Absorbent mind

Absorbent mind

Maria Montessori observed that young children learn in a
unique way from prenatal life to about six years old. The
absorbent mind is the image she created to describe, ". . . this
intense mental activity."¹

Since the neonate has to learn everything (he has no tools
other than reflexes to survive), but has no language or conscious
will to learn the way adults do, he must acquire his survival
skills in some other way. Montessori said that the child learns
by unconsciously taking in everything around him and actually
constructs himself. Using his senses, he incarnates, or creates
himself by absorbing his environment through his very act of
living.² He does this easily and naturally, without thought or
choice.

Montessori saw the absorbent mind in two phases. During the
first phase, from birth to three years old, the young child
unknowingly or unconsciously acquires his basic abilities. She
called it the period of unconscious creation or the unconscious
absorbent mind. The child's work during this period is to become
independent from the adult for his basic human functions. He
learns to speak, to walk, to gain control of his hands and to
master his bodily functions. Once these basic skills are
incorporated into his schema, by about three years old, he moves
into the next phase of the absorbent mind, which Montessori
called the period of conscious work or the conscious absorbent
mind. During this period, the child's mathematical mind compels
him to perfect in himself that which is now there. His
fundamental task during this phase is freedom; freedom to move
purposefully, freedom to choose and freedom to concentrate. His
mantra is "Let Me Do It Myself!"³

 

Montessori understood that the baby must adapt to life
outside the mother during the unique time right after birth,
roughly the first nine months of life.⁴ She refers to the baby
during this time as a spiritual embryo or psychic embryo.⁵

Whereas the physical baby developed in utero, the mental or
psychic baby must complete his embryonic growth outside the womb.
Montessori said that a man, " . . . is like an object turned out
by hand."⁶ Once he is born, the baby's specific interaction
with his surroundings casts his mental life and uniquely shapes
him. It is now that he absorbs his mother tongue and comes to
love his place of birth. Thus, this spiritual embryo needs a
concentrated relationship with his parents and milieu to form his
individual self. Montessori observed that adults often fail to
do what is essential at this time, " . . . because of the habit
we have of thinking the child has no mental life."⁷

A child's wise parents realize that he does indeed have a
mental life and therefore will provide soft, low light, immediate
and prolonged contact with the mother and a reassuring place for
the baby so that the transition into the world is smooth and
inviting rather than traumatic.⁸

Another of Montessori's contributions was the discovery of
the sensitive periods. A child passes through special times in
his life when he easily incorporates a particular ability into
his schema if allowed to practice it exhaustively during this
time. She referred to it as, ". . . a passing impulse or
potency."⁹ Her prescient understanding of these critical
periods is now confirmed by scientists and even the popular
culture, with Time magazine calling it "Windows of Opportunity"¹⁰

Regardless of what they are called, the sensitive periods are
critical to the child's self development. He unconsciously knows
that the time to learn a specific skill is now. The child's
intensity reflects his need for that particular acquisition in
order to live. However, once the period passes, he'll have to
learn the skill with much more difficulty at a subsequent time.¹¹
Adults often do not realize that a child has sensitive periods,
perhaps because they do not remember them in themselves. But a
thwarted sensitive period will manifest itself in a cranky child.
Montessori viewed these "tantrums of the sensitive periods (as)
external manifestations of an unsatisfied need."¹²

The child ages birth to six years old will pass through three
significant sensitive periods; those for order, movement and
language. During the period of unconscious creation, the child
acquires the above mentioned abilities. Then, in the period of
conscious work, he concentrates on refining these newly acquired
skills.¹³

Montessori referred to four specific types of order to which
the child is sensitive. They are spatial order, social order,
sensory and temporal order. All through the period of
unconscious creation, the child seeks order so he can acclimate
himself to his environment. The youngest child doesn't even
realize he is separate from his surroundings. Order in his world
helps him make the distinction. Thus he uses an external order
to build on his internal orientations.¹⁴

He is sensitive to a spatial order; that is, everything has a
place. When his environment is arranged the same way day after
day, he comes to rely on it and can get his bearings. Gradually,
he absorbs the concept that if the table is there, for example,
then I must be here. Personally, I have seen an infant return to
his little bed for just a few moments at a time throughout the
morning, not to sleep, but to pause, seemingly as a way of
reorienting himself.

The child is also learning about the people around him. This
social order allows him to discern who is who and to distinguish
between himself and the mass of "them" out there. It is critical
at this stage that the same people come in contact with the baby,
over and over, so that he can accomplish this distinguishing
work. Children in child care centers often suffer personal
distress from confusion because of the industry's high turn-over
rate for caregivers.¹⁵

The child is sensitized to a sensory order, in other words,
to the differences in things; that some are soft or hard, that
objects have color, different colors, and shades of the same
color. He needs to freely explore his prepared world so he can
differentiate among these qualities. Infants often cry because
of sensory deprivation.¹⁶

The young child needs ritual, or temporal order. If his life
has a predictable rhythm and his routine is maintained, he begins
to trust the environment. If his needs for food, sleep and
bodily comfort are predictably met as they arise, he uses this
satisfaction as the basis to feel secure and to explore his
world.¹⁷ One child I observed spent most of the morning fussing
and crying. The Guide told me it was this child's first day at
the Center. The unfamiliar place and routine obviously upset
her.

In sum, the child during the unconscious creation stage uses
the external order to begin building his own internal order. By
about three years old, the child has acquired his most basic
order and will refine it during the conscious work stage. 

Spatial order is still critical. Whenever I placed a new
material on the shelf in my early childhood room, I wondered how
long it would take before that new material was noticed.
Invariably, the next morning someone would immediately see it and
ask for a lesson. Children have a scanning radar that searches
for any anomaly in their ordered world.

The child wants to understand the complexities of
relationships, creating himself socially. Master classes in
social order were conducted daily in my class anytime three four
and one-half year-olds had snack together, with their highly
evolved in-group language patterns and pecking order.

The child is now interested in refining his sensory input.
He wants deeper exploration into sameness, differences and
gradations of same and different in objects and the environment.
Sensorial activities were always popular in my classroom. Some
of the most concentrated, creative work I witnessed was in the
sensorial extensions, particularly with the five and six
year-olds who combined materials in elaborate patterns covering
most of the floor surface, sometimes for days at a time.

The three year-old is at the height of his ritualistic order;
he still needs routines and yet can begin to create his own
order. This is the perfect time to model that activities have a
beginning, a middle and an end. Choosing to do the same thing at
the same time or in the same way is quite a comfort to this
child. I saw the phenomenon extensively in my class. One boy I
recall would paint a picture first thing every day for many weeks
in a row. If the easel was in use, he would wait patiently
because he seemed to orient himself by choosing to paint as his
first activity every day.


The sensitive period for movement is most intense during the
first year of life. Montessori reminds us that, "(n)o other
mammal has to learn to walk."¹⁸ The baby, unable at birth to
control any of his movements, doesn't even know he has hands and
feet. But by about twelve months many babies take their first
steps. Walking develops without it being taught. An infant's
need to walk is so strong that he becomes upset if he is impeded.
I have often seen a toddler in motion become frustrated when an
adult came swooping down and picked him up. The boy's
concentration was broken by a well-meaning but hurried adult.
The child's rhythm is so much slower than our own. He walks to
perfect his walking; whereas we walk with purposeful intent.¹⁹

During the period of conscious work, the child works to
perfect and extend his movement. He is interested in
elaborations of the basic walk/run theme. It's time to jump,
hop, skip and climb, to carry heavy things, to balance objects on
a tray. I remember one girl who walked on the balance beam. At
first she did it with one foot on and one foot off the beam, then
haltingly with both feet on and arms fully extended, and
eventually more smoothly with arms lower at her sides.

Once the child has mastered walking, his hands have become
free to work.²⁰ He's entered a new phase of his life, that of
Homo(man) Faber(working); one who uses his hands to affect his
world.²¹ He now focuses on work to refine his hands. Montessori
observed that mental development occurs through movement but only
if, " . . . the action which occurs is connected with the mental
activity going on."²² The child wants to use a scissors, to pick
up tiny objects and to refine his eye/hand coordination so that
his hand truly becomes an instrument of his mind.²³

The final sensitive period is that for language. No one
teaches the child to talk. His language, " . . . develops
naturally like a spontaneous creation."²⁴

 

Of all the auditory stimulation surrounding the baby, it is
the human voice that he deeply hears and imitates.²⁵ By six
months, he's uttering his first syllables, by one year his first
intentional word. By one year, nine months he uses a few
phrases, and by about two years old he "explodes" into
language.²⁶ He talks and talks non-stop. By the time he is three
years old he is speaking in sentences and paragraphs with proper
syntax and grammar. He can fully express himself to get his
needs met.

During the period of the conscious absorbent mind he will
expand his vocabulary immensely. He wants huge words and funny
words and rhyming words and words in songs. Our Montessori
environments, rich in vocabulary, meet his word hunger perfectly.

If we trust that the child comes into the world with his
unique plan for life and that it is he who will unfold before us,
then we know that these first six years are crucial for his self
development. It is now that the imprints are deepest. He begins
his work of living life on earth by taking from, and adapting to
his environment and thus creates the man he is to become.

Role Of Montessori Directress

Role Of Montessori Directress

A Montessori teacher or directress is the most important person for a child in a school. She is a counselor, a facilitator and a guide. All the learning for a child are due to the teacher’s faithfulness towards her duties. A teacher must not act as if the knowledge flows through her /him. She must think and act like a co-operative artist taking in view the activity learner’s mind. The activities are not for her.

It is good general observation that students are not encouraged to comprehend or explore the lessons themselves. They are going to prepared material to cram to pass the exams. Mostly the students are not equipped to find their own solutions. In Montessori methodology the directress, the child and the prepared environment are like three sides of a triangle. The directress is the guardian of the prepared environment, with an understanding of invaluable nature and immense responsibility. She is responsible for facilitation and provision of appropriate learning environment.

She is the soul of the environment to which she brings the child in contact. The main task of the teacher is to help the child in adopting the environment and make him feel comfortable. She must bring forth the skills and qualities of a child are essential for his overall environment. Once he attains these qualities he becomes a world-force.

Generally, a teacher is found delivering a lecture in schools to a group of students. But a Montessori teacher’s role is quite different. She prepares the appropriate learning materials to meet the needs and interests of each child in the class they work with one or two children at a time, advising, presenting a new lesson, or making an observation. The learning is for the children and not for the teachers. Every child is a distinct individual due to their various interest, progress, growth and preferred learning style.

The most important quality of the directress in to have faith in the child, in herself as well as the methods she must be preferred as following;

1)Intellectual preparation,

2)Spiritual preparation,

3)psychic and physical preparation,

The chief characteristics of a Montessori teacher are as following;

1)To prepare the environment.

2)Passive role playing.

3)Profound respect for the dignity of the child.

She must have a deep sense of individuality of every child as a human being. In order to become dynamic link between the child and the prepared environment ,she must have the following qualities;

a)Knowledge   (b)Patience   (c)Observation   (d)Sympathy and love for the child   (e)Clarity in her work.

The science of being a Montessori teacher consists of knowing in advance about the sensitive development periods of a child. A directress must undergo a threefold preparation program before coming in contact with the child.

1)Intellectual preparation;  The teacher must know her work right-out and must keep in touch with the environment. She should know what is happening around the world. She must have

sufficient knowledge of science, geography, mathematics, history, music ,art work etc. She should be tactful with all the children according to their potentials of work with all children as long as needed. She should have patience as some children take to grasp the instructions. However, there must be no favoritism or preference in the prepared environment. Children should be kept at par with each other. The directress must analyze her own presentations and she must work accordingly. The art of teaching in the prepared environment is divided between the directress and the material.

Dr.Montessori sums up the position of directress by saying;

                                             “Teach the child not by correcting but by directing his energies

                                                Towards the purposeful end.”

2)Spiritual Preparation:   Spiritual preparation consists of the environment and the directress within herself using her intellect and psychic qualities. She must study the following;

1)The general functions of the prepared environment.

2)The nature and purpose of every piece of the Montessori material in her environment.

3)The ages of the children to whom the material correspond and sharpen their senses hold great values for their enlightenment.

4)She should never condemn any child because of her/his weaknesses.

3)Psychic and physical presentation:   She should attract the child towards herself. She should be attractive and pleasant in her appearance. She should be tidy and clean, fresh, well-dressed, dignified, calm and happy person. She should be full of knowledge, very passionate and complete symbol of the education to the child. Since the normalized child is very happy, cheerful with healthy mind, so he/she always response to cheerfulness. She must be in harmony with all means. She should avoid touching the child unnecessarily as they are sensitive  and do not like it.If a child need personal attention than she should not deny it. She must study her own defects, weaknesses and try to correct them.

Dr.Montessori says,

                                             “First remove the beam from your own eyes, then you will

                                               See clearly how to remove the speak from the child’s eye,”

She should purify her own heart and render it burning with love, kindness and understanding towards the children. She should be humble, poetic and gentle in behavior. She must talk logically and should be careful about her language. Her accent should be correct and her voice must be appealing and soft. Her movements should be coordinated. She should have full faith in the system, herself and the child. She must understand the delicate achievements of the children. She should serve children as if she is serving the spirit and the soul which has to unfold itself into a force.

Observation: She must observe the progress of every child carefully. She must take care of all their needs in their growing up needs and progress. Instead of keeping a track of all these developments she must act like an active link between children and the prepared environment. This place is for constant experimentation and modification of environment to meet the needs, interests and notifying the result for the child.

Lessons: The lessons are brief and the goal is to bring the children in a state of mind, so that they will come back on their own for further work with the materials. The lessons should be simple and they should work on their own. She should,

a) observe the child when he explores the material.

b) going to the child to know his consent about working with the material.

c)taking the material to the work place with the help of the child.

d)setting up rules for the material handling.

e)going a short and live demonstration of what is to be done.

f)leaving the child on his own to work.

The presentation by the teachers is precise. Demonstration is an initial exploratory procedure; encouraging the children to continue to explore on their own further. The children should become self-disciplined. Maximum interruption  by the adults should be done. The children progress with their own pace. They gradually proceed in each learning step. Initially the lessons give a brief introduction, after repetition over many days, weeks or months mastery is attained. Interest leads them to explore variations and extend the inherited within the designs of the materials at many levels over the coming years.

Primary aims: Each child be taken as a person not on the daily lesson plans. They must be nurture and inspire. They should lead a child to questioning and let the think themselves, explore, investigate and discover. The ultimate objective is to help them to learn how to learn independently, retaining the curiosity, creativity and intelligence with which they are born. Montessori teachers do not simply present lessons, they facilitate, coach and guide.