My Question is how do you know where the line is between having kids take responsibility for their environment and community space and overwhelming them with tasks to do.
I Understand how important it is to allow children to do things for themselves. I never realized before how important it is for children to be responsible for their classroom and environment. It also makes it much easier for the teacher to delegate the responsibilities and allow the students to take ownership in how the classroom is run.
I have Observed how important observations are. There have been many readings and video clips that I have seen since the program began that show the powerful situation that occurs when teachers are carefully observing their students, appropriately assessing their abilities, and creating an environment where their students can thrive.
I will Treasure learning that before Montessori children did not have tools and equipment that fit their needs. I always took for granted that I grew up with child sized silverware, scissors, chairs, and tools. Imagining a life before that is something I have never thought of before.
Some Easy applications for my classroom will be creating a beautiful and organized environment where the children know where things are, how to access them, and how to put them away. I will also delegate responsibilities so that students learn how to do things for themselves.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI also struggle to know where the find the balance between your Q and U parts. I want to teach my kids to be responsible and conscious of their impact on their environment, but I also don't want to become a slave-driver! The past year, when I would have kids clean up, I would enlist those that were already "done" cleaning up their mess to help their classmates finish (i.e. picking up legos). This produced some protests, such as "But I wasn't playing with legos!" Certainly, I tried to ensure that the task matched the student, but I also used would sometimes reply to such protests with, "Well, sometimes it's nice to help our friends, even if we didn't have anything to do with the mess." I'm still not sure whether I was providing a good example or forcing them against their will.