Mindfulness, Meditation and Montessori:
Why Observation is Key to Science and Sanctity

mw-claudiamann on February 19, 2022

This is the fifth article in the series: Key Ingredients for a Learning-Inspired “Classroom” at Home or in School

“The vision of the teacher should be at once precise like that of the scientist, and spiritual like that of the saint. The preparation for science and the preparation for sanctity should form a new soul, for the attitude of the teacher should be at once positive, scientific and spiritual.”

(Dr. Maria Montessori,’ The Advanced Montessori Method – I, Clio Press Ltd, 107)

Mindfulness and Montessori seem to go hand in hand. Dr. Montessori’s prolific writing on education and peace reminds us to infuse awareness, attention, thoughtfulness and respect into every corner of our daily activity. So it should come as no surprise that mindfulness practices have found their way into the lives of Montessori teachers, classrooms, and children.

Everyday routines inspire and instill peaceful practices. Take respect, for example. In my classroom the rules were minimal: Respect Yourself, Respect the Environment, Respect Each Other. These three seemed to pretty much cover all possible applications of the concept, while providing the fodder for discussions about the meaning, the purpose, and the “doing” of respect. 

Yet to be truly “respectful” requires mindfulness: a thoughtful awareness that can only come through one of our key practices: observation. Dr. Montessori continues her explanation of the Montessori teacher’s vision with these words: 

“Positive and scientific, because she has an exact task to perform, and it is necessary that she should put herself into immediate relation with the truth by means of rigorous observation…”

(Dr. Maria Montessori, The Advanced Montessori Method – I, Clio Press Ltd, 107)

As mindful observers seeking truth, we strive to watch like a scientist. We give presentations (our experiments), we watch, make notes, alter the controls, watch again, and again…always seeking truth. To be mindful is to be open to all possibilities of interpretation. While seeking truth we must also watch our prejudices. In scientific observation there is both a requirement for judgment and a mandate to beware of it. A conclusion reached too soon may lead us down an erroneous path, further complicating or damaging a relationship or a child’s potential. 

Dr. Montessori wrote and spoke often of the secret the child held within her, the spirit of the little human that might be revealed. How do we work against the possibility of an error in assessment? How can we remain mindful so that our judgments do not negatively influence the unfolding of the child before us? The answer is the practice of meditative observation.

“Spiritual, because it is to man that his powers of observation are to be applied, and because the characteristics of the creature who is to be his particular subject of observation are spiritual.”

(Dr. Maria Montessori, The Advanced Montessori Method – I, Clio Press Ltd, 107)

This is meditation as in quiet, contemplative reflection. Quiet mind. Quiet heart. Without the chatter of thoughts acquired through personal experience, another’s teaching, or an erroneous perception. This is the quiet that allows us to step out of our preconceived notions so we may focus on the child and her secret. As too-busy adults, we can rush to judgment in our observation, forgetting that precision requires wonder, patience, and a desire to discover what is not obvious; to see what lies hidden behind the easily seen. This is the spiritual side of our observational practice.

 

With her words, Montessori urges us to become the vision of the teacher she imagined possible. We practice the art of observation, striving for scientific precision and saintly inspiration. We practice not to achieve mastery, but to become more skillful in seeing the secret the child holds within. 

Yet there’s more in it for the adult who practices observation. In mindful, meditative observation lies a precious gift for that observer. Dr. Montessori understood that observation, the fundamental practice of her method, allowed the adult to discover more than the secrets of the child. The dance between observer and observed reveals the adult’s true spirit as well.  Observation is the key to discovery of the new soul waiting within each of us who are guided to this life-altering work. 

 

Share this insight!

Three Things to Do NOW for
a Relaxed Montessori School-Year Start-Up!

mw-claudiamann on February 17, 2022

2020 and 2021 offered up incredible challenges to teachers and parents. You had to turn on a dime in March, 2020 and things didn’t get a lot better for many of you throughout 2020/2021. So with a return to the actual classroom, this fall is going to offer an opportunity for a genuine fresh start to your elementary Montessori program. 

We’re talking long-game here. Any one of these 3 items will lighten your load in the first weeks of school, so don’t worry about doing them all. Choose just one and I guarantee you’ll have a leg up on those first days of prep week!

1. Prepare for the Great Lessons +1

I know that many of you find it tedious and time consuming to shop for and put together all the little things that make the Great Lessons truly AMAZING! But this can get taken care of pretty easily with a shopping list tucked into your wallet where you can find it next time you hit the Dollar Tree or Safeway. 

Why are the Great Lessons + 1 on the list? (BTW, the +1 is the Fundamental Human Needs lesson and related works) For an elementary Montessori class, these lessons are the inspiration for the entire Cosmic Curriculum. They’re the foundation of Cosmic Education and the cornerstone of elementary Montessori. You simply can’t leave them out if you want to inspire your students’ wonder and curiosity. Since getting these lessons together takes planning, shopping and organizing, especially the first, most impression-creating Coming of the Universe, having everything ready before prep week makes so much sense. 

I deliver these lessons during the first few weeks of school so they not only inspire the students, but also lay the groundwork of  the “learning norms”  used throughout the school year and in years to come. My Great Lessons have follow-up “treasure boxes” that have things to read, write, make, draw…lots of choices to inspire follow up while practicing reading, writing, collaboration with a partner, and math. 

Right now, my Dollar Tree is already stocking up for the fall with trays and containers so it’s a great time to pick up what you need and have it all prepared for the day you decide the students are ready for it. 

2. Reverse Engineer Accountability Systems

My accountability got a lot easier when I created systems that started with a look at the expectations of all the stakeholders (ie. parents, administrator/supervisor, standards, child, and ME!)  I needed to satisfy. Once this was done, I set up systems that more closely aligned with getting the information I needed to address those expectations.  Next I planned for gathering the data a little at a time and using the human resources at my disposal: my students. Lastly, I planned for how I would get this data from my students in a way that required little of my personal time outside of class. Let me give you a few details.

I spent a little time mulling over who owned the different expectations and how I would prioritize them. Once I’d been teaching a few years, this really didn’t take long, but it did reveal a conflict I think many of us Montessorians face. We tout “Follow the Child” but find ourselves really following the Common Core State Standards or “Mom & Dad’s Ideas for Greatness.” While a conflict may exist, we can’t ignore those expectations. My solution: Know ‘Em & Address ‘Em, but Follow the Child to Account for ‘Em.  

Start by making a chart for yourself with, at a minimum, each of these:

  • Parents need to know their child is not only making progress but making progress in the things that matter. 
  • Administrators need to know that you are providing a quality Montessori program that will address the accountability measures the school has chosen to mandate. 
  • You need to know that the inspiration and accompanying work you are providing is moving the students’ progress and excitement to learn ever forward.  
  • The child needs to have the skills that will allow them to meet their curiosity head on.
  • And everyone, including you, needs consistent reassurance that everything’s going ok. 

Once you’ve decided what each of these folks needs to know, take a look at the data you need to collect. Lucky for you, those CCSS can be a great focuser when it comes to the HUGE Montessori curriculum. You can use those standards, which are actually not all that monstrous, to help you stay focused in both your accounting and reporting. 

Next, plan how and how often you will follow-up with your students. I’m a big fan of putting as much of the accountability onto my students as possible which requires some up-front teaching: 

  • Give the students the answers to math problems and have them check their own work.
  • Model finding mistakes to be more important than getting right answers. 
  • Make teaching students to work together to complete their follow-ups as important as outlining what the follow-up entails. 
  • Work with teams of students to develop quality standards so they learn to be discerning.
  • Have them check each other and write weekly reviews. 

Hold accountability meetings with your students every few days to model getting progress reports from them. You can use the notes you take in these meetings to plan for next steps and to make mini reports for parents that go home once a month. These meetings could take place at the same time every week, on the same day for all, or throughout the week. You’ll quickly know which students need more support and possibly more regular accountability meetings after a few days or a couple of weeks. Look at your own time management systems and make these meetings a priority OVER lessons in the beginning.  You’re training students to be accountable which will pay off big time in a few weeks. 

Make your “monthly report” a simple check-sheet that students complete themselves and you review throughout the month, sending home regularly. Help parents get used to the idea that their child’s recording keeping is them becoming accountable, while you are the knowledgeable coach who knows what they need to accomplish and regularly checks the progress. Keep the responsibility squarely on the student. For your youngest students, you’ll need to model creating those check sheets, likely making them yourself for several weeks or months, but gradually pulling back as they are able to manage themselves. 

Finally, don’t send the papers home…take a screenshot, send copies to your parents, your student records, and build them into your progress reports as you go along so that when progress reports have to be turned in, the amount of work you have to do will be greatly reduced. 

Go for quality not quantity…and observe the progress consistently. Which brings me to a third choice.

3. Prepare and Practice Observation 

I’m not a huge fan of the 15 or 20 minute observation practice. It’s not that I don’t like it. I love nothing more than sitting for a nice long stretch and watching my students. But the reality was that it didn’t happen often or consistently enough to really work for me. If you can already get 2 to 3 of these types of observations into your schedule every week, then you can definitely skip this choice. But for those of you who are like me and need to find another way to observe that you can actually manage, I have a plan for you! 

My observation system required me to do a few things:

  • Create a notebook with a sheet for every child. Also include a section with pages for weekly planning notes based on your observations.
  • Purchase a large pack of mailing labels.
  • Wear an apron or pants/skirts with BIG pockets (or make a tie-on pocket like women did in the past…here’s a fun history of that: https://www.mic.com/articles/133948/the-weird-complicated-sexist-history-of-pockets)
  • Have a source of pens that live in one place in your classroom that only YOU know about. 
  • Make your Observer Signal. For me, this was usually a quickly made sign that hung around my neck that said “Observer” or “Observing” in big letters. 
  • Purchase a beautiful journal and special pen.
  • Gather an item that you will yearn to use a couple of times a day: a special tea or coffee that can be prepared quickly in the classroom, an inspirational quote set in a frame, a fragrance sachet or candle, a seashell or pine cone gathered on a memorable outing…really anything that speaks of a calming, peaceful moment. 

Put the last three items (observer signal, beautiful journal and special pen, and calming item) in a basket that can be easily picked up and taken to a place in the room where you will sit for 2 to 5 minutes at least once, but better, twice EVERY day. 

Put the mailing labels and one pen in the pocket of your apron and hang that in a place where it’s ready to go on every morning. 

Now you’re ready to practice. Beginning RIGHT NOW make it a habit to stop whatever you’re doing at least once each morning and once each afternoon, to sit for 2-5 minutes and take in the space around you. You could even do this in the grocery store (although you’d probably have to stand and lean on your cart).  During this time practice taking long, slow, deep breaths, consciously easing any stress you feel, all while you scan the space you’re in. 

From an observational perspective, this habit is getting you ready for stopping each and every day to scan your classroom. In your journal, you are free to write or not write, and you could even choose to doodle, but use this time to center yourself in a peaceful moment while you scan the classroom and discipline yourself to stay seated. There are VERY few things that can happen that you absolutely MUST address, even a couple of angry students. Once you’re back in school later this summer, you’ll teach your students that they can be responsible for themselves during this time. Be firm about it. Don’t answer questions, don’t allow interruptions to your quiet moment (REALLY…it’s only a couple of minutes) and don’t get up! You’ll need to teach some alternatives, but your students will learn how to make this your sacred time…and you’ll be giving them permission to take their own sacred time, too. 

For now, just practice the habit of taking calming, brief midmorning and midafternoon moments so you will grow to view them as something you won’t want to give up at all. 

About those labels: you’ll use them throughout your day to jot observation notes. I usually printed mine with the three things I needed to make sure I made note of: the student’s name, the date and the time. Then, whenever I saw something noteworthy throughout the day, I pulled the mailing labels from my apron and made a quick and short note of it. At the end of the morning or the end of the day, I organized the notes onto the student pages. If the note had to be copied to also go on another student’s page, it was short enough to do it quickly on a new label.  

Any of these three will surely put you in the driver’s seat when it comes to starting over in the new school year. If you do all three, well, you’re a rock star. I predict you’re in for a year to remember…in a good way!

Share this insight!

A Learning Environment Prepared for Independence:
A Key Ingredient for Inspired Learning

mw-claudiamann on February 17, 2022

Does your learning environment inspire independence? Has your environment gone stale? Is it cluttered or disorganized? Are your children engaged with it? In this article, I examine four fundamental areas to consider in creating a learning environment that works.

This is the third article in the series: Key Ingredients for a Learning-Inspired “Classroom” at Home or in School

Find the other articles in the series here:

Three Things to Do NOW for a Relaxed Montessori School-Year Start-Up!

The Function of the Prepared Environment

 

Dr. Maria Montessori wrote in The Absorbent Mind:

“How does he achieve this independence? He does it by means of a continuous activity. How does he become free? By means of constant effort…we know that development results from activity. The environment must be rich in motives which lend interest to activity and invite the child to conduct his own experiences.”

Dr. Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, p. 84

The environment, according to Montessori, should call to the child, enticing her to the activity. Each item on the shelf is placed with the intention of inspiring the student to take action of one sort or another. As guides, we ask ourselves how the item will be used, who will most want to use it, what aspects of the work will draw the child in and then, how we will introduce the activity so the child can’t help herself but to return to it again and again until her inner voice says, “I’m satisfied.”

We Montessorians look at the elements of the classroom as the Child, the Adult, and the Environment, with each element having a powerful influence on the other. Our preparations of the environment are fully a third of the work that will guide the student to independent action in self-directed learning. In more than 30 years of preparing classrooms in dozens of different spaces, my colleagues and I identified key ingredients that influenced success.

First, the physical space must encourage appropriate movement. Children need to move to learn. The position of furniture must allow for flowing movement, unencumbered access to materials and supplies, and spaces designed with purpose in mind: eating, cleaning, big project planning and execution, material manipulation, writing, artistic endeavors, as well as quiet spaces for reading, reflecting, and centering oneself between action tasks.

The placement of the materials on the shelf is also a communication to children through the environment. Not only are they orderly and uncluttered, the materials follow a sequence that leads the student into deeper and more complex challenges in a natural progression.

With these first two considerations one can see that the environment tells the child how to function within it more loudly and consistently than the adult voice, whose turn to speak is through environmental design. After that, the adult becomes a guide in its use.

There must also be beauty: little touches of art or color or natural artifacts that the child wishes to touch with one of his senses. Magnifying glasses placed nearby say, “Look closely.” They invite inquiry with a question: “What’s hidden in the tiny reaches that my eye can’t discern?” They suggest, “Be an observer!”

Unlike a museum, which often places strong guidelines around touching (ie. not touching), our environments must tell the child that touching is ok. “Make me shiny!”, “Hold me gently” or “Move me carefully” may need to be modeled and coached, but the natural responses from each activity should also direct the child. They also say “Glass breaks. Here’s how you can clean up when one falls to the floor.”

The environments for the older child may include something of a “Directions for Use” in the form of a work plan or study guide, but the intention of the materials on the shelves, as well as that of the “Directions” is the same: to spur the child to take action that meets some inner desire to know.

So, when we create an environment, we must know our children. We must understand how they approach the world and what drives them to go beyond any fear that might keep them from taking the risk of trying something. Dr. Montessori said we must be seductive in our introductions and focus on the wonder. If we are successful, the child will take it from there. If we didn’t hit the mark and the child is not drawn to the work as we’d hoped, then we try again, with the same spirit of enthusiasm and intention to inspire. We must trust the child to have the desire somewhere inside her. Our role in the environment is to find that hidden longing and to ignite her passion.

Of our little triad, the adult is the designer, the child the actor, and the environment the stage. When we set it with care, intention, and attention to the fine points, it does it’s work without the actor even knowing.

Wondering what to do next? Whether new to environment preparation or highly skilled and looking for inspiration, this link will bring you to practical applications you can try today!

 

Share this insight!

Observation is the Foundation of Montessori

mw-claudiamann on February 17, 2022

Yes, I know…a strong statement! But I truly believe this…not just because I drank the Kool-Aid, but because I’ve seen how it works over and over in my more than 30 years in the Montessori world. This week, I got even more positive reinforcement through the Montessori Home School Summit.

There was some really valuable feedback responses to my presentation, “Learning to Observe Your Child: The Key to Guiding Their Learning” …but that’s not where I want to start with this essay.

No, where I want to start is with those presentations I watched in which Montessorians from all around the world spoke of the value of observation as a foundation for the Montessori Method. One presenter, Beth Wood from www.ourmontessorilife.com shared a beautiful way to begin to look at your observation practice, so I asked if I might share it with you. She suggested you do an observation or two of a child or your classroom, making notes. Very simple. Nothing more; nothing less. Next, she suggested you go out into a natural setting and do the same: Observe and make notes.

Next comes the opportunity to see what you can learn from your observations: compare them; analyze the similarities and differences. What do you notice? How are they different? Are there more “assessments” in the notes of your child or of the classroom? Likely! What do I mean?

Comments like “X is really enjoying the puzzle maps” is an assessment, maybe even a judgment. How do you know that is the motivation behind the puzzle map work? Maybe it’s the easiest work for him. Maybe it was the only work that had been presented that was still available to her (because you have a strict rule that a student can’t try anything without a lesson first.) Maybe he saw a friend do it yesterday and wants to be like the friend. There are a TON of ways to interpret the simple fact that “X is working on a puzzle map of ___.” That last bit (“X is working on a puzzle map of ___.”)  is an observation. To learn more deeply from observation, you need to look longer and more frequently, making note of how often the map is chosen, when it’s chosen, who had it first or who did it first or after, how quickly the work was completed, the clues to the level of concentration, could (or did) the child do it with their eyes closed, …OMG, so many possible things to consider!

That’s a big part of what I discussed in my presentation. (If you didn’t see it, or want to, watch this space. I’ll be offering it as a webinar in the weeks ahead.)

Maria Montessori told us we need to be meticulous as the scientist. It was through observation that she learned about human development and then how to be an aid to that development. That is the true method…more than the materials (which I adore!) or the peacemaking (which is my guiding principle). It is the observation that allows us to follow the child…and that was her instruction to us!

Now about that saint part…

In my presentation I discuss how we need to look at what we bring to the observation: our judgments, fears, beliefs, knowledge, hopes, dreams, desires…all of it! And then we need to let it ALL go so that we can do our best to be a scientific observer: one who is not out to prove or disprove an already held belief or to influence the outcome through our own expectations.

For me, this letting go is the work of the saint. The individual who can put themselves aside to see the child before us. This attendee said it best:

“This presentation was so empowering! My children are doing virtual school this year but it’s not going well so I’m convinced we need to take a homeschooling approach. I felt my confidence rise as I watched this video and feel like there are very practical tools (and tables which I love) that I can implement right away. Parsing out my feelings and the cause of them from my desired intentions and actions is the money slide*. If I can successfully separate observation from my internal judgements, my whole year will transform. Thank you!”

Here’s my wish for you: That you will make observation a priority and that it will empower you to be the scientist and the saint, so that your whole year will transform.

*I had to look it up. This is what I found: “money slide”, or the slide that recommended to the audience exactly what they should do based on the research. This slide was clear, concise and easy to put into action.

Share this insight!

Dealing with Deviance

mw-claudiamann on February 17, 2022

Maria Montessori called it deviant behavior…deviant from the normal, focused, concentrated attention to activity that she realized could be achieved by all children given a stimulating environment, freedom within limits set by a code of respect, gentle guidance and time to explore.  The last few weeks, ever since the first four to six weeks of school got behind us, the concerns for lack of settling in have emerged everywhere in my mentoring work. It seems that in so many classes, the children are just not responding as teachers expected. Teachers are following the principles: the prepared environment and lessons given to spark engagement, but students persist in behaving outside the lines.

Yesterday, another cry for help passed through my Facebook feed. This time with a class of older elementary students; the age-group I spent most of my teaching years guiding. The responses were supportive and all things that I successfully used throughout my 30+ year Montessori career:

  • spend more time building community through play,
  • give lots of lessons,
  • use assigned seats,
  • develop community service,
  • encourage art with an emphasis on emotional literacy,
  • just wait it out.

All those suggestions are good things to try; things that just might work in this new class of children in a normal year. But this is not a normal year.

There was one comment that caught my attention: “a way out of self absorption.” I wondered about this perception and how it might influence the adult’s response to the child. I’m still scratching my head, without conclusion, over that. But the comment did cause me to consider how Montessori asked us to understand the child. 

Dr. Montessori shared a lot about this in the collection of speeches gathered into Education and Peace. (Montessori, Education and Peace, 1992) She writes,

“Let us suppose now that the characteristics and goals of the independent life of childhood are not recognized and that the adult takes those characteristics that are different from his own to be mistakes on the part of the child and hastens to correct them. At this point a battle will take place between the weaker and the stronger that is crucial for humanity, because the sickness of health of man’s soul, his strength or weakness of character, the clear light or dark shadows of his mind depend on whether or not the child has a tranquil and perfect spiritual life.” Pg 17.

“The child bows to the cruel necessity of hiding himself, burying in his subconscious a life force that cries out to express itself and that is fatally frustrated. Bearing as he does this hidden burden, he, too, will eventually perpetuate mankind’s many errors.”

“Let us suppose now that the characteristics and goals of the independent life of childhood are not recognized and that the adult takes those characteristics that are different from his own to be mistakes on the part of the child and hastens to correct them. At this point a battle will take place between the weaker and the stronger that is crucial for humanity, because the sickness of health of man’s soul, his strength or weakness of character, the clear light or dark shadows of his mind depend on whether or not the child has a tranquil and perfect spiritual life.” Pg 17.

In group meetings, give opportunities for children to share their fears, worries, angers and frustrations. Help them to understand how the trauma of the last few years can cause any of us to behave outside our normal human tendency to be kind and caring for one another. Ask them what they might need so they can develop a peaceful internal feeling and see how that could be provided to them.

While I fully believe that all of us can “normalize” through work, I also recognize the challenge of trying to work when upset, worried, anxious, or unsettled in any way. Remember that our work with children is to build “a new humanity” and a culture of peace. I encourage you to begin with understanding each individual child as best you can…and go from there.

Share this insight!

Behavior Challenges that Surface in the Fall, Part 2

mw-claudiamann on February 17, 2022

The problem we face are students whose behavior is not settling in to what we Montessori guides call normalized. It’s eight weeks into school and these children are still unfocused, talkative, and disengaged with the learning opportunities you’ve presented. In part 1 of this I suggested that I’d focus on building relationship with those students…any way you can.

How do we do that?

First, practice pausing. Dr. Montessori encouraged us to observe and stay in the background. She said that as a guide we should work at doing less; taking less action.

The environment itself will teach the child, if every error he makes is manifest to him, without the intervention of a parent or teacher, who should remain a quiet observer of all that happens.

Maria Montessori, The Child in the Family, p. 28

What about the behaviors we see while we are pausing and refraining from intervention?

While it can be difficult to be objective, learning to make note only of those actions we actually see can be very helpful. I liked using timed check sheets for this purpose.  What’s a timed check sheet? It’s a check sheet with columns where you make tally marks at regular short intervals of 2 to 4 minutes. For example, watch for 2 minutes, refrain for 2 minutes, watch again for 2 minutes, refrain again for 2 minutes…continuing for as long a period as you wish. Here’s a sample check sheet you can easily set up on your own, or click here for a downloadable full-page copy with instructions.

Typically, when I observed using this sort of timed sheet, I saw a number of things that I had not expected and, most notably, I tended to witness more of the behaviors that I thought didn’t exist. I was made aware that my attention gravitated to the times the student was performing the undesirable tasks. This exercise opened my eyes.

Once you have some behavior data to analyze, the next step is to get clear on how those behaviors make YOU feel. I would go through every single behavior and choose the first feeling that came to mind and record it next to the stated behavior.

This step is important because our emotional response to student behavior can cloud our judgments and our own behavior in response to our students. Don’t be afraid to be brutally honest with yourself. You don’t need to feel ashamed of your feelings, nor do you need to justify them.

 

What you do need to do is be honest with yourself. You’ll get a chance to figure this part out eventually, but for now the most important thing you need to get clear on is that those feelings (the ones that are in response to the student’s behaviors) belong to you. They are yours to own, to figure out, and, for the most part, leave at the door to the classroom so that you can separate your feelings from your students.

Finally, once you’ve done all this, you will want to examine all the possible reasons for the behavior. Don’t just go with your first thought. Instead, write that thought/explanation down and then ask yourself, “What else could it be?” Write that down, too. Ask again: “What else could it be?”

Continue this deepening explanation until you have 6 possibilities. From these, choose one to test. You might decide to set up a little “experiment” to see how your student responds. Then you start the observation process again.

Last question: What should I be doing with the behavior while I’m doing all this observing?

This is relationship building time. Spend time talking with the student. Sit near them during work periods or times when the child tends to be distracted or distracting. Have them join you in the observation to make them aware of behaviors that students exhibit in a classroom. Discuss the behaviors and whether they are desirable or not. Discuss why or why not. Talk about learning and what behaviors support it.

Your goal in all this conversation is to understand what this student thinks about the learning process and whether they see themselves fitting into a learning process at all. Helping students learn how to learn and how to be engaged in their learning is really what our role is all about. Then you can leave the rest up to the environment!

 

 

Share this insight!

Behavior Challenges that Surface in the Fall, Part 1

mw-claudiamann on February 17, 2022

Concerns about behavior challenges often seem to arise at this time of year…after the honeymoon period of getting back to school. Especially this fall, when many students are returning to the classroom after more than a year of remote learning, the newness of being back with friends and enjoying the social aspects may have added more than a few days to the honeymoon period. The long period of social distancing may also make the settled-in feeling that we expect at this time of year to be missing or even challenged by some students.

This last bit, problems surfacing or failing to settle down, is a pretty common problem among the teachers I mentor and strategize with each week.

Most often, those children who, for one reason or another, are becoming confrontational, defiant, and/or bullying with both children and adults are the students who are being brought to our discussions.

This is the time of year when responses can be tricky. How should we respond to challenging behaviors? Does the timing have anything to do with the level of challenge? If this is a new problem, how did I miss it earlier in the year? If this was a recurring problem from previous years, why did it just now really get ugly?

If you’re asking questions then the first thing I want to say is, “YAY YOU!!!”

Questioning is the first step to finding a solution. Often we adults are tempted to see a recurring behavior and jump right to assuming we know what’s going on. Often this assumption leads us to take actions that only make the problem worse. It’s not too long before we are locked in an entanglement that is difficult to unravel.

 

If we are able to stay in our questioning mode a bit longer, we may find that the true reason for the unruly or downright abusive behavior is something totally different…something we might have missed had we jumped in with a corrective action too soon.

So how do we do that?

I have two responses to this question and I’m going to give you the short answer first: Hang out with the student and get to know them. Talk about ANYTHING, but show interest in them. Ask them how they are doing? Ask about what they are interested in learning this year. Ask what they hope school will be like this year and if there is anything they’d like you to do to support them in their quest to achieve that vision.

Anything that I will suggest in my second response must be built on a foundation of relationship. Sometimes, when you concentrate on the relationship, the undesirable behaviors begin to slip away or at least become manageable with just a smile or a glance in the  general direction of the student.

So do whatever you can to build relationship.

This can be difficult. We have feelings, too, and we have SOOOO much to accomplish with the entire class. But I assure you, that spending time getting to know that one student who is occupying all your after-school thoughts will pay off as you begin to sort out what’s going on underneath the unwanted behavior.

A process for that sorting out continues in part two which will drop next week!

Share this insight!

Why won’t this child, these children, BEHAVE?

mw-claudiamann on February 17, 2022

“If a child carries out the will of a teacher because he is afraid or because his affection is exploited, he has no will, and obedience that is secured by suppression of the will is truly oppression. Such is often the obedience obtained in schools, but the finesse of discipline is to obtain obedience from developed wills, and this is based on a society by cohesion, the first step to organized society.”

Maria Montessori, Education for a New World

Faced with challenging behaviors that don’t seem to be impacted by our typical responses, we (meaning, ME TOO! I’ve done this.) tend to tighten down, to force, to coerce.

I woke to just such a plight…Facebook, of course. The plea was for some way to deal with a student who talked incessantly and was constantly up and down, moving around the classroom. The teacher was seeking advice beyond some things she’d already tried, including withholding recess.

That response sure brought out a lot of criticism! There was some support for the recess response, though, if couched properly in a verbal response I know flew out of my own mouth a few times: “If you play during work time, you’ll have to work during play time.”

I know that Dr. Montessori did not shrink from expecting children to develop discipline. She was also clear about how that happens: through engagement with work.

I didn’t return to the thread to see if that suggestion ever came. The truth is there isn’t a Montessori teacher anywhere who hasn’t had this child, or several like them, during their career. One Montessorian wrote the book on it: Children Who Are Not Yet Peaceful.l (Goertz, 2011) [1]The child whose story particularly spoke to me and hangs in my memory is “Herzog: The Web of a Magnificent Mess”.

What I distilled from this story, and others among the pages, was Ms. Goertz’ unwavering willingness to continue observing, withholding action until she felt she might have a glimmer of what was going on for Herzog. While she waited, he regularly emptied shelves on the floor, leaving them for others to clean up. By her words, I pictured Herzog as a human tornado; the funnel cloud always threatening to drop down from the clouds he lived in to wreak havoc on some shelf or another.

When this happened, the children were stunned, turning to her to see how to react…she didn’t. When the children thought she’d missed the incident, they came to her. She asked them to put the things from the shelf on a rug so Herzog could return to clean them up when he was ready. For many days, he wasn’t; he didn’t clean up. In the meantime, she watched, reflected, and waited to respond.

You’ll have to read the rest of the story elsewhere…but her eventual actions did the trick AND it changed me and my awareness of what is possible when the adult reaction is to observe instead of react or take a stand for our classroom rules by withholding what should be the regular expectations of a child’s day…like recess.

So what would I do with that child from the FB post?

I’d watch with as much objectivity as I could muster, jotting the thoughts down moment to moment, and doing nothing. Later, I’d read through those jotted notes for clues to this child. I’d be asking myself, “What is behind this behavior?” and then over and over asking again, “What else could it be?”

I’d watch for glimmers of interest and introduce “works” just for her to see what sparked increased concentration and engagement. And then I’d watch some more. If I believe in the Human Tendencies (Montessori), continue to trust the child’s inner knowing, and have great patience as I observe, question, and reflect, I will begin to see opportunities to support the child in the development of her concentration. Sometimes it takes a while…even a long time. It took this child 6 or 7 or more years to get to this moment; to undo those years will take time.

Here’s a little anecdote that may help you trust in my “believing is seeing” perspective. It was shared with me just last evening and I vowed to add it to this post:

An intern guide was troubled by a 12-year-old student’s withdrawn and abrasive behaviors because they were impacting his relationship with his peers and his belonging in the class. The science lab team was working on without him when the teacher asked the student if they’d like to do the lab on their own with their own microscope. This lit the student up; his engagement continued for days and caused a shift. Since that day, work is being completed. Conversations to more deeply understand the student’s nature have been had. The student recently volunteered for service in the class and just this week, volunteered to work on the class newsletter. WOW!

What if that teacher had instead, forced the issue of working with a group of peers that were reluctant to include him? Thankfully, that won’t be necessary!

[1] You can pick up a copy from Montessori Services: https://www.montessoriservices.com/children-who-are-not-yet-peaceful 

Share this insight!

Sharing the Ways of the Scientist

mw-claudiamann on February 17, 2022

In Montessori we talk a lot about becoming like a scientist as we strive for personal transformation. We know that this involves observing, analyzing, hypothesizing, testing, recording, observing again…often over and over before we make assessments or plan a response.

If we are able to live and model that in our practice, I also found myself thinking about how we might give opportunities to our students to do the same. A recent class got me thinking about how we can inspire our students to think like a scientist. Naturally, my thoughts turned to an activity that my students loved: the fossil dig.

There are so many aspects of the dig that makes it a “just right” experience for elementary students. There’s the element of surprise: The wonder and awe when a fossil is unearthed.

But with the right sort of preparation, you can also have the students imagining themselves on a rocky hillside, searching for evidence that fossils may be present and then, preparing the location for a proper dig.

 

In today’s Freebie, I’ve written up directions for having a simple fossil dig in your school’s backyard…or even inside the classroom if you must. But getting outside in a space set up for the students to discover can be just the thing to tame winter-weary bodies. I would set up a variety of pie pans with various clues as to which ones were laden with fossils and which might not bear any fruit. There would definitely be more than enough for every student  or pair of students in the class to have their very own location but there would be extra pans that they could choose to say…”Probably not that one.” But this is optional, so the Freebie includes the basic instructions. If you want more details on a multi-day or week-long study with academic and Cosmic Connections. Send me an email and I’ll see what I can do for you!

The tools needed are minimal and the preparation of the dig sites will be done by the students themselves. You’ll want to “bone up” (pun intended) on how paleontologists prepare the mapping. You might even want to provide some photographs of dig sites.

The hardest part of this activity? Getting the students to slow down and mimic the careful drawing of the site as well as the fossil reveal that real paleontologists must follow so as not to destroy any precious ancient species.

What’s in it for you? Well, this is one of those activities that will bring real joy as you watch, listen, coach, mentor…and simply bask in your students’  excitement of uncovering and discovering real fossils!

Share this insight!

How to Link “Appropriate Work Choices” to “Inspired Learning”

mw-claudiamann on February 17, 2022

“To stimulate life, leaving it free, however, to unfold itself, that is the first duty of the educator.”

Maria Montessori Source: The Discovery of the Child (1948), Ch. 8 : The Exercises, p. 141

I read a social media post about a 4-year-old who was not choosing challenging work…according to the adult who wrote it. In her post she said the girl loved the land and water forms and would do them over and over. The adult appeared to be dismayed at this behavior and frustrated that the child wouldn’t choose things like writing letters or some sort of number work.

How do we get children to choose work we think they are capable of doing, when they persist with work that we believe is far beneath their abilities? 

For me, the answer is observation. Present and watch. Present and watch. Take note not only of what the child chooses, but also the level of enthusiasm, the timing of when the choice takes place (right after the presentation, or days after), the level of success, the amount of time focused on the work. Let these observations guide your next steps.

Still won’t choose appropriately? Continue with observation: What does the child choose? How often? When do they stop? What occurs at the moment of deciding to put the work away: an invitation from another child? a spot at the snack table? a lesson given to another student? 

Dr. Maria Montessori was a scientist. Scientists observe continuously, seeking hidden secrets that will lead to understanding and “right action,” not validation of thoughts and beliefs we already hold. 

Observation leads us to take action, actions that may or may not succeed in achieving what we’d hoped. But the outcomes we observe NEVER fail to give us more information about the child before us so that we may continue to choose the actions we take with each and every child. This is the reality of “Follow the Child,” Montessori’s simple and effective directions. Our thoughts of what is appropriate may be right on and require our inspiration, but they also could be dead wrong.

Montessori’s observations led her to incredible discoveries about children and human development. In response to this new understanding, materials were developed that would both connect to and enhance the children at the place they are along their own developmental path. The materials are incredible responses to her discoveries, and they are fabulous. But the materials are not the method. The method, the Montessori method, that results in the magic and success we are all seeking, is rooted in observation.

Share this insight!