Montessori in Mysterious Period Immediately Birth, Child

Montessori

"In mysterious period immediately birth, child - a psychic entity endowed a specially refined form sensitiveness - regarded ego asleep. But a sudden wakes hears delicious music; fibers begin vibrate. The baby sound reached ears, soul responsive sounds.

"In the mysterious period which follows immediately after birth, the child - who is a psychic entity endowed with a specially refined form of sensitiveness - might be regarded as an ego asleep. But all of a sudden he wakes up and hears delicious music; all his fibers begin to vibrate. The baby might think that no other sound had ever reached his ears, but really it was because his soul was not responsive to other sounds. Only human speech had any power to stir him."

The Montessori philosophy sees education as a process of discovery. The teacher strives to help the child discover within him or herself what already exists. As the child begins to grow and develop, at the right time in his or her course of development, the child begins to recognize the language produced by other human beings. The child is also seen as fundamentally desirous of communicating to and with others, a part of his or her innate biology.

However, some children grow up in more supportive environments than other children, in terms of the child's development of the language faculty. According to Maria Montessori: "The most important preparation of the environment for successful development of spoken and written language in the child is the language environment of the home" (Stephenson 2010). Caregivers have the foremost influence on children's ability to acquire language, and so parents and teachers must speak "clearly and precisely to the child" as soon as possible and model a positive attitude about reading and language. "Reading aloud to the child gives the message that reading is fun for everyone, and concepts and vocabulary words will be experienced which would never come up in spoken language" (Stephenson 2010). Children from an early age must be treated as if they have something important and valuable to say.

When language is formally taught to students at a Montessori school, the process of language acquisition is accomplished slowly, with instructors scaffolding upon the child's existing knowledge. "The Montessori language materials emphasize the sounds made by the letter(s). The sandpaper letters are lightly traced by the child as he repeats the sound of each letter, thus learning the letter phonetically and visually, and committing it to their muscular memory through the tactile sense. After the majority of alphabet sounds are mastered, sounds are combined to form words using the moveable alphabet. Later the child will learn two and three letter phonograms" (Language, 2012, Five mile Montessori). However, the child is not pressured to read aloud, but is first encouraged to listen. Only after the child gains a sense of mastery over the components of language and he or she seeks to share, will the child be expected to read aloud.

In keeping with the Montessori emphasis on learning through familiarity, Montessori encourages educators and parents to teach the child to read using common, familiar objects such as labels on products around the house. The best first books for a child to read are books that have already been read to the child (Stephenson 2010). This increases the chances the child will be able to read successfully and reinforces positive impressions that learning language is fun. Montessori does acknowledge that certain aspects of language must be learned and are not innate, such as grammar. However, the delight children take in learning the structure of language is a natural part of childhood. Children regard grammar as a game and as fun, if educated in the right attitude, with the right spirit (Stephenson 2010).