Will we stay in our nests?

Irrespective of what professional training we may have had as Montessorians, we can all recall the hard work of having to “normalise” ourselves to the Montessori environment. The trainings for apparatus practice were rigorous, and we meticulously followed our albums making sure every move was calculated and done with precision. And it was all needed… By the time we came to our classrooms, we were full of these ‘dos’ and don’ts’ that we had learnt in our training. How many times have we prevented a child from doing an activity just because it was not presented to him? Oh but we mustn’t let the child explore it, as he may learn to use it in a wrong way. Or it wasn’t allowed in my training….Really?

 We look at the child pouring the water from the jug onto the activity tray, and we make a mark in our minds of his incompetence. We in fact have check lists evaluating his level of competence in pouring. As Montessorians we say we are process-oriented, and yet we don’t realise how product-driven we can sometimes be. If we chose to remain curious, we could possibly observe the scientific mind at work. How much water do I need to pour to cover the base of the tray? What if I poured it from a different height? How much water will the sponge soak up?

There is no question that a strong structural base and sense of order needs to be built for our own exploration as practitioners. However, may we flavour it with curiosity or we are bound to miss real learning opportunities for ourselves and for the children.

Don’t get me wrong, there is a place for dogmatic adherence to beliefs, but remember they are not an end in themselves, but only the beginning. They prepare us for real organic life in the classroom. Just like the little birds that safely snuggle in the nest their momma has prepared for them. Those “nests” of rules and beliefs that were prepared for us by those before us play a huge role in our own learning and development. And we must master them. At the same time remind ourselves that they form merely the first part of our life as practitioners, and there will come a time when we will have to use our own wings to fly. We must ask ourselves then: Will we stay in our nests or will we soar?

“Learn the law very well, so you will know how to disobey it properly” – Dalai Lama.

Sid Mohandas is a Montessori practitioner from the UK. He received his training at Montessori Centre International (MCI), London.

10 thoughts on “Will we stay in our nests?”

  1. Very interesting and thoughtful post. I believe that Montessori herself would observe and not intervene unless the child or others or material were in danger of being hurt. She would watch and wonder and make notes about what the child was getting out of the activity. As you mentioned, a whole lot of curious learning might be going on in the mind of the child.

  2. Very interesting and thoughtful post. I believe that Montessori herself would observe and not intervene unless the child or others or material were in danger of being hurt. She would watch and wonder and make notes about what the child was getting out of the activity. As you mentioned, a whole lot of curious learning might be going on in the mind of the child.

  3. It's a wonderful place to be, as we are so accustomed to a fast paced life with immediate responses and results. Technology does this to us, maybe we should slow down and observe more in life. Thanks for your comment 🙂

    S

  4. It's a wonderful place to be, as we are so accustomed to a fast paced life with immediate responses and results. Technology does this to us, maybe we should slow down and observe more in life. Thanks for your comment 🙂

    S

  5. Your posts raises interesting questions: What is the purpose of a rule? What would happen if we watched children from a belief that all their actions make sense ot them or serve them on some level? What if we allowed children to explore materials before being shown the “right” way to use them, as was done in early Montessori teacher training programs? What if we regarded the materials, not as exercises to be performed correctly, but as keys for the child to use to unlock his own mind? Your comparison of the safety of rule-following to the safety of the nest is thought-provoking. As long as rules and nests promote life and well-being, they are useful; but if there comes a time when they are counterproductive to those ends, it's time to explore beyond their boundaries and no doubt discover new rules in the next adventure. I think that too often we loose the connection to the ongoing experimental nature of the work of Montessori, and replace it with the safety of replicating the model. Thank you so much for this post.

  6. Your posts raises interesting questions: What is the purpose of a rule? What would happen if we watched children from a belief that all their actions make sense ot them or serve them on some level? What if we allowed children to explore materials before being shown the “right” way to use them, as was done in early Montessori teacher training programs? What if we regarded the materials, not as exercises to be performed correctly, but as keys for the child to use to unlock his own mind? Your comparison of the safety of rule-following to the safety of the nest is thought-provoking. As long as rules and nests promote life and well-being, they are useful; but if there comes a time when they are counterproductive to those ends, it's time to explore beyond their boundaries and no doubt discover new rules in the next adventure. I think that too often we loose the connection to the ongoing experimental nature of the work of Montessori, and replace it with the safety of replicating the model. Thank you so much for this post.

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