Lakshmi A. Kripalani

How Children Lead Us

Oh, the capacity of the child to learn and to generalize.

Sometime back I was observing a Montessori school in Dallas. A two-and-a-half-year-old was distracted by my presence. He studied me from a distance. After a while I had to acknowledge and greet him with a smile. He slowly and very carefully approached me and asked, “Who are you?”

I told him that I was a teacher, like his teacher, and worked in a school.

He was not satisfied with my answer but went back. He continued to look at me. After a while he returned and asked, “Whose mother are you?”

I assured him that I was not a mother and I had no children and that I was a teacher.

He returned but his curiosity was not satisfied. He got hold of a three-year old child and they talked between themselves for a while. Then both of them returned holding each other’s hand and asked in one voice, “Whose grandmother are you?”

I tried to explain to them that if I am not a mother, then I couldn’t be a grandmother.

They could not accept my answer. The younger one responded, “You cannot be a teacher. You do not look like a teacher.”

I was taken back by his answer but was pleased. I did not want to look like a teacher.

At the age of 9, when I joined a new school, my teacher not only insulted me but threw my book when I asked the meaning of three English words that I had missed. I stood at the door crying and promised myself that if ever I became a teacher, I would never mistreat a child nor would I look like a teacher.

To hear from a two and a half-year old that I did not look like a teacher but that I looked like a caring mother or a grandmother was most welcome.

How did a two and a half-year old and three-year-old make a judgment that I did not look like a teacher?

We underestimate the child’s potential to acquire knowledge from the environment without direct teaching. It was the realization of this potential that led Dr. Montessori to direct us to follow the child.

Unfortunately her phrases are too frequently taken out of context, leading us to think her vision was not about the child’s ability to learn but about the presentation of the material in rigid sequence. It has resulted too often in a dependency on the material and a misunderstanding of the crucial importance of the three-year age grouping.

When a teacher feels compelled to present every piece of material or concept in rigid sequence, there is no time to observe and work independently with each child. The teacher can forget the importance of a child’s independent functioning.

Meanwhile, the child gets bored waiting to get a turn to work with the teacher.

The teacher needs to develop the art of working a classroom.

She works with a few children at a time, using materials and concepts appropriate to them. Over time she creates an enriched environment that allows all children to function independently and cooperatively.

It is what Dr. Montessori meant by the prepared environment, built on three-year groupings, as older children naturally move ahead to enrich the environment. Even the slow learners in the older group are not isolated as children are functioning at different levels.

The teacher can then stand back and observe, knowing crucial information is not limited to a particular child or situation, but the entire classroom.

She can SEE the free flowing information through the activities of children.

She can use her observations to meet the needs of children and create activities to facilitate their growth.

She can create an environment in which learning takes place as if by osmosis and from the cosmos.

The teacher running from one child to another, presenting material, misses the opportunity to observe.

I hear some make the case for a two-year grouping, arguing it is easier to present each lesson and activity in sequence to each child.

It is not what we want.

It exhausts the teacher and inhibits the spontaneous progress of the child. Presentations turn boring rather than innovative.

It limits the teacher’s ability to create a rich environment.

Years ago, my school had two sessions–one in the morning and another in the afternoon. A mother realized that instead of leaving her child for half a day with a baby sitter, it was better to send him to the school for both the sessions. I was reluctant to take only one child for both the sessions. My concern was that he might be bored in a group that could easily be a repetition of the morning session.

To my surprise he became a leader to the younger children and enjoyed the freedom.

Within a few months another mother got divorced. She needed full-time care for her son, Jack. I was almost forced to accept her child. Jack was a year younger than John but they became buddies almost instantly. Jack wanted to do everything John did and got frustrated when he tried to imitate John’s drawing.

One day I told John that he had drawn too many complicated drawings and asked that he draw something simpler for Jack to follow. John was very delighted to do it.

He took a square inset from the geometrical insets and traced it. Then he drew three faces on the top of it and six arms on the other two sides with only two legs. He brought it to me for my approval.

Looking at the picture I remarked, “Who is that monster with square belly and so many faces?”

John was greatly disappointed but declared that it was me.

I was surprised and asked, “How come I have three faces and six arms?”

He instantly replied that I had fourth face at the back and two more arms because I could see on all sides and help everyone. He further explained that when he was playing outside with other children and that there were no windows to the classroom, I caught him behind the door where he was hiding to frighten other children.

He returned and drew another picture of me. This time he gave me a long dress with a line of buttons in front of it. I understood why he gave me a long dress because I dressed in a sari. I was curious why he gave me all the buttons.

I asked him why he gave me the buttons.

He said, “Did you forget? In the morning you told a mother that she had a nice dress and you would like to have one like that. It had a line of pretty buttons in front.”

Children observe every detail. The teacher must observe and learn from children’s reactions.

She needs to create an environment where independent learning takes place, she can observe, and then continuously enrich, that environment with new experiences and activities.

It is an enormous task, and the teacher cannot do it if she is continuously presenting same lessons to every child individually.

Copyright 2007

Lakshmi Kripalani was trained by and has worked with Dr. Maria Montessori and Mario Montessori. She is an AMI Montessori teacher trainer and consultant.

Dr. Montessori’s 1946 Lectures—Karachi, India, transcribed and edited by Lakshmi Kripalani is available through the Houston Montessori Center, 713 464-5791. Ms. Kripalani is available for lectures, workshops or consultations. She can be reached at lkripal...@comcast.net.