Character Lab: Imitation is Inspiration

We talk a lot about the benefits of a mixed aged classroom. They build community and encourage interaction. But they also encourage leadership skills to develop really early on. Our oldest children become role models to the youngest. We also know that by having them teach a lesson to their younger classmates, they are deepening their understanding of the underlying concept and reinforcing their own learning. After all, you cannot teach what you do not know. And this healthy cycle continues to strengthen, with the youngest ones eventually assuming those leadership roles themselves.

In this recent Character Lab post, Angela Duckworth, the Character Lab Founder and Author of the best-selling book, Grit, points to the benefits of watching and learning from others to perfect your own craft. She gives great examples, some of which we have included here.

Harvard educated, tennis pro, and author of several books on professional and personal success, Tim Gallwey, has observed:

“The benefits to your game come not from analyzing the strokes of top players, but from concentrating without thinking and simply letting yourself absorb the images before you…”

Another example comes from Toby Cosgrove, the former Chief Executive of Cleveland Clinic, who said:

“I worked and worked and worked at refining the craft. And then I changed the way I did things over time. I went and watched other people do things. In fact, I used to call them my “innovation trips.” I would go all over the world and take my notebook and watch other surgeons and various techniques, and I would pick things up from them and incorporate them in my practice. It was a constant quest and I was always looking for ways to do something better.”

Mixed age groups bring a myriad of proven benefits that we know will stand our students in good stead as they become leaders and innovators in their own fields.

Even now, our students engage with both younger and older children with incredible ease, but also immense empathy. There is none of the awkwardness that is typical in traditional single age school settings.

Are you seeing the benefits in your own home? Please let us know!

The Atlantic: Against Algebra

On October 6th, a fascinating article appeared in The Atlantic that highlighted how the traditional school system is failing children when it comes to learning by offering a one-size-fits all approach, especially in core areas such as math.

The article, written by preeminent scientist, Temple Grandin, emphasizes the importance of tailoring education to the needs and diverse minds of each student, as well as the irrefutable benefits that a hands-on, real-world education anchored in meaningful context has on a student’s learning.  In Montessori schools, this is an approach that we have been using for over 115 years. 

Montessori Practical Life gets a shoutout as well:  In her piece, Dr. Grandin notes that current medical graduates are missing key surgical skills because the lack of hands-on activities in their early years has resulted in poor dexterity.  Hands-on activities like cutting, grasping, and pegboard work are woven into every element of even our youngest classrooms at WFM.

The article goes on to explore the sad psychological shift that occurs between the optimism and curiosity that fills Kindergarten classrooms to the "boredom" and "dissatisfaction" that plagues high schools.

We believe school should be joyful for children.  If you want to see the long-lasting impact that a Montessori approach has on our students' learning and love of school, look no further than the Middle School students, whose positivity, energy, enthusiasm and confidence is truly inspiring. 

A Teacher’s Journey: Discovering Montessori

I’m Janani, a new Assistant Teacher in the primary classroom here at Waterfront Montessori.

Montessori is as new to me as the sky is to a fledgling. I’m looking forward to sharing my journey and discovery of Montessori with you, as I navigate the physical classroom environment, and prepare for my year-long, official Montessori teacher accreditation.

I have seen and experienced traditional learning environments before, but the Montessori one is fundamentally different to me, because it rests on the cornerstone that people are naturally independent and self-aware.

As people, we are meant to go through life discovering the power of being independent, the joy brought by freedom of choice, and the liberation that self-awareness and self-motivation bring.

In a Montessori classroom there is a perfectly curated mix of materials designed to create a sense of harmony and focus for our students. I never realized how elastic our minds could be until I walked into a Montessori classroom just a few months ago.

The whole Montessori environment has a magical aura to it, each wall and material waiting to be uniquely explored through a student’s individual sense of touch, sight, smell and sound.

The materials are organized into different sections, one of the more fascinating ones for me being Practical Life. Activities that appear simple to us like pouring, scooping, weaving, folding, screwing, and sorting build fundamental life skills This area requires focus, discipline and practice, and serves as a springboard for mastery of math, science, language and reading.

A Montessori classroom is a masterpiece underpinned by fundamental elements of human nature. I experience deep mindset shifts occurring as I discover the Montessori way in everything. 

I’m still tip-toeing my way through the classroom with my little friends and colleagues. With each passing day, there is so much learning to reflect on, so many discoveries that have been unlocked, so much potential that is being realized in magical ways.

I’m excited to keep sharing more discoveries from my Montessori journey. 

Sincerely,

Ms. Janani