i'll spread my wings and i'll learn how to fly....
- donnahale0
- Jun 13, 2024
- 5 min read
freedom
Dr. Montessori believed that children deserve and require freedom. She stated, "I have observed that the child, on condition that he is granted the freedom to work, learns, becomes cultured, absorbs knowledge and gains experiences that become embedded in his spirit. Like seeds planted in fertile ground, they soon germinate and bear fruit" (p. 96).
I don't think this point was emphasized enough in my Montessori teacher training, especially for adults transitioning from the traditional public school classroom environment, where teacher control dominates and the power imbalance swings in the direction of the adults. Over the years since transitioning to a Montessori classroom teacher, I have found the more I let go of trying to control the actions and choices of others within the environment, the more peaceful the learning environment becomes. In addition, the more I let go of trying to control behaviors, the children become more self-regulated and independent. It is a very interesting phenomenon.
Our school is currently working towards AMS accreditation, which means embarking on a journey of self-reflection and deep transformation as we attempt to reach the highest level of program fidelity. Recently, I stumbled across a book by Phyllis Pottish-Lewis called Whose Montessori Do You Practice? A Faithfully Applied Taxonomy of Cosmic Education. I deeply connected with this book. My personal self-reflection and transformation began, and Phyllis and I became best friends.
The concept of freedom runs through Dr. Montessori's philosophy and freedom in the prepared environment is a core component. Phyllis (2021) states, "Among the laws governing the developing individual, freedom is essential" (p. 72). The environment or setting must be created by the adults with intentionality and purpose for the children to grow, learn, and become independent. Preparation includes designing and organizing the flexible and semi-flexible elements of the physical environment, such as furniture, tables and chairs, shelving, and the items on the shelves, and modification to the extent possible of inflexible elements, such as windows, walls, and flooring. Using child-sized moveable furniture, natural lighting, and other beautifying elements are just a few features of the prepared Montessori environment. Once the physical space is arranged, the materials and tools are added to the shelves, artwork is displayed on the walls, and nature is imbued into the environment through the addition of plants and a class pet (if allowed). Every design choice and element takes the child's needs into consideration with the understanding that, ultimately, the classroom belongs to the children.
The control and management of the physical environment becomes a shared responsibility with the children taking the lead. The children become actively involved in the maintenance, care, and management of the environment which develops an awareness of and responsibility for their physical surroundings. Phyllis (2021) suggests allowing children to create a system for caring for the environment including the development of a chore or job chart based on what areas of the classroom need attention (p. 153).
Allowing the children the freedom of caring for the environment seems like a trivial thing, but what I have found is that it is not. I will admit, I have not fully relinquished control, but I have made great strides. I used to assign jobs for a month or so, but now the children select their own jobs. They expressed that they are unhappy with the selection process (currently we draw names and they select their preferred job in that order) so I have given them the task of helping design a better system. Based on feedback from the children, they want to have the option to change jobs more frequently. So, instead of every month or so, we change jobs about every 2 weeks based on their feedback and scheduling issues. Since the jobs are changing more frequently and the children are self-selecting the job they want, they are more actively involved in a variety of tasks. To assist each other in learning how to do each job, they took it upon themselves to become job trainers for each other.
I still have work to do in fully relinquishing control to the children and this will be a task I take on next school year. Because, as Phyllis reminds us, Dr. Montessori said, "The teacher must help the children to be independent, to keep the environment in order by themselves. She is an enormously successful teacher with she can say, 'The children can do everything by themselves; they don't need me'" (p. 155).
In addition to the prepared environment, Phyllis states, "Through reasonable discourse and intelligent discussions a society can only become stronger. That is why an educational approach needs to provide opportunities for children to develop these two essential abilities: independent thought and independent action" (p. 73). Children develop independent thought and action when the teacher leaves the child alone to think and act for himself rather than dictating what they should do and how they should act. When the adult controls the child, they become an obstacle in the child's development even if the control or help is carried out with the best intentions. Control cultivates dependency. The child now heavily relies on the adults to make decisions for them and waits to be told what to do. "Therefore, all adults who work with the children must never interfere with their freedom to think and act" (Pottish-Lewis, 2021, p. 74).
While observing children, Dr. Montessori discovered that children thrive when they were allowed to freely chose work, decide where to work, who to work with, and how long to work on a self-selected task. Phyllis elaborates on this discovery while also warning that systems must be in place and lessons given to guide the children as they develop independence and self-regulation. She quotes Eleanor Roosevelt, "Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being, with freedom comes responsibility." Phyllis says, "The concept that responsibility aligned with the freedoms granted allows children to grow into valued, reliable individuals, who will contribute to the existence of a like society. This is one of the greatest gifts we can offer them. If we can coax these ideas into the children's consciousness, then we have made our own profound contribution to society" (p. 108). Phyllis includes many useable suggestions for creating an environment that cultivates agentic learning. I am appreciative of the section where she discusses the implementation of Montessori's work in the public sector.
I am grateful to have stumbled across this book and grateful to have the freedom to embark on this journey. I know I have a lot more work to do to reach the level of independence and agency Dr. Montessori expects all children to have within the prepared Montessori environment. Using my BFFs book, I have already made fundamental and systematic changes within myself and within the classroom environment. Seeing the positive changes and the increase in academic and non-academic outcomes has been amazing! This work has been challenging with much trial-and-error. But it has set me on a reflective and transformational journey and I am very excited to see where it takes me next!
This post is inspired by...
Montessori, M. (2019). Citizens of the world. Montessori-Pierson Publishing Company.
Pottish-Lewis, P. (2021). Whose Montessori do you practice? A faithfully applied taxonomy of cosmic education. Montessori 360.
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