Hi, my name is Paula Bonadies and I am a Technology Resource Teacher for Portsmouth Public Schools.

I had been told when I got my original TRT assignment that Park View was a “public Montessori school”. From the moment I walked into Park View Elementary I knew something was definitely different… the students were working individually on mats in the hallways…the classroom lists said “grade 1-3” …. huh?? The teachers function differently … and if I was going to be able to serve them effectively then I needed to find out more about the Montessori Method.

Maria Montessori was born in 1870 in Ancona, Italy. She was the first woman to become a physician in Italy. She came up with her approach to education while she was a scientist…not a teacher. The Montessori Method evolved from a small experiment that Dr. Montessori was conducting. Many elements of modern education have been adapted from Maria Montessori’s research. She is credited with individualized instruction, manipulative learning materials, and open classrooms to name just a few.

A typical Montessori class is made up of 25 to 35 children much the same as traditional classrooms. The difference is the students that make up the classroom are different ages. The students enter a classroom and generally stay for three years. For instance, at Park View the primary classrooms are grade 1-3. A bond is formed with the teacher, the assistants and the other students. Sometimes it seems that the best teacher for a young child starting in the class is an older child in the class. In multi-grade classrooms the younger children are constantly stimulated by the work of the older students. And at the same time, the older children benefit from teaching the younger ones because they are proud of their achievements. (And as a teacher, we know that sometimes you learn even more from teaching another.)

Here are a few things that I have found out from my research:

• The Montessori method starts with a deep respect for children as unique individuals.
• Montessori teaches children to be respectful and kind.
• Montessori teachers develop close relationships with their students and learn their individual learning styles very well.
• Montessori assumes that children are all born intelligent and simply learn at their own pace.
• Montessori students learn through hands-on experience and develop a strong sense of independence.

I am truly glad that I took the time to research and learn about the Montessori Method. I think it will help me to better serve the teachers at Park View.

And so we discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being. It is not acquired by listening to words, but in virtue of experiences in which the child acts on his environment. The teacher’s task is not to talk, but to prepare and arrange a series of motives for cultural activity in a special environment made for the child.

Dr. Maria Montessori
The Absorbent Mind