“Circle time” is not authentic Montessori practice
(Me with Margot Waltuch, Sydney, Australia 1993. Baby platypus on her shoulder)
Margot was my AMI primary and elementary consultant. She was Dr. Montessori’s official translator and fellow researcher for teaching materials in Holland. Also my primary and elementary consultant when I was teaching. Here is a quote about her visit to my primary class from the book Montessori For Family and Community)
Around 11:30 I gathered the children for “circle time.” This was something I dreaded a bit because I had discovered that there is no way a person can successfully teach or entertain a 2.5-year-old child and a 6.5-year-old child at the same time, with the same information or activity. After a few moments, Margot turned to me with a frown on her face and said, “Did you learn this in your London training?”
My reply, “No, but I thought I was supposed to do it. Do you mean I don’t have to?”
Margot, “No! And I don’t know where this American ‘mother and chick’ practice came from, but it has nothing at all to do with Montessori!” That was such a relief.
To read more about her visit, see this book:
CLICK: Montessori for Family and Community
I had scanned the above picture of a Montessori 3-6 birthday party celebration and was looking at it closely on the computer screen. Shocked, I could see, for the first time, the look of complete boredom on the faces of most of the children who had been pulled away from concentrating on their individual work to “celebrate.” I did the math: 30 children x 3 years in the class = 90 birthdays! This brought home to me the reason why there are no “required” group or collective lessons, no regular “circle time,” in authentic Montessori classes.
Primary, Elementary, Adolescent Programs
At the elementary level, age 6-12, there are five “great lessons” repeated at the beginning of each year that introduce the entire 6-12 curriculum. From then all there are NO scheduled all-group, teacher-led, required group activities! Only spontaneously-formed gatherings usually by the students. I was very disappointed when seeing a Montessori 6-12 teacher show a video at a conference that she said was a typical elementary class. There was no silence, but a lot of movement and talking. This is a case of using the wonderful Montessori 1:1 lessons, and materials, to deliver a “curriculum” in the old traditional method, where students wait to be told what to do and when, what to study, and how to obey. This is not authentic Montessori. When silence in a Montessori 6-12 class is not imposed or required by an adult, but exists because each student is concentrating deeply on self-assigned research and creativity the academic and human development are amazing.
At the adolescent, age 13-18 level, there must also be freedom from obeying the teacher and the adult curriculum, the students covering required work (by the state or country) because they are responsible and they know that doing any required work will allow freedom to pursue their own choices of subject.
Only with this freedom at all levels will we see the kind of independent, responsible, lovers of work and learning, kind and compassionate individuals, that Montessori dreamed of. And that the world needs.
Montessori books
This kind of authentic Montessori practice without adult-led group lessons is touched upon in almost all of my books because protecting intelligent choice of work, and deep concentration is essential to gain the results we all hope for for our children and students. To find the best one for you CLICK: BOOKS
If I have ever worked as a Montessori consultant at your school, or given a talk in your country, you probably have seen the above and the next pictures, because one of the greatest errors Montessori practice today is the adult reverting to the old way, the traditional way of teaching—children sitting still and listening or watching the adult try to “teach” them. Small groups arise spontaneously through the day, but there should be no daily, adult-directed, required-attendance groups.
In my work as a consultant I often take such pictures for the teachers because the her attention during a collective or group lesson, is usually taken by those few children who are interested in what she is saying, or the child who can’t sit still and needs to be removed from the group so she misses all of the bored faces.
In the book Montessori and Mindfulness you can read more about how to remedy this situation, how to make the lessons that might presently be given in a group, individual lessons, improving interest, independent choice, and concentration, and how to become more mindfulness in our own adult lives. This emphasis is not only in primary classes, but at all ages. There is more information about the work curves or concentration graphs that Montessori gave us as a tool to avoid groups lessons and track improvement in concentration of each child.
Parent Conferences
When I was teaching in a primary, age 2.5-6 class, it was the child’s concentration graph, and the improvement he or she was making over the year, that was the main focus of a parent conference and we studied the child’s graphs together in detail. As a result parents began to pay more attention at home, to help their child find developmentally appropriate activities on which to concentrate. Everyone benefitted.
The book is available on Amazon in many countries CLICK: BOOK Montessori and Mindfulness
Montessori Quotes on this subject:
(1) The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say,
The children are now working as if I did not exist.
—Montessori
(2) This presentation is given, not to a group of children, but individually, to help the child to grow mentally. We prepare this special environment to help his growth, to offer him freedom so that he can proceed with his work in a normal way. The collective lessons are given only to the child who has not yet been normalized. After normalization each child grows individually, in his own way. One child may be ready for the lesson one day and another child another day. . . . If we give a lesson we do not command all the children to stop what they are doing in order to listen. Many children may have absolutely no interest in the lesson and we may bore them.
—Creative Development in the Child, The Montessori Approach, Volume II”
(3) It is marvelous to see how these children work. They work by themselves, and they are occupied the whole morning. The only thing at which I do not succeed is in
interesting them in a collective lesson.
—Creative Development in the Child, The Montessori Approach, Vol II”
(In a letter from one of Dr. Montessori’s students working in France, after Dr. Montessori had suggested, when she was just beginning to learn about the importance of individual lessons and still was suggesting collective lessons)
(4) A child who concentrates does not disturb others.The teacher must recognize the first moment of concentration and must not disturb it. The whole future comes from this moment and so the teacher must be ready for non-interference when it occurs.
—Montessori, The Child, Society and the World
(5) . . . and every time children emerged from such an experience, they were like individuals who had rested. They were filled with life and resembled those who had experienced some great joy.
—Montessori, The Secret of Childhood
Montessori Teacher Training
Montessori and Mindfulness is a recommended text on Montessori teacher training courses. Here is more information, table of contents, etc.
CLICK: Montessori and Mindfulness
Celebrating a Birthday by making A Personal Timeline
A good way to celebrate a birthday is to help a child create his own “personal timeline” near the end of their time in a Montessori primary class, usually at age 5 or 6. This is done as a quiet 1:1 activity, teacher and child, after gathering one picture for each year from the parents.
The Red Corolla, Montessori Cosmic Education (for 3-6+) gives specific information on creating the personal timeline which is preparation for the the timelines that a child will encounter in the 6-12 class. CLICK: Red Corolla
How does a day go without “traditional” preschool groups?
For those who want a model of the day without required and scheduled collective lessons or circle time, a description of an authentic day is found in this book. It was based on an observation of a day at the primary class at the AMI training center in London. CLICK: Aid to Life
Blessings,
Susan
Home page, CLICK: Susan