Customer Reviews

The Montessori Method

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

While there is much to commend this book, especially for parents of children in Montessori programs (which is why I read it), there is also much about it that is a problem. First, there is a gushiness in Montessori's utopian descriptions of how her program will create a "new man"--it's almost Leninist in its cadence, and it made me wonder whether Mussolini liked her Children's Houses. The disrespect for what children learn at home is palpable. Second, the section on the diet for children is hopelessly out of date. I'm sure her views, circa 1900, were the best science could offer, but we've gone way beyond advocating a diet rich in fats and sugar and prohibiting all milk products except butter. Third, there is too much detail for the general reader (i.e. most parents) about linguistic theory--and I really like linguistics. Her strengths, of course, are her emphases on the liberty and independence of the child (tempered by concern for society), stimulation and development of the senses, and the importance of writing. This inexpensive edition is worth having, but expect to skim a lot.

This paperback version published by www.bnpublishing.com (ISBN 9562915824) excludes most of the original illustrations/pictures/photos without indication in the product description, which, I think, has largely lowered the quality and damaged contents of this book. So, this book is not what it was supposed to be. Reading experience of it is terrible! My zero start for it.

Here, Maria Montessori introduces a scientific approach to pedagogy. The Montessori schools which she established and developed are intended for children three to seven years of age. The children are allowed as much freedom as possible and are provided with "didactic materials" which are various artifacts which they can use to educate themselves. They are supervised by a single directress whose primary task is to observe the children and direct their efforts by explaining to them how various didactic materials are used (it's very simple, but nothing is obvious to a young child). This book offers some valuable concete advice, but its primary use to me was as an introduction to the approach of scientific pedagogy. The basic premises as I understand them are that (1) children have a natural desire to learn and (2) one can learn how to live in freedom only by being free. These premises are fully supported and fleshed out in the book. The Montessori method achieved startling results, with four year old children (on average) learning to be masters of themselves, disciplined, benevolent, self-confident, and capable of reading and writing. Every educator should be familiar with Maria Montessori's work.

The book is dry, I do admit...but it is sound. I really wanted to reply to the review claims made by a Doctor (of what I am not terribly sure) that this will turn your children into sociopaths.

As per my post in the comments reply section, I attended a Montessori myself as a child. I would share with you all the wonderful attributes I posses that I believe are a direct result of a Montessori based education, but what would that really say? None of you know me personally.

However, you might find it interesting (and quite ironic under the current circumstances)to know that Jeff Bezos (you know, the guy who created Amazon...the very site you are on at this instant!) attended a Montessori. (feel free to look it up if you wish!) The founders of Google (Larry Page and Sergey Brin) also attended Montessori schools. In fact, in an interview with Barbara Walters, they were both quoted as giving all the credit behind their sucess to their years as Montessori students. (Feel free to look that up too, everything I have stated can be researched and verified.)

I will give you a short list of Montessori supporters I have found online. These people have either attended themselves, sent their children, or have otherwise supported Montessori education:
Alice Waters, Friedrich Hundertwasser, Julia Child, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Helen Keller, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Mahatma Gandhi, Buckminster Fuller, Leo Tolstoy, Bertrand Russell, Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, John Holt, Ann Frank, the Dalai Lama, Jacqueline Kennedy, Prince William and Prince Harry of the English royal family, Cher Bono, Yul Brynner, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Yo Yo Ma.

Last I checked, not a sociopath in the bunch. Just food for thought.

Although this book is completely legal, it is literally a poorly made xerox of one of the original Montesorri Method books. The first few pages are normal text, but as soon as you hit anything you want to read the book is a poor reproduction.

Due to the original work being more than 30 years old this is completely legal, just really poorly done. Be sure to by one of the other books on the Montessori method and stay away from this one.

Also, Amazon's "look inside" this book is _not_ of the book I received as it shows the index in plain text. The index is most certainly a xerox just like the rest of the book.

This was the first book (naturally) that I picked up when I began my (now extensive) research and understanding of the Method. Note: this volume does not contain any images of the didactic materials, but one could purchase MONTESSORI'S OWN HANDBOOK as an accompaniment to obtain a visual; however, there is the most incredible example of a 5 year-old child's cursive handwriting on page 309 (of this particular publication). This book is "dated" based solely on the fact that the first English edition was published in 1912 and that she worked predominantly with poor children in the slums of Italy. Diet and hygiene were a major concern during this time period and still are in certain parts of the world. Is Cervantes's DON QUIXOTE or Newton's PRINCIPIA not dated due to their employment of chivalry and language, respectively? But we as readers still gain from them what was meant, do we not? A romance novel or physics textbook could not be what it is today without works of these great men. Our understanding would be lacking, to say the least, if we were not introduced to these revolutionary, "dated" works. You cannot simply graze the pages of a biography or newsletter and understand Maria Montessori and her Method. This was an effort that this woman devoted her entire life to and the basic foundations for it cannot be ignored. If you are new to Montessori, I recommend that this be the FIRST volume that you read. All other works by outside authors are simply "icing on the cake" of Dr. Montessori's original works. And as for the comment made by Dr. Plank (I couldn't finish this review without addressing it), you obviously do not understand the beauty that lies within a child that is suddenly awaked by the notion of knowledge and independence; you have never experienced the joy and confidence a child obtains when they can do something as minute as sort items or pour from containers; if you had, you wouldn't see this as brain-washing. It is simply, and beautifully, education at its fullest and most profound potential.

This book show you the history and theory of the Maria Montessori system of education. Very good.

It seems so difficult to realize that Dr Montessori has formulated her educational model 100 years ago, developed all the didactic material herself ( without the aid of computers and technology), practiced her methods, revised her teaching and made all us educators a present of her writings; and yet so few schools and countries are making use of her methods - which, after years of research, modeling, systems and theories in the fields of education and learning, are I think the most effective way of teaching as yet discovered.
A must for all educators.
Only, there are numerous typing errors...
The other drawback - she's a physician, so some passages are too technical for educators, full of medical jargon.
Overall, the book is a masterpiece.

I think this is a must read book for anyone in education, even adult education. Montessori did something completely new at her time, she experimented with a different type of instruction. I'm all about choice and opportunity. Her method of teaching is a low cost method that teaches children to be self-reliant. I say low cost because low and behold- there is no technology involved. She mentions sand paper letters and yarn lace up cards as part of her curriculum. I think many would argue that this type of instruction would yield to a classroom run-a-muck, but in Montessori's experience, and in the many Montessori schools that are out there, this is not true.

From a collegiate perspective, we are now faced with two very different types of students. The one's who can't take care of themselves and have their parents calling the college for them, and the student's that's parents don't care about them, probably never complete college because they lack the support. Perhaps the Montessori Method offers parents some options, for the parents that care, at least.

The book itself is great, if challenging. It loses a star for the cheap binding of this edition. As soon as I opened the book, I was fearful of it falling apart. I would invest in a more expensive copy to this book. One whose manufacturer respected the book as the classic that it is.