This article is excerpted from Montessori Child Psychology published by CMS.
Dr. Montessori's view of children's education has his own unique philosophical thought-Montessori's philosophy of children's education. To a great extent, she accepted the views of Pestalozzi, Rousseau, Froebel and Dewey (John Dewey, 1859 ~ 1952) on natural education and free education, and then elaborated and developed them according to her own actual observation and experimental research, as well as the theories of biology, genetics, physiology, psychology and philosophy of life.
Modern development and educational psychology research have proved that Montessori's educational methods for children are scientific and practical. The biggest difference between Montessori and Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Froebel, Dewey and other educational philosophers is that these educators regard philosophy as the basis of children's education, while Montessori's education is a combination of philosophy and science.
First of all, children are absorptive individuals.
In the era when Dr. Montessori lived, even today, children were neglected.
For the children at that time, she described: "For adults who care more about their attractive jobs, children are always the source of trouble. In the narrow area of modern big cities, many families are crowded together, and children have no real position in the family. There is certainly no room for children to move on a street crowded with cars or a bustling sidewalk. Adults are too busy with their urgent work to take care of their children, because usually parents have to work, otherwise they and their children will suffer more. Even if children live in a lucky environment, they are confined to their own rooms and taken care of by strangers. They are not allowed to enter their parents' rooms at will. There seems to be no place where they can feel understood and carry out their own activities. They must keep quiet and don't touch anything, because nothing is their own, everything is sacred and inviolable, and it is the property of adults, and these things are forbidden for children to touch. So, what do children have? It's nothing. Not long ago, children didn't even have their own small chairs. " "Children's status is like a person deprived of family and citizenship. He was exiled to the edge of society, accused, despised and punished by any adult. It seems that this is the birthright of adults. "
Through Dr. Montessori's description, we can see that she was extremely sympathetic to the children's experiences at that time, and at the same time she sharply criticized the unscientific educational thought at that time. She pointed out: "Children should not be regarded as' things', but as' people'; They should not be regarded as' containers' filled by adults, but people who strive for their own development; They should not be regarded as slaves whose personality is controlled by their parents or teachers, but as living, active and unique people. "
Dr Montessori inherited the views of Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Froebel and others, emphasized the potential of children's talents, and advocated that children should develop their potential in an environment full of love and freedom. Past educational ideas did not emphasize that childhood is a complete individual and an independent individual. However, Dr. Montessori believes that childhood is not a simple transition stage to adulthood, but "one of the two poles of human nature." She believes that although children depend on adults, adults also depend on children. "We should not regard children and adults as interrelated stages in the process of life, but as two different forms in life, which are carried out at the same time and influence each other."
Because of ignoring the dependence of adults on children, Dr. Montessori thought it was a "tragic mistake". A lot of unhappiness, greed and self-destruction in our lives come from this. She believes that "human beings are eager to solve many problems, the most urgent of which is the pursuit of peace and harmony. The only feasible way is to shift their attention to exploring the innocence of children, the process of children's growth and self-establishment, and the development of building the great potential of human nature. "
In her view, children not only have a living organism, but also "have a positive mental activity" and an absorbing mind. Children's development is neither imposed by adults nor innate, but in contact with the environment, they use everything around them and their own will to develop their own functions, thus shaping themselves. However, in the face of modern children's education, Dr. Montessori sighed with regret: "Children's initiative and creativity, this precious spiritual life, have not been discovered for thousands of years." "Adults mistakenly believe that only through their care and help can children get wonderful inspiration. They regard this kind of help as a personal responsibility, and imagine themselves as the shaper of children and the creator of his spiritual life. "
Dr Montessori believes that the ideal image of children's development in the minds of educators should be "children with complete personality".
Second, the child is the father of an adult.
Dr Montessori put forward that "children are the father of adults". Children are the owners of unknown forces, and the future fate and the secrets of human nature are hidden in these children. Only children can unlock the secrets of human development.
First of all, she thinks that once a person gains life, what happened in the period when he was first "created" will reappear in all adults. She also thinks that a person's childhood experience will directly affect his future life orientation. She said: "Children are not strangers who can only observe from the outside. More precisely, childhood constitutes the most important part of a person's life, because many qualities of a person are formed in the early stage. " So we can say repeatedly that "children are the father of adults".
Secondly, Dr. Montessori believes that children are not dependent on the boring life of adults for everything, let alone an "empty container" that needs to be filled by adults. On the contrary, she regards children as the source of love and the awakening of adult spirit. It is the creation of childhood that makes adults.