Imagine Montessori School in the press: Valencia Plaza. Read the article here.
Author: David
The prepared environment
by Betzabé Lillo
Maria Montessori found that children learn best when their learning context (Prepared Environment) is harmonious. If the educational environment and the teacher are receptive to their stages of development, needs and learning styles, meaningful learning will be achieved. A Prepared Environment can generate the basic conditions for learning in harmony through the free choice of work, responsibility, a positive self-image and building a collective identity which allow all those who are part of that community to have more active participation in their learning process.
Her Prepared Environment proposal involves both a Physical Prepared Environment and a Psychological one, where the educational team designs favorable conditions for the social construction of knowledge as permitted by the characteristics of development each student has, because as noted by Vygotsky, “knowledge is the result of the social interaction; we become aware of ourselves through interaction with others, and we also learn the use of symbols that allow us to think about increasingly complicated ways”. Thus, the educational process takes place in a Physical Prepared Environment where links, limits and agreements, or in other words, the elements that allow the construction of an individual and collective identity, are developed.
This sense of belonging to a group and the cultural identification generate a new neurological and psychological disposition that allows students to take responsibility for their learning paths and thus learn in harmony either individually or by groups, depending on their needs.
Besides, the physical Prepared Environment seeks to develop autonomy, cognitive and social-emotional skills, error estimation, tolerance, solidarity and cooperation.
We invite you to visit our Prepared Environments in Imagine Montessori School.
Montessori vs Traditional School
In this video from www.montessorimadness.com we see why Montessori schools keep the innate curiosity of children alive and why traditional schools are abandoning this force that seeks knowledge and promotes the search for social approval through marks, rewards and punishments.
The Montessori education tries to prevent students from losing their natural motivation and worrying about what subjects will be included or not in the examinations. Instead, its focus is to increase motivation by enhancing the areas each student prefers.
The video shows a beautiful story of a student who is fascinated by divisions, but you should just press “play” and watch it for yourself.
A message to the families
[dt_sc_dropcap type=”Circle” variation=”avocado”]D[/dt_sc_dropcap]eciding which school will accompany you on your educational path and where your children will live are not matters which should be taken lightly. They are decisions which need careful consideration, from an informed perspective. We would like to accompany you on your journey as a mother, father, grandfather or grandmother. In order to do this, we have chosen some concepts which form the essence of Montessori Pedagogy, whose contributions can help in the process of finding an educational community in which you can feel that your child can continue developing in a new environment which holds similar values to those of your family. In order to be able to entrust our children to a professional team of educators we need to know and understand the values and ideals that they advocate.
Montessori education has been present all over the world for over a hundred years. Generations of children, by the time they reached their youth, have managed to find meaning in their lives. They have discovered that, through autonomy, freedom in decision-making, the flow of thought, love and respect for everything and everyone, there comes a time in their life when they are able choose the paths that they want to follow, be this travelling, learning a trade, joining a work project, setting up a business project or going to university.
During infancy (from 0 to 6 years old), Maria Montessori points out that we must collaborate so that the child achieves Physical Independence (as far as language and movement are concerned). This is an essential stage when the sensitive periods are latent, and children are making great strides with regard to their bodies and their physical, social and emotional environments. This is the Absorbent Mind period. In childhood, the ages from 6 to 12 years old are a wonderful time when the first seeds of ethics and morals begin to germinate. We must accompany the children so that they achieve the Intellectual Independence which will allow them to know and understand the world, maybe even change it at different levels.
During adolescence, from 12 to 18, the greatest achievement is Economic Independence and the Montessori Secondary level curricular guidelines are organized to achieve this on the one hand, and on the other to provide thorough preparation in various fields of knowledge connected to a feeling of admiration for all those who throughout humanity have been identified with diverse causes and have left their mark due to the social impact they have had. And, finally, Maria Montessori tells us that the period from 18 to 24 is the time when we are able to see the road we have travelled and find our mission in life ’for many years I have been taking in these experiences, and sharing adventures…now…, what can I do to contribute to improving the community, society and humanity in some way?’
To achieve all this, IMAGINE MONTESSORI SCHOOL provides continuity through Montessori Primary (course 2017-18), Secondary and High Schools, beginning with deliberately unhurried growth and focusing on the needs of the educational community.