Honoring commitments at the heart of contract law

Honoring commitments. This is at the heart of contract law.

The purpose of the present paper is to discuss the Montessori Method. The focus will be on the relationship between discipline and obedience. In addition, we will try to demonstrate how these factors (discipline and obedience) are connected to the development of the will.

We will begin by defining the main coordinates of the discussion that is the concepts of "discipline" and "obedience" from both a general and a Montessori perspective. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, discipline can be understood as "training that corrects, molds or perfects the mental faculties or moral character." In addition it refers to a process of "control gained by enforcing obedience or order," "orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior," "self-control" or " a rule or system of rules governing conduct or activity." (http://www.merriam-webster.com/netdict/discipline?show=0&t=1285512501 )

We are therefore dealing with a pattern of behavior which is strictly connected to the respect of rules. Furthermore, discipline is associated with "activity, exercise or a regimen that develops or improves a skill" (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/discipline ) The main element in the definition is the capacity to respect a set of rules with the goal of achieving clear improvements on the self. Reading between the lines we understand that discipline is a must when it comes to educational processes.

Maria Montessori was an educator and physician who came up with a method to educate young children. The method which bears its author's name underlines the importance of the child's capacity to motivate himself as well as to educate himself. According to the Montessori adepts, the learning process will install itself naturally in the child provided that he is set in an environment which contains all the necessary materials. The teacher has the role of an observer who intervenes only when his help is needed. He does not embody the highly active figure which imposes itself on a rather passive audience- as is the case in the traditional learning systems.

Liberty is one of the central concepts in the Montessori philosophy. According to its supporters if children are left in complete liberty and provided with the needed tools, they will automatically transform this liberty into constructive activity. A person is considered disciplined when he has regulated his behavior according to some rules which he believes to be the proper ones in order to achieve a goal. The active dimension of this concept is very clear, and in complete opposition with the passive connotation that other definitions of discipline have.

As far as obedience is concerned, it refers to the "act of obeying or the state of being obedient, referring to the compliance with that which is required by authority, subjection to rightful restraint or control" (http://www.brainyquote.com/words/ob/obedience195278.html ). However, according to the Montessori method, liberty, the development of will and obedience go hand in hand.

The child must be able to obey himself, his own rules before being able to take into consideration the rules imposed by another individual which might present himself as an authority. There are certain mechanisms through which discipline and the development of the will are fostered. The most important coordinate at this point becomes the environment. The environment in which the child is set must be stimulating, otherwise the method can not function. The stimuli which the environment must provide include "games and toys, household utensils, plants and animals that are cared for by children, and last but not least, child-sized furniture"(http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Montessori,+Maria ).

Moving on, in explaining the maturational development of discipline we will show how it is linked to the development of the will. Montessori believes that a disciplined individual is a one who has succeeded in being a master of himself. This implies that he aware of both his limits and capacities, but at the same time has a clear idea about what he wants. The higher the goal we wish to achieve, the more difficult the path to it. In other words, in order to achieve what we want we must me extremely determined. The stronger our will becomes, the more profound our discipline is and the other way around. A strongly disciplined person is one who demonstrates that he can control himself. Discipline is always goal-oriented, therefore we understand that having the capacity to be extremely disciplined denotes the existence of a strong will oriented towards a specific purpose. The Montessori Method aims to teach the child how to move (dynamism) and the scene for which he is prepared is not school, but life itself. The discipline that he is stimulated to learn is therefore one which applies to the overall social environment.

In order to make sure that the child will grow up disciplined and with respect for the others and the social environment, he must be taught the difference between good and evil. In addition, Montessori stresses that the teacher must make sure "the child does not confound good with immobility and evil with activity, as often happens in the case of the old-time discipline. And all this because our aim is to discipline or activity, for work, for good;not for immobility, not for passivity, not for obedience. " (http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/montessori/method/method.html#V ). The child must be able to take independent decisions and be self-confident. At this point, having strong will and being disciplined, he will also obey to the rules of behavior which are socially acceptable and morally valid. The child will obey not because he is compelled to do it, instead his gesture will be one through which he listens to his own beliefs and principles.

And since discipline and will are tightly connected, it is safe to say that these interlinked aspects of development are the foundation for the development of obedience. Onec again it must be underlined that while for the traditional perspective on education obedience is regarded in relationship to "someone," here it is conceived in relation to the rules of behavior.