How To Solve A Problem

With Maria

©2007 Alan Evans

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It is always useful to know something about the person that is talking to you on a subject that they profess to know something about. The following is a brief personal outline.

Alan Evans - Born Bryn – Llanelli - 1964

Disliked School and left unofficially at 13 Worked on a series of youth opportunity schemes Joined the Princes Trust Worked in residential homes with children in care Worked in Maytree school for autistic children Worked in youth clubs after school clubs and I.T. Trained at St Nicholas Montessori Centre Worked in Romania with HIV infected children Worked at Holland Park Montessori School Worked at Hill House International School Trained at Hornsby International Dyslexia Centre Published The Phonic Farm reading scheme Trained with Snaps Cymru Worked independently screening for dyslexia Trained at West Wales School of the Arts Worked at Trinity College Learning Support

From 1994 to 1999 I worked at Hill House International School as a teacher for

children with Specific Learning Difficulties. I was responsible for the screening of

children within the school. Working individually and as part of a team, writing

reports for parents, teachers and other related agencies. Liaising with other agencies

to provide the best possible service for students with Sp. L. D. Establishing and

improving a support network for teachers, parents and students. Constructing and

implementing teaching programmes. I was also class teacher to 25 children.

From 1992 to 1994 I worked at Holland Park School House, Kensington, London

(http://www.hpps.co.uk). My role was as Teacher in Charge. Providing care and

education for 36 children aged between two and a half to 9 years old. Following The

Montessori Method of education. Responsible for the day-to-day running of the

school. Key worker role to individual children. Writing reports for parents and

schools and attending planning meetings

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From 1990 to 1992 I worked for the Romanian Angel Appeal an aid worker. Working

as part of a multidisciplinary team established by the Director of The Royal College

of Nursing. Establishing a play and education programme in the institutions of

Romania. Responsible for introducing The Portage Method of Education into the

institutions. Assessing the needs of institutionalised children and adults with H.I.V. /

Aids. Establishing a community clinic providing care and education for families,

specifically targeting H.I.V. infected children and adults. Liaising with the Romanian

Ministry for Health and Education to implement training and education programmes

for teachers and nurses. Directly providing care and education for children within the

city hospital and orphanage. Training teachers within the institutions and liaising with

teacher training colleges. Giving public talks on the work of the organisation and

attending meetings with international aid teams of Non Governmental Organisations.

I returned to Wales in 1999 to start a family and try to gain employment in education

or social services. I became an Independent educational adviser for children and

adults. Screening and providing private tuition for children and adults with specific

learning difficulties – dyslexia. Training with Snaps Cymru, promoting partnerships

between schools and parents. Training with the dyslexia institute and establishing

dyslexia centre in Carmarthenshire. Liaising with service providers for dyslexia.

Campaigning for better provision and early identification of dyslexia. Working with

Community Action Network to provide computers for community groups involved

with adult literacy. In 2003 I enrolled on a BA Hons photography course. In 2006 I

was short listed for student photographer of the year by the Independent newspaper. I

worked as a visiting lecturer at Trinity College, Carmarthen giving lectures on

Montessori.

We all know something but we don’t know everything. I think it is useful to bear this

in mind each time you engage in conversation with anybody especially a child. In this

way, you become open to other people’s knowledge and especially that of the child. A

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very wise old man who ran one of the most successful schools in Britain used to

stand on a stage every Wednesday morning. He would address about 2000 pupils and

500 parents. Parents were invited to assembly. At the end of an inspiring talk he

would always say, “We are all equal but different, equal but different”. He would

deliberately repeat this.

Colonel Henry Stuart Townsend (1951) had started the International school in

London after the Second World War. It became famous for the eccentricity of the

colonel and the uniform. Gold corduroy knickerbockers and brown tops. “Put a child

in a grey uniform and they develop grey minds” he said. There was no curriculum, no

educational theory. The teachers were simply asked to teach to the best of their

ability. The results were outstanding and the children went to Eaton and Harrow

amongst other schools.

I ended up at Hill House as a misfit. A drifter and gatherer of alternative ways of

working with children. I have worked with physically and mentally handicapped

children and adults. Children in care. Children in orphanages and in hospitals, youth

groups and after school clubs. I studied youth and community work and the

Montessori method The Hornsby dyslexia course and Portage method. I specialised

in dyslexia screening, assessment and tuition. I have written the phonic farm reading

scheme and other teaching books.

Observing the way in which children read developed the scheme. Taking the structure

of the English language and the most commonly used sight words. Level 1 uses CVC

words and first few sight words. Level 2 uses CCVCC words and the next level of

sight words. Level 3 uses a combination of short vowel and long vowel words and the

next level of sight words. The images are meant to be representative of a rural life

and draw the child’s attention to the life of a farmer his wife and their animals. The

illustrations contain fine details of farm life and include the miniature creatures,

which form part of the eco system. The last whale charts the plight of the whales on

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the planet before man to present day. Teach your child to read gives a detailed guide

on Montessori’s methods for language and the reading process. The reading books

were voted as best reading scheme in the London Parent Guide.

Who Can Teach?

Teaching is supposed to be a professional activity requiring long and complicated

training as well as official certification. The act of teaching is looked upon as a flow

of knowledge from a higher source to an empty vessel. The student’s role is one of

receiving information. The teacher’s role is one of sending it. There is a clear

distinction assumed between one who is supposed to know (and therefore not capable

of being wrong) and another younger person who is supposed not to know.

It is possible to think of in another way. As guiding and assisting. Within any

environment there will be people whom are capable of this. They can be parents,

grandparents or other children. How we interact with children in the early years has

fascinated educationalists, psychoanalysts and philosophers throughout history

throughout the world. The following are some articles I found which for me

exemplify how we should be approaching education this century.

Teaching Young Children Is A Creative Process. Early childhood teachers do not need

to follow a prescribed course of study, as might someone teaching adults a class in

biology or history. Nor can teachers simply react to what happens each day, without

any goals or plans in mind. Rather, early childhood teachers depend on a curriculum

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framework that sets forth the program's philosophy, goals, and objectives for children

as well as guidelines for teaching that address all aspects of a child's development:

socio-emotional, cognitive, and physical. An early childhood curriculum provides the

framework for what actually happens in a planned environment where children

interact with materials, their peers, and adults. The primary teaching goal is to help

young children use the environment productively and see themselves as capable

learners — as individuals who are developing the skills and understandings that will

enable them to make sense of the world and to succeed in it. (Trister & Colker, 1992)

"If children are excited, curious, resourceful, and confident about their ability to

figure things out and eager to exchange opinions with other adults and children, they

are bound to go on learning, particularly when they are out of the classroom and

throughout the rest of their lives” (Kamii, 1985).

"Within the perspective of 'development as long as development is possible' as our

long-range goal, I conceptualize the following three objectives for early education:

1 In relation to adults, we would like children to develop their autonomy through

secure relationships in which adult power is reduced as much as possible.

2 In relation to peers, we would like children to develop their ability to de-centre and

coordinate different points of view.

3 In relation to learning, we would like children to be alert, curious, critical, and

confident in their ability to figure things out and say what they honestly think. We

would also like them to have initiative; come up with interesting ideas, problems, and

questions; and put things into relationships" (Kamii & Devries, 1980).

"It is not the manipulation of objects in itself that is important for children's learning.

What is important is the mental action that is encouraged when children act on

objects themselves. Children's mental action can be enhanced or hindered by the

social context of the classroom. When the teacher holds all the power of decision

making [by correcting children's work on worksheets or preparing the art materials

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to cut and paste], children become mentally passive because they are prevented from

taking a stand, exchanging points of view, and living with the consequences of their

own decisions. Young children cannot think very well when they sit silently. However,

movement, manipulation, and noise in themselves are not necessarily educational.

The teacher who stops using worksheets is taking a step in the right direction, but this

is only the first step. We must replace the worksheets with an environment that offers

ample opportunities for children to think as they manipulate objects”. (Williams &

Kamii 1986)

Kamii studied under Jean Piaget on and off for 15 years to develop an early

childhood curriculum based on his theory. This work can be seen in Physical

Knowledge in Preschool Education (1978) and Group Games in Early Education

(1980), Many of the main theories of education around the world include the same

basic aims, principles and beliefs. They have been largely based on principles of

equality, justice, spirituality, social reform and technological advances.

Common Theories Within Early Years Education

• Educators Must Observe The Child

• Education Begins From Pre Birth

• All Children Have Potential

• Children Develop At Their Own Pace

• Children Are Connected To Family & Community

• Educators Are Partners & Guides

• Parents Are Partners & Should Be Involved At All Stages

• Education Is About Asking Questions & Independent Thinking

• Children Learn Through The Senses, Movement & According To Nature

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• Freedom Comes Through Self Discipline Not Enforcement

• Concrete Materials Lead To Abstract Concepts

• Children Need To Interact With & Explore The Outdoors

• Learning Is Inseparable From Spiritual & Emotional Development

The majority of educational theorists have been male. A number of these males have

suffered some form of setbacks or emotional upsets in their lives. They have also

responded to social depravation following periods of war. Education has undergone a

number of changes. Some of these changes have been curriculum based. Others have

been changes in the law or in the area of testing and examinations. There are a great

number of different forms of education throughout the world. I have listed some of

the main educational theories and methods associated with them.

John Comenius: 1592 – 1670

Born Moravia, Czech Republic around the same time as

Galileo, Rembrandt and Milton. The age of reason.

Wrote more than 150 books on philosophy and theology.

In favour of formal education for women. Holistic

learning. Hugely influential on educational and religious

reforms.

• Education From Birth

• Child Learns Through Senses

• Knowledge Or Learning, Spiritual & Emotional Development Were Inseparable

Who is there that does not always desire to see, hear, or handle something new? To

whom is it not a pleasure to go to some new place daily, to converse with someone, to

narrate something, or have some fresh experience?

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In a word, the eyes, the ears, the sense of touch, the mind itself, are, in their search

for food, ever carried beyond themselves; for to an active nature nothing is so

intolerable as sloth. The proper education of the young does not consist in stuffing

their heads with a mass of words, sentences, and ideas dragged together out of

various authors, but in opening up their understanding to the outer world, so that a

living stream may flow from their own minds, just as leaves, flowers, and fruit spring

from the bud on a tree.

Jean Jacques Rousseau: 1712 – 1778

Mother dies when he is born. Runs away at 16. Travelled and

taught music. At 22 meets a woman and has 5 children. Gives

them up to an orphanage and writes the book, Emile. Let Emile

run about barefoot all year round. Let him learn to perform

every exercise, which encourages every ability of the body.

Believed in freedom, equality and justice. Critics wrote that

Emile was responsible for provoking this obstinate, insolent, impudent, arrogant

generation.

• Self Reliance - Independence

• Equality -Freedom & Justice

• Freedom Of The Child

• Observation Of The Child - World

• Educated For Our Own Good Not A Corrupt Society

Johann Pestalozzi: 1746 – 1827

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Possibly the starting point of modern education. Founded the Battersea training

centre in 1840. School for orphans in Stans following the French Revolution.

Security in the home was the foundation of happiness. The mother important in the

upbringing and influence of emotional experiences. All children had an equal right to

education. Children encouraged to observe concrete objects. Love, work and social

interaction were the foundations of development. www.pestalozziworld.com

Child Learns According To Nature & Learns Through Senses

Equal Rights

Child Learns Through Observation

Use Of Concrete Objects - Maths

Children Grouped According To Ability

Moveable Letters

Close Links Between Home & School

Robert Owen: 1771 - 1858

Social change, equal rights, workplace nursery, art, music, geography,

Friedrich Froebel: 1782 - 1852

Firm views on play and its place in child development. It fostered

emotional well-being. Education vital to social reform.

Kindergartens opened. First person to articulate a theory of

education and put it into practice. Importance of the garden and

mutual respect. Self expression through play. Role of the mother

in education and play, mothers can teach too. Recruited women at

a time when teaching was seen as a man’s role. Possibly influenced by the death of

his mother.

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• Kindness & Respect

• Education Through Play

• Parental Involvement

• The Garden

• A Pupil Of Pestalozzi

• Moved Away From Curriculum

John Dewey: 1859 - 1952

Studies philosophy, psychology and educational theory. Dewey advocated teachers

having good general knowledge, knowing their children well, wanting to continue

learning and observing children planning from what they learn from them.

Children Learn Through Doing - Education Based On Real Life - Independence In

Thinking - According To Nature - Formation Of Social Life - Value And Culture Of

Family - Observation - Work Matches Age And Stage Of Development.

Margaret McMillan: 1860 - 1931

Alleviating poverty, health and well-being, spirituality, free movement and

experience according to nature.

Rudolf Steiner: 1861 - 1925

Philosopher, concerned with the human struggle for inner freedom. Believed that

children that have been pressured to succeed intellectually at too early an age often

lack the motivation to learn for themselves.

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• Clarity Of Thought, Sensitivity Of Feeling & Strength Of Will

• Introduction To Print At 7 years

• Personal & Social Development

• Child Sets The Pace

• Songs, Stories, Poems

• Eurhythmy - Movement With Music & Language.

Maria Montessori: 1870 - 1952

Maria Montessori was born in Italy in 1870. In her work at the University of Rome's

psychiatric clinic, Dr. Montessori developed an interest in the treatment of children

and for several years wrote and spoke on their behalf. At age twenty-eight, she

became the director of a school for mentally-disabled children. After two years under

her guidance, these children, who formerly had been considered uneducable, took a

school examination along with normal children and passed successfully.

Educators called Dr. Montessori a miracle worker. What was her response? If

mentally disabled children could be brought to the level of normal children, Dr.

Montessori wanted to study the potential of "normal" children. She went back to

school to study anthropology and psychology and finally, in 1907, was asked to take

charge of fifty children from the dirty, desolate streets of the San Lorenzo slum in the

city of Rome.

Susan Isaacs: 1885 - 1948

Free play; learn by doing, observation, and emotional wellbeing

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Jean Piaget: 1896 – 1980

Piaget’s writings on the science of education are prolific. He has insisted that the

preschool child is given any opportunity for the development of sensory motor

functions “in the full sense of free manipulation”. He suggests that early years

teachers need specialized theoretical and practical courses of instruction in order to

help children learn through sensory motor manipulation. Ist stage drawn from

physical action, taste, touch, smell, sound, sight, etc 2nd stage taking objects in the

environment and using words to represent them. Logic rests on incomplete

knowledge. The trees make the wind, etc. 3rd stage, logical thoughts develops with

classification or categorisation of similar and different objects. 4th stage is orderly

thinking and mastery of logical thought.

Sensorimotor Stage 0 to 2 years

Preoperational Stage 2 to 6 years

Concrete Operational Stage 7 to 11 years

Formal Operations Stage 12 to adult

Lev Vygotsky: 1896 - 1934

Social interaction and language, observation, matching task to competence

Burrhus Skinner: 1904 – 1990

Nurture Versus Nature

John Bowlby: 1907 – 1990

Attachment Theory

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Jerome Bruner: 1915

Children represent their ideas through play, building or painting, symbolically

through language.

Louis Malaguzzi: 1920 – 1964

All children have potential, connected to their family, want to receive and give, are

communicators, environment is third teacher, educators are partners and nurturers,

educators are researchers, documentation is important for communication, parents are

partners, education is about asking questions

Paulo Freire: 1921 – 1997

Social justice and equality, analyze daily lives, talking and exploring ideas, learning

with not from the teacher

High / Scope Approach

The child is at the centre of the wheel of learning. Everything outside of this centre

should support the child to be an active learner and be seen as playing an equal role.

High Scope Approach Developed To Serve Children At Risk Of School Failure In

Yspilanti, Michigan, USA. Now In Use In More Than 20 Countries Worldwide

"Through active learning — having direct and immediate experiences and deriving

meaning from those experiences through reflection — young children construct

knowledge that helps them make sense of their world.

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The High/Scope preschool approach has encouraged children to develop initiative.

Through the daily plan-do-review process, children express their intentions, carry

them out, and then reflect on what they have done. As active learners, children

develop their own interests, generate ways to answer their questions, and share their

discoveries with others. Supported by adults who are genuinely interested in what

they say and do, children are able to construct their own understanding of the world

around them and gain a sense of control and personal satisfaction.

The High/Scope Curriculum works because it empowers children to follow through

on their interests purposefully and creatively. In the process, children develop

initiative, interest, curiosity, resourcefulness, independence, and responsibility —

habits of mind that will serve them well throughout their lives” (Weikart P. &

Hohmann M. 2002).

Margaret Donaldson: 1926

Thinking is concerned wit the here and now, thinking includes specific events

recalled from specific events, thinking involves considering how things are in the

world or the nature of things, two forms of construct include intellectual and doing as

well as value-sensing such as appreciating music or art, logic thought and spiritual

thought.

Howard Gardener: 1943

Multiple intelligence, linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinaesthetic, musical,

spatial – sense of space, naturalist.

Te Whariki

Well being, belonging, contribution, communication, exploration.

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Forest Schools

Independence, self-esteem, the natural world, outdoors, Learn by doing.

Montessori In Romania

Nicolae Ceaucescu in his role as First Secretary of Romania banned contraception in

a bid to increase the population of pure-blooded Romanians and supply a labour force

for his vision of a highly industrialised nation In 1974 he became president, and by

the early 1980s the ban was clearly not working. This led to legislation enforcing all

women under 45 to have at least 5 children.

Life became unbearable for women with regular enforced

gynaecological examinations and Special Secret Police brought in

to check that no contraception was being used. With no child

benefit and little food for babies, many families were forced to

abandon children to the hospitals and orphanages. In excess of

10,000 unwanted children were left to be looked after by untrained

and inexperienced staff with totally inadequate resources. Ceaucescu's reign ended in

1989 with his trial and execution, leaving behind tremendous misery and a nation

with little to support itself as it ventured down the long road towards building a

democratic society. In 1990, more than 20,000 women were admitted to hospital in

Bucharest alone. Most had problems arising from illegal abortions during the

Ceaucescu period. In the same year there were over 600 babies with full-blown AIDS

(http://www.mtee.org.uk)

Olivia Harrison, the wife of George Harrison wrote the following statement for the

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Romanian Angel Appeal’s website.

In a country starved of the basic commodities of life, paralyzed by a political

climate of fear and corruption, thousands of children, abandoned at birth,

emerged into the world at the very bottom of the heap. Their birthright was not

a life, merely an existence. Resources were so depleted that in the worst cases

children were confined to their cots for years, kept alive on a diet of powdered

milk. All were deprived of that most essential form of human

nourishment...Love (http://www.raa.ro)

In 1989 The Berlin wall fell. There was revolution In Romania.

Another crime against humanity was about to be exposed. The

media would show images of starving children sitting in filthy

conditions. It is my belief that the Western world was more

outraged because the children were white. We had been

witnessing terrible images from Africa for a number of years. Bob Geldof had

commented that we were becoming indifferent to such images. An album titled,

‘Nobody’s Child’ was released to raise funds. Supporters included, Elton John, Jeff

Lynne and Bryan Adams. Romania attracted the attention of a number of famous

people including, Mother Theresa and Michael Jackson. Both visited Bucharest to

lend their support.

Romania is a very poor country. The shops contained very little to

buy. When we went shopping, people would surround us and look at

what we were buying. Sometimes they would call members of their

family to come out and have a look at us. I was assaulted on a few

occasions. On one incident, a man held a knife to me and demanded

that I gave him the girls I was with. We did have a lot of Gypsies

trying to pick our pockets. We were not paid very much by Western standards. We

received $12 per month; it was a fortune in Romania. We also changed our dollars on

the black market. We more than trebled the pay every week. We did live a life of

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luxury in comparison with our Romanian colleagues. We also liked to party and drink

champagne.

I really believed that my efforts could help to change things for the better. Many

different organisations rush in to every disaster area. Some of them have a religious

base. Many of the people that we met were not suitable to work with the children and

Romanian staff. They made too many judgments too quickly. It made them feel better

if the children were dressed in Marks and Spencer clothes. The younger amongst the

group made an effort to make friends and learn the language. It was very useful and

opened up a number of doors. The others lived in fear and became a burden on us.

The journey to Romania and Constanta was interesting to

say the least. As we came into land at Bucharest airport, we

saw people planting vegetables at the side of the runways.

There were armed soldiers everywhere. We were hassled by

soldiers, gypsies and taxi drivers. The whole place seemed chaotic. The infrastructure

was very poor. Roads just disappeared into nowhere. There were huge holes

everywhere along the road. Public transport was old and decaying. The French

government did provide some aid and provided modern police cars and buses. It was

difficult for the average Romanian to get from A to B.

Having driven a few hundred miles on terrible roads, we arrived in Constanta. It is a

small city on the Black Sea coast. There is a seaport and University there. The city

was made up of old style villas, which had been dwarfed by enormous high-rise flats.

These structures were prone to collapse and infested with cockroaches. Water

supplies were infrequent and not drinkable. The government controlled heating and

electric. It was unreliable to say the least.

Our first home was in a series of rented apartments in the

middle of the city. It was a tram ride away from the

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hospital. A number of locals became aware of our presence and visited us more

frequently than we would have wished. We worked hard by day and played hard by

night. We quickly fell into the ex pat trap and went out boozing and dancing. It was a

form of release from the conditions we were in.

The chairman of the Royal College of Nursing and the Romanian Angel Appeal had

selected the team. We did not know each other otherwise. There were three nurses

and myself. We were taken to the Municipal hospital. The conditions there were too

much for me. I could not bear the smell or the conditions. Children were clearly

dying in their cots during the time we were there. The girls had more resolve and

literally began work, there and then. I was driven to the Post Cure area for children. It

was a small building on the other side of the city. The children here were HIV

positive but not in the later stages. They were in terrible condition and required an

enormous amount of work. I approached one of the rooms where a number of

children were banging their heads against the walls. I took out my harmonica and

began to play. A number of the children looked up and listened. The doctor grabbed

my arm and literally begged me to stay. The rest is history.

One of the main difficulties in working anywhere else in the world is an obvious

language problem. There were many weeks to come when I felt totally isolated in a

building full of people looking in a t me and jabbering in Romanian. Through a

determination to learn and primitive gestures, the communication began. I learned a

number of important Romanian words. I learned in parallel with the children. It was

important not to focus on teaching them English. It was comical to hear them learn

some English and Welsh words.

The most important words they required were, apa –

water, masa – food, toaletta – toilet, bolnav – sick,

etc. The Romanian staff always suffered hardships. It

was amazing that they could summon up the time

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and energy to show an interest in what I was doing. They could show amazing

kindness. There was always one or two who could be brutal. They too, had to be

worked with not judged. I had good intentions of using the Montessori Method within

the establishment. Montessori requires that the child was normalised and that there

was a prepared environment. Neither of these existed. The message Montessori had

received from the children in the slums was ‘Help me do it myself’.

In hindsight, this was also the message I received from the children in the

orphanages. The majority of educational theories have been based on the observation

and study of groups of children. I was aware of this and determined to take the time

to observe not only the children, but also the culture and environment. Montessori

saw the environment as crucial in her theory. The teacher and environment were

responsive to the needs of the child. The teacher is an observer, a directress. The

didactic apparatus allows the child freedom to develop at their own pace in the areas

of sensory, motor and intellectual development. I took a number of Montessori

materials with me. These were to be used at a later stage.

During the time that I worked in Romania, I came under fire from my own staff team.

They thought that I was too detached and not actively involved enough. Observation

is something which can be misinterpreted as ‘doing nothing’. At one point I was

summoned home to explain my methods. I explained that the other team members

were too emotionally involved, working themselves to death and judging the

Romanians. I was asked to return and continue to guide the project in a direction,

which would see an effective handover to the Romanians.

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Dr. Maria Montessori and The Montessori Method

Maria Montessori was born in Italy in 1870. In her work at the

University of Rome's psychiatric clinic, Dr. Montessori

developed an interest in the treatment of children and for

several years wrote and spoke on their behalf. At age twenty-

eight, she became the director of a school for mentally

disabled children. After two years under her guidance, these

children, who formerly had been considered uneducable, took a school examination

along with normal children and passed successfully. Educators called Dr. Montessori

a miracle worker. What was her response? If mentally disabled children could be

brought to the level of normal children, Dr. Montessori wanted to study the potential

of "normal" children. She went back to school to study anthropology and psychology

and finally, in 1907, was asked to take charge of fifty children from the dirty, desolate

streets of the San Lorenzo slum in the city of Rome.

Multi-aged Grouping, based on Periods of Development: Children are grouped in

three or six-year spans and have the same teacher for this. The 3-Hour Work Period:

At every age, a minimum of one 3-hour work period per day, uninterrupted by

required attendance at group activities of any kind is required for the Montessori

method of education to produce the results for which it is famous.

The Human Tendencies: The practical application of the Montessori method is based

on human tendencies— to explore, move, share with a group, to be independent and

make decisions, create order, develop self-control, abstract ideas from experience, use

the creative imagination, work hard, repeat, concentrate, and perfect one's efforts.

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The three stages of learning

(Stage 1) introduction to a concept by means of a lecture, lesson, something read in a

book, etc.

(Stage 2) processing the information, developing an understanding of the concept

through work, experimentation, and creation.

(Stage 3) "knowing", to possessing an understanding of, demonstrated by the ability

to pass a test with confidence, to teach another, or to express with ease.

Indirect Preparation: The steps of learning any concept are

analyzed by the adult and are systematically offered to the

child. A child is always learning something that is indirectly

preparing him to learn something else, making education a

joyful discovery instead of drudgery. The Prepared Environment: Since the child

learns to glean information from many sources, instead of being handed it by the

teacher, it is the role of the teacher to prepare and continue to adapt the environment,

to link the child to it through well-thought-out lessons, and to facilitate the child's

exploration and creativity.

Observation: Scientific observations of the child's

development are constantly carried out and recorded by the

teacher. These observations are made on the level of

concentration of each child, the introduction to and mastery

of each piece of material, the social development, physical health, etc. on.

Work Centers: The environment is arranged according to subject area, and children

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are always free to move around the room, and to continue to work on a piece of

material with no time limit.

There are no text books, and seldom will two or more children be studying the same

thing at the same time. Children learn directly from the environment, and from other

children—rather than from the teacher. The teacher is trained to teach one child at a

time, with a few small groups and almost no lessons given to the whole class. She is

facile in the basic lessons of math, language, the arts and sciences, and in guiding a

child's research and exploration, capitalizing on interests and excitement about a

subject. Large groups occur only in the beginning of a new class, or in the beginning

of the school year, and are phased out as the children gain independence. The child is

scientifically observed, observations recorded and studied by the teacher. Children

learn from what they are studying individually, but also from the amazing variety of

work that is going on around them during the day.

Class Size: The most successful 3-6 or 6-12 classes are of 30-35 children to one

teacher, with one non teaching assistant, this number reached gradually over 1-3

years. This provides the most variety of personalities, learning styles, and work being

done at one time. This class size is possible because the children learn from each

other and stay with the same teacher for three to six years. .

Basic Lessons: A well-trained Montessori teacher spends a lot of time during training

practicing the many basic lessons with materials in all areas. She/he must pass

difficult written and oral exams on these lessons in order to be certified. She is trained

to recognize a child's readiness—according to age, ability, and interest—for a specific

lesson, and is prepared to guide individual progress. Although the teacher plans

lessons for each child for each day, she will bow to the interests of a child following a

passion.

Areas of Study Linked: All subjects are interwoven; history, art, music, math,

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astronomy, biology, geology, physics, and chemistry are not isolated from each other

and a child studies them in any order he chooses, moving through all in a unique way

for each child. At any one time in a day all subjects—math, language, science,

history, geography, art, music, etc.—are being studied, at all levels.

Comparison Of Montessori And Traditional Pre-School Education

Montessori Traditional

Three year age span All one age

Motivated by self development Teacher motivated

Ungraded Graded

Self Correcting Teacher corrects

Learn by handling materials Teacher lectures

Individual learning Group learning

Teacher observes and directs Teacher is focal point

Child completes activities Frequent interruptions

Freedom of movement Assigned seats

Emphasis on cognitive learning Social development

Quiet by choice and regard Quiet enforced

Materials used for purpose Used for many things

Work for joy and discovery Work because told to

Environment provides discipline Teacher disciplines

Encouraged to help each other Seek help from teacher

Child chooses materials Teacher sets curriculum

Child sets pace Teacher sets pace

Child free to discover Teacher guides child

Emphasis on concrete Emphasis on abstract

Reality orientated Role play and fantasy

Specific place for materials Random placement

Child provides learning stimulus Teacher provides

Child centered environment Teacher centered environment

Self education didactic equipment Use of reward and punishment

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Recognition of sensitive periods All children treated alike

Multisensory materials develop skills Play materials non specific skills

The Portage Method

Portage is named after the town of Portage in Wisconsin, USA. It was developed

there as a way of supporting parents in helping their children in their own homes. The

idea of taking the service to the family homes was tried there because in that rural

area parents found it difficult to get to centre-based services.

Portage supports families from the time that the additional needs are first apparent -

this can be soon after birth or at any time in the pre-school period. All Home Visitors

working in registered services must have completed a Portage Basic Workshop run by

a trainer accredited with the NPA.

Portage is a straightforward set of indexed cards covering all areas of development.

They can be implemented immediately. Each behaviour corresponds to an activity

card, which lists detailed suggestions for the teaching of the behaviour.

624 behaviours, which are divided into six areas of development.

1 Infant stimulation

2 Self help

3 Motor

4 Socialization

5 Cognitive

6 Language

The behaviours also relate to three areas

1 Current skills - activities which teach a known skill in a new situation, widen the

child’s use of that skill and stimulate its general use by the child

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2 Emerging skills - activities designed in response to emerging skills, reinforce those

skills and bring them into more regular use.

3 Skills deficit - specific skill deficits require careful teaching because they represent

areas where the child has particular difficulty. Suggestions on the appropriate activity

cards need to be carefully modified to take into account activities and materials that

reinforce the child.

The Portage Early Education Programme also contains The Wessex Revised

Language Checklist. There is parental and teacher guidance at every stage. Record

sheets are used to document progress. This programme was extremely useful in the

institutions. My approach was to divide the children by age. Children occupied the

top floor 0 to 3 years. Children occupied the ground floor 3 years upwards.

All I had to do was observe behaviour and keep records. During the evening, I would

make some plans for improving the environment and implementing items marked as

skills deficits. We never dreamed that this simple method of observation and

recording would play an important part in the handover of the project.

Each day would include a selection of activities in each of the areas of development.

These were implemented in a casual way and observed. Records were updated at the

end of each day. They would be used to lobby the ministry of health and education.

The programme was also unofficially translated into Romanian.

We identified three rooms, which we wanted to use for the children. One was a

classroom and the other two were holding areas where the children could move

freely. The building had two floors. The ground floor housed the older children.

These were about two years of age upwards. The top floor housed the less able

children and the babies. Medicines Sans Frontiers had already done some work here.

World Vision had taken over the running of it.

After some negotiations, World vision agreed to work upstairs whilst we worked

downstairs.

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We developed a routine of taking children out of the salons and into one of the three

rooms. We would only carry the ones that had no strength to crawl. We worked with

small groups or one to one. The children were place in the room and we used a

variety of items to stimulate their development. A ball for rolling, music or

instruments to listen to. blowing bubbles, etc. Most of the children continued to bang

their heads against the walls. Even when we moved them to the centre of the room,

they would go back and bang their heads.

We established set times for meals and toilet training

and the Doctor’s rounds. The general feeling amongst

the staff was that we had no hope. The children quickly

adapted and responded to the routine. The less able were

bottle-fed and we encouraged them to move toward their

food or sit up and feed. This new regime meant that the staff had less work. They did

not have to change so many cloth nappies.

We designated a communal area for the children to

eat. Tables and chairs were child sized. We

encouraged the children to wash themselves and

brush their teeth. Each brush had their name on it to

stop cross infection. The classroom was established

and gradually, our first pupils entered voluntarily. We used a combination of

Montessori materials and other equipment, which improved motor control,

coordination, self-help and language.

Within a year, we had a definite split in the ability levels of children. A number had

become independent. This left us free to focus on the less able. By now, the staff had

become involved and were using the more able children to help them.

Communication between them was good and the staff taught the children Romanian

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songs and stories.

The obvious problem was always that we only had so many pairs of hands and

limited time. I had become interested in the Romanian education system out of

curiosity. I went to visit a kindergarten school and was impressed with it. The ratio

was 1 to 35. They also used Montessori and the ministry of education within schools

accepted it.

The questions I asked were

1. How would they feel having a HIV Positive child in their class?

2. How much did they know about HIV?

3. Would they like to know more?

4. Would they visit an institution?

5. Would they work in an institution?

The answers were all positive.

My second experience was to visit a teacher training college for pre school educators.

This was the centre for excellence in the city. I asked the same questions and the

answers were positive. I was asked to return and give a talk on HIV Aids. 60 students

and 6 professors attended it. They were interested in the methods we used with the

children and asked me back to talk about this.

35 students attended the talk along with 6 professors. Some students approached me

with a view to helping at the institution. The director of the college would not

approve. After a general meeting of doctors and educators in the city, I was asked to

give a talk on the work of the Romanian Angel Appeal. I was invited to talk at several

schools but by now, we had formed a panel of Romanian professionals whom were

responsible for promoting sex education and HIV – Aids awareness. Acet and the Red

Cross were interested in what I was doing and invited me to talk at the training

college for nurses. Some students were interested in contributing to Aids education.

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Dr. Popescu became interested and wanted me to approach the Director of Education

to ask for educators within the institutions.

In my spare time, I managed to get the Portage Method translated into Romanian. We

were careful to make considerations for cultural and religious differences. I also

managed to get cards printed off by a friend I made at the local newspaper. With this

method and the offer of training for the students, we secured an agreement between

the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education. Our first volunteer teachers and

nurses began to work at the hospital and post cure centre. We also established the

Sunflower clinic at the hospital. This acted as a screening and information centre. We

were also able to reunite children with their parents. Some children actually left for

home or went for weekend stays.

After almost two and a half years involved with the project, we

were able to hand over to another team. Their responsibility was

to tie up the loose ends and withdraw. The next shock was

arriving back in the U.K. and coming to terms with the way of

life. Some people were offered counselling on return. I chose not

to have any and sought peace in the mountains of Snowdonia. I

had always felt strongly about what was going on in the world. I wanted to go to

Africa with VSO. They would not accept me because I did not have any

qualifications. I also tried Oxfam and a few other agencies. It has become more

difficult to work abroad with Non Governmental Agencies.

As Romania progresses in the transition from Communism to democracy, the abilities

of the government will be increasingly challenged. The creation of a strategic plan on

the magnitude of the Government Strategy Concerning the Protection of the Child in

Difficulty is a solid beginning. The plan acknowledges the responsibility of the

government and the nation in correcting the transgressions of previous decades. The

incorporation of a strategic plan of this magnitude into the national agenda is a

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positive step. It is a learning process, in which Romania has made many mistakes.

The growing openness and inclusiveness of the reform process, and the increasing

availability of government documents and data to average citizens, are encouraging

signs.

Essentially, the National Strategy for Child at Risk has little chance for success as a

stand along program. The enforcement and accountability standards are weak.

Combined with intensive reform efforts across the board, the potential for

improvement exists. Concerted effort by politicians, political reform and economic

development, growing civil society development and participation by non-state

actors, an increased desire for participation by citizens as decentralization brings

government closer to the people, and better accountability mechanisms are all

necessary ingredients for child welfare reform to succeed. But only with activity in

all of these areas will the effort have a chance at success. Realistically, three years is

not enough time to fully achieve the stated objectives. A concentrated effort, over a

longer span of time, can bring about substantial progress. With prodding by the

European Union, child welfare reform has become a priority for the Romanian

Government, which is the first step. Determined to proceed with integration,

believing the only future lies with Europe, Romania has a long road ahead.

Writing this piece and putting the Power Point together

has sparked some great memories. The ones you tend to

remember most are the good ones. Perhaps that is how

we all get through life’s tragedies. I have likened the

experience to that of Dr. Maria Montessori when she

entered the slums of San Lorenzo. I have read almost

every volume of her works and maintain that mankind could solve its problems with

Dr. Maria Montessori’s Methods.

The department of education does not recognize the Montessori Method of education

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for use within mainstream schools. The teacher training covers a number of areas

which mainstream has washed over. Teachers are trained in the instruction of

teaching reading writing and spelling. They are required to demonstrate a complete

understanding of these processes. They are also required to make a set of didactic

materials for this purpose. The movement has continued to grow. It is still used in a

number of countries around the world as the main stay of primary education. It is also

the preferred choice of most private nurseries in the London area. Royal palaces

around the world employ governesses trained in the Montessori method.

In conclusion, one has to consider whether this educational method would be part of

mainstream if Maria Montessori had been a man. The Nazis hounded her out of

Europe. They considered her theories as dangerous and encompassing all, which they

opposed. The majority of learning materials available for multisensory learning today

stem from Montessori’s materials. We are only just scraping the surface of research

into embryonic development and child development. Many of her writings were seen

as flowery and too far from the norm of the male dominated theorists of the time.

Today we are reaping the benefits and witnessing the truth within her writings.

During a ceremony honouring this amazing lady, she addressed the audience and

said, “Look not at the outstretched finger but what it is pointing to, look at the child”.

For me, the words, which contain the essence of the method, are as follows,

I hear and I forget

I see and I remember

I do and I understand

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Bibliography

Dodge Diane Trister & Colker Laura J. Creative Curriculum for Early Childhood

Evans A. The Phonic Farm: Indigo Childrens Books

Hainstock E. The Essential Montessori: Plume Books

Kamii C. The Primary Program: Growing And Learning In The Heartland

Kamii C. & Devries R. Group Games in Early Education: Implications of Piaget's

Theory, NAEYC

Montessori M. The Montessori Method: Schocken Books

Pound L. How Children Learn: Step Forward Publishing

Williams C. & Kamii C. How do young children learn by handling objects? Young

Children, Volume 42, Number 1, 1986.

http://www.high-scope.org.uk

http://www.hillhouseschool.co.uk/index.htm

http://www.hpps.co.uk

http://www.michaelolaf.net

http://www.montessori.org.uk

http://www.mtee.org.uk

http://phonic-books.co.uk

http://www.portage.org.uk

http://www.raa.ro

http://www.steinercollege.org.uk

http://web.ukonline.co.uk

Photos

3, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, Alan Evans

1 & 5 Wober DeJohng

6, Romanian Angel Appeal

7, Aline Marzin

11, www.michaelolaf.net

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13, St Nicholas Montessori Centre

Image 2 & 4, Illustrations © Keith Sparrow & Jennifer Tyler

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