MONTESSORI: BALANCING FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY
Every day, as a teacher in a Montessori school, I feel grateful to be part of what I consider the best, most wholesome education for children.
There are so many things that Dr. Montessori got right while developing this method for guiding children, but one of the aspects that I want to point out today is the freedom and responsibility tandem that is the basis of every Montessori school all around the world.
When she first started out, Dr. Montessori did not have one particular goal in mind; she just wanted to SUPPORT the children as they constructed themselves into beautiful, young and strong individuals. As she observed the children in her care, Dr. Montessori realized that there are some universal traits and needs that apply to every child and she was determined to meet those needs and let the child grow into all that he or she could be. She recognized that all of this self-construction needs to take place in an environment that allows for freedom and responsibility.
What are the freedoms we nurture and liberties we offer in the elementary environment:
freedom to choose their work
freedom to work in groups
freedom to think for themselves
freedom to communicate
freedom to move and act
freedom to reflect
freedom to go out
freedom from interference
The freedom that Dr. Montessori had in mind, did not, and does not, mean that children can do whatever they want. Freedom comes with responsibility to the classmates, family, school, and society and entails a fair amount of self-control. In fact, “to let the child do as he likes when he has not developed any powers of control is to betray the idea of freedom.” - Maria Montessori
What responsibilities are given to the child in typical Montessori classroom?
to know the limits of the environment and abide by these limits
to work and to concentrate
to ask for help when needed
to be aware of others and to work cooperatively
to work toward self-construction
to help take care/ clean their environment
to keep a daily work journal
Therefore, all Montessori schools offer LOTS of opportunities to practice freedom and responsibility so that these Montessori children can grow into wholesome and caring human beings. Here are some examples from our classroom:
A week or two before Valentine’s day, two girls in my class approached me with a suggestion to have a Valentine’s Day party. Of course they were absolutely welcome (freedom) and they had to plan the entire afternoon of games, secure music, clear the dress code with the head of school, create decorations, and decide on clean-up time and procedure(responsibility). If these two organizers did not fulfill their freely chosen responsibility of planning the event, there would not have been a Valentine’s party.
Another example: each Monday, there is a student who has volunteered (freedom) to be responsible for choosing (freedom) the menu for Thursday (cooking day) and writing the shopping list for our entree (responsibility). If they forget, there will be no food on Thursday.
As Dr. Montessori saw it, the impact of cultivating and balancing freedom with responsibility is peace; peaceful person and peaceful world. You can create your own peaceful home by learning how to implement and balance freedom and responsibility with your children. Freedom is not the right to do as you please, it’s learning to choose your responsibilities: being accountably limitless!
P.S. Re: photo; Montessori raised children do use real knives at home and at school, albeit proportional to body size.