Q - Montessori's ideas lots of hands on experience and large blocks of free time seem great, but how practical is that day to day in a public classroom?
U - As a parent I have limited what my kids do thinking it's too dangerous (hammering nails for instance) and that is something they'll do when they get older. Even though they have asked me about being able to do this, I hadn't really thought about the experience, learning, and confidence they would gain from this type of activity till reading this.
O - There have been many days that I have picked up my son at day care and have found him spraying down surfaces to help the teacher clean. He would get upset if he thought I was going to make him stop this task. He and the other kids found it fun and they new they were being a big help to their teacher as well as keeping their room clean for each other.
T - fostering independence is key in young children (this ties in nicely with Piaget's stages as well)
E - Giving responsibilities to the class is important, no matter what grade. It's easy for me to say, "Oh, I'll do it, it will get done faster or better" but I need to remember that that doesn't teach the kids anything about serving their own community.
Amy, thank you for sharing. I enjoyed reading your post, as I too think it is important for children to feel responsible, and in return valuable. Independence is key! Whether that be in open discovery learning, or having classroom responsibilities :)
ReplyDeleteGreat QUOTES! I agree with your question and I have thought about it as well. I think the theorists make a great point about using play as a learning tool, but after doing the exercise where Zalika was a concerned parent it was harder to justify the large blocks of time for play. I think it can still be done but a teacher must be prepared to discuss why they allow large blocks of time for play.
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