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A philosophy of education in service of lives fully lived.
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Montessori's Discovery of the Normalized Child
Montessori’s most important discovery, the one that enabled all the others, was her discovery of the “normalized” child. It informed her philosophy of education: her ideas on the role of the parent and the educator in the child’s life, the role of the child himself, the role of the environment in his development, and the very purpose of education.
The Child's Self-Created Mind
Based on her astute observations of children, Montessori concluded that children had a mind and a mental life from birth. This meant that, to her, education was proper and necessary for infants and young children. Yet, it was clear that education for infants and toddlers could not function in the same way as education for older children and adults. Their unique minds demanded a rethinking of education.
Montessori's Philosophy
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.
It's not the 'Montessori' Method– It's the Child's
Montessori asserted that what could be called a ‘method’ was no a priori idea of hers. She emphasized that, in reality, this ‘method’ was the discovery of the children themselves.