Tuesday's Internet Edition, September 07, 2010.
|
| Teacher Karen Doty shows Harrison Reeves (left) and Matthew Shealy the “peace rose” technique for conflict resolution. |
The Montessori School, formerly located in Winston-Salem, opened the doors of its new home in Clemmons on August 21 for new student orientation. The first full day of school for all students was August 23.
The 25,000 square-foot, $4 million facility is situated on an eight-acre site at 6050 Holder Road. The new building houses three toddler classrooms (for ages 18 months to three years), seven Children’s House classrooms (ages three to five) a Lower Elementary (ages six to nine) and an Upper Elementary (ages nine to 12).
There are 165 students enrolled for the 2006-2007 school year.
“We definitely needed a bigger space,” said Holly Tosco, Director of Admissions. “So far, everything is going very smoothly.”
The first Montessori school in Winston-Salem was founded in 1968 with 24 students. A Montessori education is based on the philosophy and teaching method developed by Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952), an Italian physician and educator. She believed that each child is born with his or her own unique potential to be revealed, and that children learn more by doing than just by listening.
“Scientific observation has established that education is not what the teacher gives; education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words but by experiences upon the environment,” Dr. Montessori wrote in Education for a New World. “The task of the teacher becomes that of preparing a series of motives of cultural activity, spread over a specially prepared environment, and then refraining from obtrusive interference.”
At the Montessori School, learning is student-motivated. Teachers give a lesson and then step back and allow the children to work on what interests them the most. A child who loves math, for instance, can study the subject as long as he or she wishes, without being forced to stop at a set time and switch to a different subject.
“Children come in each day prepared to work. They can do any work they want as long as they have had at least one lesson in it,” explained Tosco. “Our teachers give one- or two-person lessons all day long. If a child shows an interest in a certain subject, such as math, then it’s up to the teacher to notice that love and round out the child’s education. For example, the teacher could have the child write a report on the history of numbers, thereby incorporating a lesson on nouns, verbs and language into the child’s favorite subject.
“The eye of the teacher is so important. He or she has to closely observe and watch each child.”
For every lesson and concept, there are corresponding hands-on materials and supplies available in the classroom. Children may choose any materials they wish and work with them until they feel they have mastered the concept. Each child works at his or her own pace.
“Dr. Montessori found that children learn through their five senses. Our goal is to help them fine tune the information they sense,” said Tosco. “It’s not about making an A or B, but instead about mastering concepts.”
The Montessori curriculum is organized as a continuum, with each step building on the previous one. There are five main areas of curriulum in the classroom: practical life, sensorial, math, language, and cultural subjects (geography, history, zoology, botany and physics).
“The curriculum is personalized for each child,” said Tosco. “Activities are very centered, and everything has a purpose. For example, we teach our young students how to polish brass. There are 15 steps to the process, and learning and following the steps helps prepare the students for solving math problems or writing. It’s all about developing their concentration.”
Another unique aspect of Montessori education is the multi-age classroom. Dr. Montessori believed that children grow and develop in three-year cycles. She felt that children in various stages of development could learn from and with each other.
In the Montessori school, children ages three through five attend classes in the “Children’s House” classroom. Students ages six through nine are grouped in the Lower Elementary classroom (grades one through three), while ages nine through 12 are in the Upper Elementary classroom (grades four through six).
To facilitate peer interaction, the Lower and Upper Elementary classrooms have no doors. If a second grader is doing math at a fifth grade level, then he can walk over to the fifth grade classroom and study. If it is the middle of the school year and a student is ready to move to the next level, then he can do so.
“I taught for 15 years, and I realized that one teacher cannot be responsible for giving each child everything he or she needs. The children must learn from each other as well,” stated Tosco.
Many Montessori students attend classes together from the time they are toddlers. This creates a sense of cooperation and teamwork within the school.
“The students are constant companions. The older children often help younger students with reading and other subjects. Their parents become great friends, and their teachers know them well because they have them in class for three years. The students feel like they are members of a community.”
Of course, even children who are the best of friends have the occasional disagreement. The Montessori School teaches them how to handle such situations by using a concept known as the “peace rose.”
If a student has the peace rose and approaches a fellow student to talk, then the child who has been approached must put his arms down, look the other child in the eye and listen to what is being said. If they cannot resolve the issue, then they ask an older peer to mediate.
Asking an adult to intervene in the conflict is a last resort, said Tosco.
“We really want children to learn how to resolve problems amongst themselves. You don’t need an adult to do it for you- you resolve to go and speak to the person and work things out.”
Diversity is another important element of the Montessori experience.
“We are a private school, but we do not want to be elitist. We try to keep costs down as much as possible. The school values diversity in culture and socio-economic levels because diversity is critical to students learning about the bigger picture, about being part of the world. We embrace all families,” said Tosco.
“We want to create well-rounded children who are responsible for the world they live in. Education is not just about intelligence. You have to be able to put that intelligence to use and solve problems.”
For more information on the Montessori School, visit the school’s website at www.wsmontessori.org.