Paula Polk Lillard - Montessori in the Classroom: A Teachers Account of How Children Really Learn

Introduction copyright 1997 by Paula Polk Lillard
Copyright 1980 by Schocken Books Inc.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Schocken Books Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House Of Canada Limited, Toronto. Distributed by Pantheon Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

Originally published in hardcover by Schocken Books Inc.,
New York, as Children Learning in 1980.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lillard, Paula Polk.

Montessori in the classroom : a teachers account of how children really learn/Paula Polk Lillard; foreword by Jerome Bruner; with a new introduction by the author.
p. cm.
Rev. ed. of: Children learning. 1980.
eISBN: 978-0-307-82947-4
1. KindergartenUnited States. 2. Child developmentUnited States. 3. Teacher-student relationshipsUnited States. 4. Lillard, Paula PolkDiaries. 5. TeachersUnited StatesDiaries. 6. Montessori method of educationUnited States. I. Lillard, Paula Polk. Children Learning. II. Title.
LB1205.L55 1997
372. 1102dc21

97-3290

For the protection of the children, names have been altered. Throughout the text he is often used to refer to children of both genders. This usage reflects the rules of style at the time of original publication and is not meant to be discriminatory.

Random House Web Address: http://www.randomhouse.com

llustrations by Lynn Lillard

v3.1

To
my children
and their parents

Contents

Introduction

Re-reading these journal entries almost two decades after writing them has had a humbling effect on me. I am in awe of the childrens learning and the resilience, courage, and intuition with which they direct their own formation. As I revisit my experiences as a younger teacher, I am better able to identify my strengths and weaknessesa feat of self-knowledge so much easier to accomplish in retrospect.

Reflecting on that long-ago classroom experience is especially meaningful to me now, as I retired from active teaching last year to become principal of a Montessori school with a student body of approximately one hundred and seventy children. I lead a parent-infant class once a week, and I am often in classrooms either observing, temporarily teaching a class, or taking visitors on a tour of the school. My sense of purpose and dedication to the children is renewed as I greet them in the hallway each morning, their faces glowing with eagerness and anticipation of a new day. I love and feel responsible for each one.

This is not, however, the same as being a classroom teacher. There is a depth of intimacy and trust in the ongoing daily relationship between teacher and child that I miss deeply. I may also be experiencing nostalgia for my younger years and missing the joy and rejuvenation of doing what I had come to do best in my life.

In its place there is a new challenge before me and with it the uncertainty, even fear, of the unknown. Part of me wants to retreat before this new demand in my life and go back to the classroom, to the known and the comfortable where the challenges are familiar, and therefore less stressful.

That time is past, however, and I know that life has led me to the place where I now belong. I am grateful that I am still an essential part of childrens lives, contributing to them now from a different perspective. I am a school principal today because, shortly after setting down the journal entries that make up this book, I left the independent day school depicted in it. Together with one of my daughters, who is a Montessori teacher, and another teaching colleague from the school discussed in this book, I co-founded a Montessori preschool. Having proven to myself that Montessori principles can be applied successfully to a kindergarten setting within the regular school system, I wanted to see what the benefits would be when Montessori education was given to preschool children in its complete form: in other words, in a setting where it would be possible to follow Montessoris specific guidelines in their entirety.

The first few years in my own Montessori school were challenging ones. Developing an authentic Montessori primary class of twenty-five children ages three to six years is a very different experience from teaching twenty children ages five and six (which is the kindergarten classroom described in this book). Montessori is not a remedial form of education. It is based on meeting the needs of children for their best development from their earliest years, preferably from birth but certainly by their third or fourth year. Therefore, originating a new Montessori class ideally entails beginning with approximately eight three- and four-year-old children, and adding eight new three-year-olds each year until a full class of twenty-five children, ages three to six years, is established. But when this gradual process is followed, there are no older, experienced children during the first two years who can set the routines of the class and serve as models for the younger children. Three-year-olds learn primarily by example, not by direct verbal instruction; that is, they learn by watching the six year olds. This means that starting a new Montessori class is always a difficult task for the teacher, and the results are not immediate.