Dec
The education of children in the past has been along wrong lines
The education of children in the past has been along wrong lines. It has
been the aim to cram them full of isolated facts, many of them untrue.
We are slowly outgrowing this tendency, but too much remains. Thanks
largely to Froebel and Doctor Montessori, our methods are growing more
natural. The adult learns by doing and so does the child. Doctor
Montessori teaches the children to use all their senses. She gives them
fabrics of various textures and objects of different shapes and colors.
Thus they learn colors, forms, smoothness, roughness, etc. She teaches
them how to dress and undress and how to take their baths. She lets them
go about the schoolroom instead of compelling them to sit still at their
desks in cramped positions. In this way they get knowledge that they
never forget. They learn to read and write and figure in playful ways
through the proper direction of their curiosity. Little tots of four, or
even younger, are often able to read, and there has been no forcing. All
has come about through utilizing the child”s curiosity.