Montessori Today: A Comprehensive Approach to Education from Birth to Adulthood [Paperback]

Paula Polk Lillard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 1996

Paula Lillard, director of a Montessori school ranging in age from 18 months to fifteen years, provides a clear and cogent introduction to the Montessori program for the elementary and later years. In detailed accounts, Lillard shows how children acquire the skills to answer their own questions, learn to manage freedom with responsibility, and maintain a high level of intellectual stimulation by using the Montessori method. This is an essential handbook for parents and teachers who have chosen the Montessori alternative for the older child.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lillard (Montessori: A Modern Approach) brings over a decade of experience as a Montessori teacher and administrator to this overview of Maria Montessori's teaching methods which, says Lillard, "balance freedom with responsibility in the classroom and also set high standards of intellectual and social development for children. Lillard uses graphs to explain the fundamental difference between "regular" education and Montessori, showing that regular education offers an ascending, relentless scale of information and responsibility while virtually ignoring the pivotal years between birth and Kindergarten. She contrasts this with Montessori which considers the ages from birth through 24 years, and within those argues that there will be four periods of "intense change" in the child as well as four periods of "slower pace." Lillard, co-founder, director and teacher atthe Forest Bluff School in Lake Bluff, Illinois, draws heavily upon classroom anecdotes and examples, bringing these theories to life by discussing real children and their very real imaginations, words and artowrk. Teachers of "regular" classrooms would gain insight from Lillard's ideas; any adult interested in children and education would find this book an important link between the ideal of liberal education and the reality of the United States' collapsing school system.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Lillard, author of Montessori: A Modern Approach (1988) and cofounder of a respected Montessori school in Lake Bluff, Illinois, describes the Montessori approach and sketches its application from preschool through early adulthood in this short but thorough volume. After a brief discussion of the origin and implications of Montessori's theories about child development, the author surveys the primary years and the stories and lessons that are most appropriate to this stage of development; analyzes the elementary classroom and teacher from both theoretical and practical perspectives, complete with anecdotes from her own and other Montessori teachers' experiences; and moves into less familiar territory to describe the impact of Montessori's theories on education at the middle school, secondary school, and college levels. Montessori Today will be a useful tool for parents analyzing educational alternatives as well as for students who may be thinking about a career in education. Mary Carroll

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Schocken (January 30, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080521061X
• ISBN-13: 978-0805210613
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paula Polk Lillard is the author of Montessori Today and Montessori in the Classroom. She is cofounder and director of the Forest Bluff School in Lake Bluff, Illinois.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for the average person., February 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Montessori Today: A Comprehensive Approach to Education from Birth to Adulthood (Paperback)

Three years ago - I was scrambling for alternatives to public schools and I NEEDED to know what a Montessori shool was all about. I read Maria Montessori's book and that explained her goals and her methods in a highly abstract manner - it left me at a loss of how a Montessori class was conducted, how it operated day-to-day. In other words, I understood the theory, but I could not visualize the application.

This book explained the practical application should look like - ie:
1. what a Montessori class should look like when you're observing.
2. What/How your child will be guided on a day-to-day basis.
3. How to track his or her progress in the absence of a report card, etc.

67 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FINALLY! MONTESSORI EDUCATION AFTER AGE 6!, March 19, 2000

By 

C.Senft (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Montessori Today: A Comprehensive Approach to Education from Birth to Adulthood (Paperback)

This book was extremely informative on what you should expect from your montessori school for your children over age 6 (it also described before age 6 but there are many books on the 3-6 age group for Montessori). I have found it very difficult(until this book) to find out what the montessori education has to offer over traditional education after age six. Boy was I blown over at the difference between the Montessori theory/practice over the traditional form of schooling. It seems almost cruel to ever put your child in traditional public schools that still teach children to take a submissive role. I urge everyone to please read this book. Learn about the Five Major Lessons and the positive,cooperative, interactive approach to education/life.

84 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource for Parents, October 31, 2004

By 

Tracy L. Fortun "PirateF" (Chicago IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Montessori Today: A Comprehensive Approach to Education from Birth to Adulthood (Paperback)

I must respectfully but vehemently disagree with "A Reader" who said that this book was inaccurate. I am a Montessori directress with a diploma from the Association Montessori Internationale - the international organization founded by Dr. Montessori - and a Masters in Montessori Education from Loyola College in Baltimore. In fact, my trainer was trained by Dr. Montessori herself. I have ten years' experience teaching in Montessori primary classrooms. I have found all of Ms. Lillard's books to be quite accurate. She does an excellent job of taking the great volumes written by Dr. Montessori and distilling them down to the points that are important for parents to understand. She presents things in very straightforward terms. For those of us who have devoted our lives to studying Montessori principles in depth, some of the points may seem to be "oversimplified" but they are most certainly not innacurate. These books are meant to be a resource for parents, not for Montessorians in training. I recommend her books over and over for parents who want to learn more about Montessori education.