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QUESTION #1:

Discuss the life and works of Dr. Maria

Montessori and why is she referred to as a
lady much ahead of her time?

Brief introduction of Maria Montessori:

Maria Montessori a very enthusiastic and self-driven
individual who despite being a pediatrician ironically ended
up becoming an educationist and a reformer later on. In her quest
to find educational solutions she founded an education system
which to this date is practiced and referred to her name. She was
the lady who realized that “Intelligence” isn’t rare, as often
believed at that time but in fact is the result of the environment
one grows in and the opportunities one is given. Her basic belief
that every child is special and is gifted with some unique potential
led to remarkable results and reason of her success and popularity.
Birth and education of Maria Montessori:
On 31st august 1870, a girl named Maria was born to a young
couple in Italy. The father being a military officer and orthodox
Italian was strictly against Maria’s education. But it was her
mother’s liberal approach that supported her and aided her to get
not just basic education but professional too. The military
background gave her the exposure of getting admitted in good
schools all over Italy. No doubt with support of her mother and
hard work she was not just able to get admission in a medical

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school but also ace it. To do that when all odds were against her;
for example her father, her male peers, the society who could only
see women in either a teacher’s role or a homemaker’s role; no doubt
required courage, perception and hard work.
Working in the university:
Once completing her education it was time to step into
practical world and test the limits and break through. Maria
started off teaching at the medical school of the University of
Rome. Being a professional pediatrician and child psychologist
Maria got the opportunity to interact with poor kids who belonged
to working class through the free clinics that were arranged by the
same medical school. It was there that she realized that intelligence
is wrongly judged with specific perimeters.
Working in an asylum:
After four years Maria was appointed director of the new
Orthophrenic School attached to the University of Rome. There she
was greatly disappointed by the way autistic children were being
treated. This gave her an opportunity to practice her scientific
knowledge and find solutions to the problems of the children who
were hopelessly banished by the society n given a life of prisoners.
She hunted for successful works previously done in this field. It
was her keen observation and patience with the kids that led to
improvement in their motor and cognitive skills to the extent that
after a couple of years the children were not only independent but
were also able to pass the standardized exams. This was shocking
news for the whole world and the reason of her popularity.
Taking up a role as a reformer:

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Her success at The Orthophrenic School did not go unnoticed

by the world. When her tried and tested ideas got the focus of the
world, she soon began to be regarded as a reformer. She actively
supported various social reform movements. And Maria who once
had rebelled against the orthodox Italian customs was now treated
with respect and people felt honored if she participated in their
reform movements. She became a figure of respect and very popular.
She used her powerful presence to speak up for not only rights of
children but also for women’s rights, peace education and importance
of League of Nations.
Working as medical director for a day care center:
Young maria Montessori after experiencing success with the autistic and
special children looked forward to working with regular kids as she
challenged the world that the current education system wasn’t good
enough to bring out the best in kids and she with the help of her teaching
methods could do so. Even after gaining so much popularity and even
after enrolling herself as a reformer still she was unable to get a chance to
work in a school because Italy still wasn’t ready for a lady to bring
reforms to her education system. But life gave opportunity when she was
appointed as a medical director for a day care center. And even after being
in an odd setting Maria was able to show very profound changes in poor
kids and help them become better human beings with better self-esteem.

Maria Montessori being ahead of her time:

If looked at all the aspects of Maria Montessori’s life one can
no doubt say she was a woman ahead of her time. It was her strong
personality that rebelled against gender barriers and breaking them.
Becoming the first lady doctor was definitely being ahead of her
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time. Instead of being judgmental and having no empathy she dared

to observe and then experiment to see if she could find ways to get
desired results in the development of children. By doing so she proved
herself as a “RENAISSANCE” for education. She lived to see both
the world wars and still tried her level best to instill good humanistic
characteristics in children and REGENERATE HUMAN KIND.
Once knowing that she could test the limits and breakthrough she
decided to even stand up for the rights of women and be a part of
peace movements. A hundred years later the educationists now
endorse the fact that Maria Montessori’s teaching methods were
clear and sensible

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QUESTION # 2:

Which are the main requirements to be

considered to start a House of Children?
How do you implement them?
Montessori or house of children as it may be called is the place where
children can do whatever they want and meet their needs and interest.
Therefore, one has to be very particular and consider numerous things
when starting the house of children. It is the most difficult task to start
it. There are several requirements which one should be keeping in mind.
To begin with one will need at the very least
A clean criminal record:
Remember opening a house of children is a huge responsibility. Having a
clean criminal record helps one to gain trust of parents that their children
are in safe hands
A safe building in an appropriate location
Montessori house should be child-sized where he could enjoy his age. A
child sized kitchen, science lab, an art studio, bath rooms, hobby
workshop, everything should be according to the size of a child. They lead
him to fulfill his desires and enjoy his own world.
A house should be design in such a way that the child could face out door
environment. There must be window through which the children could
face sunlight at a daytime and become a natural source of ventilation.
There must be the children garden where child can grow vegetables and
fruitsof their choice. It leads them to close to their natural environment

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Class room design:

It is the most important place where children have to stay. Montessori
educational apparatus, tables and shelving, and related activities
equipment should be appropriate and several in number so that children
could approach them.
The size of the classroom should allow minimum of 20 square feet per
student at the early level, 30 squares for the elementary level and 40
squares would befor secondary level.
First-aid training:
With so many kids around one should be prepared for any accidents
because kids are at times unpredictable. So being equipped with the
knowledge of first aid one can deal with the small problems on spot or in
case of emergency
Reliable and trust-worthy staff:
Maria Montessori practiced dismissing staff that was not understanding
of the children’s needs or treated kids with hatred or impatient
The number of students in the classroom should not be exceeding more
than 30 students.
The courage to give independence with responsibility:
There should not be any prohibition of doing something which the student
is not allowed at his home. “Prohibition whether sweet or bitter,
prohibition is prohibition.”Children are usually not allowed to do by
themselves what they want at their home so Montessori room should
provide them this opportunity .

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These are just the basic factors which should consider while starting any
house of children. Now the question arises what measures one must take
to fulfill these requirements

HOW TO IMPLEMENT:
Considering requirements are very important but implementation is more
important than them because implementation is something which we have
to implement and how it works is based on it. There must be a lot of
things which should implement those are:
The prepared environment
Respect for children
Focus on individual child
Polite behavior of the teacher
Parent- teacher meeting.

THE PREPARED ENVIRONMENT:

Prepared environment is very important. When they have prepared
environment, they are able to do what they want. The material is
available for the child which they can easily access and do whatever their
interest.

RESPECT FOR THE CHILDREN:

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Respect is the basic thing which everybody requires. Every child needs
respect. Parents try to force them to follow the parents without regarding
their needs and interest. Therefore, first we should take great care of
the respect of the child.

FOCUS ON INDIVIDUAL CHILD:

Every child is different from one another. Teacher should focus on
individual child’s learning progress, growth and understanding. As it
varies from child to child .

POLITE BEHAVIOR OF THE TEACHER:

The teacher is the role model for the student. Her behavior should be
polite towards students. As the teacher is the spiritual mother of the
students, they learn a lot from them after their mother. So, her behavior
and attitude should be very good.

PARENT- TEACHER MEETING:

The between parents and teachers is very essential, because neither the
the teacher alone can make a difference nor a parent. There must be
parent-teacher meeting as parents should know the progress and
development of their child a nd the most importantly about the attitude
and the nature of their child. Montessori teacher can guide them
according to the nature of their children. And for the long term
implementations of the ideals taught by the teacher there must be some
practice of those ideals ata home so desired results can be achieved

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CONCLUSION:
To sum up, the house of the children is the place where children can meet
their needs and interests. So, these requirements should keep in mind when
starting the school

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QUESTION # 3:

What are the discoveries made by Dr.

Maria Montessori by observing the child?
Dr. Maria Montessori’s, educational approach is based on observation
and experimentation. She used a scientific approach. She worked tirelessly
observing children, analyzing results and developing new materials. In
start she worked with mentally disabled children and achieved
astonishing results. After that she thought to work with normal children.
She believed the ‘secret of childhood’ that every child have a potential and
it’s the responsibility of adults to help them and flourish this potential.
Montessori was the revolutionary who created her method from
observation, not just from old theories.
Here are some of her observations that have the most importance for early
learning activities:
Children love to work purposefully:
She observed that child whose concentration on graded wooden cylinders
was so strong that efforts to distract him were useless and when the child
had finished he seemed rested and happy. The child’s ability for deep
concentration and love towards work was phenomenal
The inner drive is sufficient:
She observed that young children are power house of energy, always
seeking out experiences that will help them grow and develop. She
observed that children have the ability to select their own activity/work.
And they don’t work for any incentives or rewards but their inner
motivation is fair enough to motivate them for a particular work.

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When something that answers the inner needs of the child’s eyes
spontaneous interest is kindled:
She also observed the child’s need for repetition which fulfilled a child’s
need. She then decided to give children the freedom to be able to
accomplish their work.
Normality depends on all the human powers working in unison, in
collaboration
Very young children need order for their development:
She observed that A young child is in the process of building his
personality which lasts for a life time. He needs consistency in everything
in his environment. It takes a while for him to understand that things can
be different.
The child gets confused when he is told to do a respective thing but seesss
his elders doing it otherwise. For example if the task of inculcating
honesty in a child is taken, kids are taught to be honest but the adults at
times do lie unconsciously or ask them to lie to deal with a certain
situation. This makes them confused as to whether it is right or wrong.
Similarly we may try teaching our children not to litter around but they
may observe us throwing a wrapper of a snack anywhere if he may not
find a dustbin, giving an excuse that it is okay because he didn’t find a
dustbin. So this would convey the message to the child that always doing
a certain thing isn’t necessary and ultimately they would indulge to the
wrong things because they are easier to practice.
Activities involving sensorial concepts, language, arithmetic, Art, culture
were found to be necessary for the child’s education.
The children can assimilate the knowledge, normally considered to be too
complex for the child, if its presented in rightful conditions.
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Real discipline comes through freedom:

She observed that children had a great sense of order. Children put their
things back to where they belonged. She respected this and allowed them
to do it by placing the materials in an open cupboard than the locked ones.
This cemented the way of freedom of choice for the child to choose their
work.
Real obedience is based on love respect and faith:
If elders and teachers are polite and sharp enough to understand the
reason behind child’s certain behavior and deal with them accordingly.
The children will definitely be obedient and respectful.
Children are often seen to behave in a certain manner:
She believed that the child’s behavior depends on the environment. A child
can be disobedient, stubborn etc. or a child can be disciplined, happy and
healthy. It depends on the environment. If proper, healthy and interactive
environment provided to children and their rightful needs fulfilled, they
behave normal otherwise not. The second condition is called deviation.
The child has to be helped to become independent:
She noticed that children are willing to their work on their own. They feel
happy and satisfied while doing daily house hold activities like cleaning,
washing, mopping. She concluded that children want to learn on “help me
do it myself” strategy.
The environment is important to obtain desired results:
She noticed that children are more comfortable with their sized furniture
and things. So whole building and rooms are designed according to

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children interest and comfort ability. The furniture, washrooms etc. are
designed and sized for children. Windows low to the ground and low
shelves used so that children can have the outside view and used things
from shelves.
Traffic pattern of the rooms
After continues research and observation she came to know the traffic
patterns of the room arrangements for children. Room should not be
congested and over loaded. Children love to sit on floor during many
activities so

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QUESTION #4:

What does “PILES” stand for when we talk

about human development? Discuss the
physical, lingual, and intellectual
development taking place during 3 to six
years of age?
PILES stand for:
P = Physical
I = Intellectual
L = Lingual
E = Emotional
S = Social development
Physical development
Physical development takes place during 3 to 6 years of age. The child
feels certain strong urges at specified time periods. Which lead him to
development as shown in the figure:
Age 0-6 years Strong natural urges Experiences which satisfy the Natural
urges Development
At the age of 3 years:
In this age a child can balance on one foot for a moment. He/she is
dextrose on outdoor equipment. The child can Steer and run round
obstructions with ease. Uses pedals on a trike and steers well. He/ she

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will throw balls above head and catches clumsily with arms and hands.
Forcefully kicks ball walks in an adult fashion upstairs, even holding a
big toy. Still puts both feet on each step when coming downstairs. The
child likes to jump off the last step. He/she moves large toys about easily.
And can sit with legs crossed
At the age of 4 years:
At the age of four a child is able to bend down to pick up toys with legs
straight. He/ she can use ladders and will climb up trees. He/she can play
better ball games, can throw, catch and kick well and can now bounce a
ball. The child is able to Runs about on tiptoe and even run upstairs with
total efficiency. He/she is able to sit cross-legged, can Hop around and
balance on one foot for longer. The child is now more adept at running
round obstructions and corners with agility
At the age of 5-6 years:
At the age of five the child can now play all sorts of ball games
competently. His balance is improved considerably making him able to
stand on either foot for about ten seconds. He/she is able to hop longer
and also walk along a thin line. The child is definitely more energetic and
lively in general. As he/she has almost gained his/her expertise at all
outdoor activities such as swimming, climbing and sliding, making him
confident and lively.

INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT:
The intellectual development grows in the child with the passage of time.
The child learns how to behave with the adults and how to cope up with
the awkward situations but it all depends on the proper environment and
conditions which we provide to them.
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At the Age of 3 years:

A three year old loves to paint, but is unable to produce a recognizable
picture. Interestingly the child decides what he has drawn after drawing
the picture and viewing it. He/she may draw a head for a person. It may
have other features. He/she can recognize colors but may mix up blue
from green. A child can be able to thread big beads and built 9 blocks high
towers and small bridges and bricks. He can use children’s scissors. He can
also hold a pencil properly. He/she can copy a circle, a V,T,H and a cross.
At the age of 4 years:
A child is skillful at holding pencils. He/she is able to build 10 ricks high
tower. He also knows primary colors. At this stage the child draws a more
detailed drawing. The child can draw a house and people with head legs
arms and fingers too. He/ She can copy X, T, H, V and O.
At age of 5-6 years:
A child can draw more detailed drawings and painting including
surroundings. He can also count fingers. He/she is now skilled at coloring
and solving jigsaws. He/she is excellent at handling pencils. He can relate
to the time of day corresponding to everyday activities. He/ she can now
copy a square, a triangle, and L,H,V,Y,X,T,O,U,C and A.

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT:
Language development also improves through time to time and the child is
able communicate more clearly. Children learn from the environment and
we should make the environment suitable for the children.
At the age of 3 years:

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His/her questioning will be most inquisitive. In age of 3 a child can recite

name, age and tell if he is a boy or gil. His/ her sentences are completely
understandable but still sound childish. He/she is able to have simple
conversations with others. He/she tends to self-talk while playing, mainly
throughout pretend and play. Wants to be read favorite stories again and
again. Recites more rhymes and can sing some songs. He/she understands
and can use you, me I, him, her, he, she and plurals.
At the age of 4 years:
Always asking very inquisitive questions like “What
does that mean?” He/she loves to have a joke. He will recall latest
happenings in conversation with others. Likes long stories now, also tells
stories. Occasionally mistakes reality with imaginings. The grammar is
now correct. He/she can count 4 or 5 objects, and can recite up to 20. He
she can sing several songs or rhymes, knows own name age and address.
Have some confusion in sounds of some letters
At the age of 5-6 years:
He still asks the meaning of intangible words. He will now recite own
name, address, age and sometimes knows birthday. He knows more rhymes
and songs, and loves to sing them. Takes pleasure in humorous stories and
witticisms and will also use them to play later. The child is increasingly
articulate.

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Question # 5:

Write a comprehensive note on the role of

teacher in a Montessori classroom?
The role of a Montessori teacher is that of an observer whose ultimate
goal is to intervene less and less as the child develops. The teacher’s first
objective is to prepare and organize the learning environment to meet the
needs and interests of the children as well as promote independence. The
focus is on the children, not on teachers teaching. Through careful
observation and planning, Montessori teachers remain constantly alert to
the direction each child is heading and actively works to help them
succeed.
In an atmosphere of calm, order and joy, the Montessori teacher is there to
help and encourage the children in all their efforts, allowing them to
develop self-confidence and inner discipline. The children learn from their
own discoveries and draw their own conclusions.
With the younger students at each level, the teacher is more active,
demonstrating the use of materials and presenting activities based on an
assessment of the child’s requirements. Children at all levels of Montessori
education are actively engaged by the teacher in the learning process
which enhances critical thinking skills. The lessons are brief and precise,
meant to intrigue the minds of children and encourage further practice or
self-directed study.
Montessori teachers are the dynamic link between the children and the
Prepared Environment. They systematically observe students to interpret
their needs and modify the environment to meet the needs and interests of
the children. They present clear, interesting and relevant lessons, model

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desirable behavior and evaluate each child’s individual progress.

Montessori teachers respect and protect their students’ independence and
are supportive and encouraging without the use of rewards or
punishments. They facilitate effective communication and are peace
educators, consistently working to teach courteous behaviors and pro-
social conflict resolution skills.
Guiding
The Montessori teacher’s role is different from the role played by
traditional teachers. Traditional teachers present a lesson to large group of
students who are expected to listen and absorb the information provided.
Montessori teachers work with only one or two students at a time
providing learning material for the needs and interests of each child in the
class. The teachers advise, present a lesson or observe children quietly
while they work. In this way, children work at their own pace in a
peaceful environment.
Learning
If a child is not ready, a Montessori teacher does not force the child to
learn. For instance, the teacher associates an object with its name, such as
"book," and asks the child to identify the word. If the child points to the
object, the association has been made. If not, the teacher doesn't correct
the child but revisits the lesson another day. The Montessori system gives
the child time to clear the consciousness to be ready to make the
association another day. The Montessori system believes that by pushing a
child, they will continue to get the association wrong.
Skills
You need specialized skills to become a Montessori teacher. Through
observation skills, you can learn about each student’s interests, learning

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style and temperament. This is important in understanding when students

are receptive to learning, and you can introduce more complex lessons. You
have skills as a creative facilitator acting as a resource for children. You
offer encouragement and support them in their accomplishments to inspire
advancement through the curriculum and learn new skills. With skills to
build character, you develop an environment that nurtures qualities that
help children develop logical thinking, social understanding and problem-
solving skills to become good citizens of the world.
Education
The role of a Montessori teacher is to share a system of child development
through the philosophy of guidance. If one is Montessori trained one can
do better.

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