published on The Parenting Handbook

Maria Montessori thought of herself, first and foremost, as a scientist. She applied her powers of keen observation and careful experimentation to her work, first with developmentally disabled children, then slum children, and eventually children from all cultures, walks of life, and capabilities.

With scrupulous attention to detail and trepidation lest she influence the object of her study and ruin her chance of making an accurate interpretation, she endeavored to observe children as the naturalist observed bees. She awaited the unfolding of the natural child and discovered he was nothing like any child she had observed before. She let go of her expectations of his capabilities and discovered that his mind had powers the adult could hardly imagine.

Montessori believed she uncovered the natural laws governing a child’s development and discovered that he had mental needs from birth. Based on these discoveries, it was clear to Montessori that the traditional ways of interacting with children, educating them, and rearing them were tragically inadequate. It was time to re-think childhood, education, and parenting. It was time to articulate a new philosophy.

There are many philosophical questions that Montessori thought about that I won’t be discussing at length here, though they will appear by implication. Questions about the good life, virtue, the nature of knowledge, the nature of man, and his relationship to others in society. Instead, I want to explore Montessori’s answer to three questions that are of particular interest to educators and parents.

The Nature of The Child

A Self-Creator

Since the dawn of time, adults watched children become more capable as they grew older. They watched as a weak, mute newborn, unable to meet his barest needs, became a confident toddler exploring the world on his own two feet and communicating with others through his own words. The child had clearly made leaps and bounds in both knowledge and skill over three short years. And yet, during that time he received no direct instruction. No one had—indeed, no one could have—sat down with the child to teach him how to put one foot in front of the other or how to move his tongue and lips to utter his first words.

From this, and other extensive observations of children learning abstract concepts with minimal guidance, Montessori concluded that the child was fundamentally a self-creator. Instead of a passive and receptive vessel that accumulates knowledge handed down to him from superior adults, the child is an active and creative worker who drives his own development. She remarks:

Just as you can’t learn to play the piano through another person’s hands or understand a mathematical formula through another person’s mind, the child cannot develop through anyone else’s work but his own. He must think. He must act. He must work with his hands guided by his mind in order for the knowledge and skills he acquires to truly be his.

According to Montessori, what is true for knowledge of facts and acquisition of skills, is even more apparent in the cultivation of the child’s willpower and the development of his character. ‘Breaking’ the child’s will and dominating him, giving into his every whim, or making all of his decisions for him will not allow the child to develop his will. To develop a proper will, meaning the ability to be neither impulsive nor anxiously dependent on others for decisions, requires that the child independently work to acquire this skill. No one else can do it for him.

For every desirable character trait—whether persistence, ability to concentrate, or patience—the child cannot learn to cultivate it by seeing examples, hearing speeches, or being forced. He must practice. Given abundant opportunities over a long span of time, increasing in scope as he progresses, the child can construct a character that will serve him in any endeavor he embarks on, even into adulthood.

Successive Feats of Independence

Montessori often describes the stages of childhood as successive conquests. They are arduous accomplishments that serve to increase the child’s independence. The infant weans from his mother’s milk and is no longer dependent on her for sole sustenance. The toddler takes his first steps and he is no longer dependent on others to go where he wants. He can defend himself and run away from those who wish to impose their will on him. He can explore the world independently. He understands and says his first words; he can now communicate his thoughts, his objections, his feelings. With each new achievement, he increasingly becomes a competent actor in the world.

Of course, it is no mystery to parents or educators that a child must someday be independent and able to navigate the world; and they implicitly recognize that experiences in childhood prepare a person to take that step. Montessori’s view, though, is explicit and shapes her idea of the purpose of childhood itself.

The child is motivated to work, specifically, to work towards greater and greater degrees of independence. It is more than simply an aftereffect of growth, it is growth. The child’s every act, every decision, every purpose is to increase his independence. And as previously mentioned, this act of development, like all others, must be done alone. No one can do the child’s work for him.

Observing the common behavior of children in this regard, she comments:

Childhood—while filled with joy, new experiences, and impactful relationships—is fundamentally about making a conquest of independence, according to Montessori. Doing things for the child, whether out of an attempt to be helpful or out of frustration at his ineptitude, does more than simply not let the child have his way. It harms his ability to fulfill his goal of becoming independent. It takes away the real human element growing in the child.

The Purpose of Education

An Aid for the Development of Life

If it is true that the child fundamentally constructs himself and that his purpose throughout childhood is to become increasingly independent across all domains, then, according to Montessori, the purpose of education needs to be reconsidered in light of this. It cannot be the purpose to fill the child’s empty mind with knowledge, because his mind is not empty and he must be an active participant in the discovery of knowledge. It cannot be the purpose to inculcate virtue through moral lessons or force, because the child gains virtues of character only through independently chosen practice.

Instead, according to Montessori, the purpose of education is to support the child’s development. It is to remove obstacles that hinder his acts of self-creation. It is to clear the path so that the child can successfully be independent. The role of education is not only a negative, however; it is not only the elimination of harm and hinderances. It must also provide the mental nourishment the child needs so that he can make connections, proceed to deeper knowledge, and apply it to his life. She asserts:

There is much one could say about how this purpose translates into concrete practices in the classroom or at home, but I will leave that for future newsletters. For now, it is important to note that an essential component of fulfilling this new purpose of education is understanding the nature of the child. It means understanding his role as a self-creator. It means understanding the goal of childhood is him achieving the full scope of independence. It means, above all, recognizing that the child has a mind and mental needs from birth.

The child needs ‘mental food’ nearly as much as he needs physical food, according to Montessori. It is the job of education to provide the mental food that enables the child’s optimal development. Montessori was passionate about the need for a scientific pedagogy. An educational plan based on the natural laws of a child’s development, a plan steeped in observation and experimentation. She believed there was only one proper method of education, the method that used the child’s nature as the standard and his development as the aim. She stresses:

The Role of the Adult

An Observer of the Child

Just as the purpose of education changes with the newfound understanding of the child’s nature, the role of the adult in the child’s life changes as well. No longer is the adult to be thought of as the creator of the child, the child constructs himself: mind, will, and character. No longer is the adult to be thought of as the superior being who must set an example to the child lest he be led astray, the child does not learn through examples, but by doing. Instead, the adult walks alongside the child, a helper, but not the creator, of his life. Speaking of the authority of parents, she remarks:

The first important task of the adult, whether parent or teacher, is to observe the child and to wait for him to reveal his nature. The adult must not watch with the prejudices of old, anticipating the child’s errors, frailties, or vices that the world typically expects. Instead, she implores adults to watch the child with his true nature in mind. It is essential, first, that the adult learn about the child, his needs, and the laws governing his development. Only then can the adult offer the truly needed help. This type of observation is slow, careful to not disturb or influence the inner workings of the child.

She also urges the adult to view the child in a new light. The child should be seen with admiration for his effortful progress. The adult should watch for his conquests of independence with breathless anticipation, celebrating with him each new victory. Speaking of the process of becoming this new kind of adult, a teacher specifically, Montessori says:

A Preparer of the Environment

According to Montessori, the environment that the child finds himself in is of the utmost importance for his development. If the environment does not contain the mental stimulation the child needs, if it does not allow him to reach success independently, then the child will suffer from its lack. He will develop into a lesser version of his potential, with defects in his mind and character.

The child, however, is not conscious of his needs, much less able to communicate them, and even less able to meet them on his own. It is the role of the adult to know his needs and to be the intermediary between the child and the environment. The child builds his mind and character through independent work in the environment. The first thing, then, that the adult must do is remove obstacles to freedom from the child’s environment.

This often translates to adapting the home or school into a place where the child has independent access to the things that he needs in order to be successful. A stool to reach the sink so that he may wash his own hands, a mirror and small hairbrush so that he may independently care for his hair, a set of kitchen utensils so that he may prepare his own meals, proportinately sized furniture so he can relax and work in comfort, etc.

The child, though, needs more than physical food and more than the tools for practical life in order to develop. He also needs mental nourishment. It is the role of the adult to acquire the materials and organize the home or classroom to meet the needs of the child. Rather than using the materials as a way to “test” or “gauge” a child’s understanding, it is the adult’s job to “test” or “judge” the materials by the response they produce in the child. Because the child builds himself through concentrated work, the materials are judged by their ability to induce an intense interest in the child, causing him to concentrate for long periods of time and to repeat exercises with the materials indefinitely.

Through this whole process of connecting the child to a rich and engaging environment, it is important that the adult respect the child and not interrupt him whenever he is engaged in intelligent work. This is because it is through this outward process of work that the child’s internal progress of building his mind is made. The goal, however, is deeper than the acquisition of particular knowledge or the cultivation of specific skills. The goal is that the child constructs man.

Maria Montessori made countless discoveries about the nature of the child and his developmental needs. These discoveries pushed her to articulate a new philosophy of education and to tirelessly advocate for the child’s rights.

This philosophy championed the role of the child in his own development and celebrated his goal of achieving independence. She defined a new purpose of education that would seek to aid a child in his quest while removing the obstacles that had previously hindered him. She called on adults, whether educators or parents, to learn the true nature of the child, to observe him carefully, and to take up the mantle in their proper role as helpers on the child’s journey to competence and self-creation.