Montessori and Me: Part IV Anecdote from Elementary Course.

Disclaimer: I would like to clarify that by Montessori, I mean the philosophy that Dr. Maria Montessori, an Italian doctor, put forth for helping the young minds of the world live in this World. I use the word live here because after all, quoting Dr. Montessori, education is a way of life.

The above disclaimer shall be repeated keeping in mind, new readers who might chance through this blog :). So plough straight ahead the next time :).

I'm in the middle of teaching practice as part of the Elementary Montessori course. This Friday as on all Fridays, the class I was assigned to, had a writing workshop. This is conducted by the adult who is the assigned Montessori directress or 'class teacher' of that environment.

This week, the adult talked about words changing when we simply take out a letter from it. One of the examples she gave was 'Without the 't' train becomes a rain'. She gave few such examples and when she read them out again the word 'becomes', she pointed out, was repetitive. She gave a couple of suggestions as to how she can change them. 'Without the 't' train falls like rain' was a change she suggested. Soon the children, who by the way are all six to nine year olds, quipped several ideas.

One of the youngest actually suggested the reverse. He said owl becomes a bowl. More ideas started spilling. Once the adult felt the children got the hang of it, she quickly disengaged and asked them to pencil down their thoughts.

After half an hour we got to read several sentences like 'Without the 't' hair flies in the air'. Another wrote 'Without the 'b' it rains but with the 'b' I have brains'. The children were busy writing. Those few who can't write fluently also tried hard.

This was in several ways a typical elementary approach to a lesson. The adult stayed long enough to give the key aspects of the idea. The children's imagination then took over to exploring the Language. Their ever strong 'herd instinct' pushing them to try even when they may not be ready. We were probably writing several dictation tests when we were that age.

I was sitting and listening to the adult and soon my pen wanted to try out a few lines. I thought 'Without the' was also repetitive and so started writing lines like that of a poem. And lo! When I re-read the first eight lines I thought of our favourite panda Po and finished the poem with him in mind.

Though, an endless thought
Read a mouldy bread
Prays to the rays of sun
Sways to normal ways.

Rides a cart to make an art
And grow a row of hair
Steep went step after step
To an abode that Bode well.

Ahead with a head on top
Came a pot, oh not! Po!
To fall in front of all
And they all bowed to Thy.

If this is what happened to a twenty-eight year old who didn't have such rich early experiences, I wonder what to expect off the intellectual explorers of six to nine when they grow up.