“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” ~Socrates
Children are born to be curious, sociable, skillful, joyful and empathetic. Their minds are creative and flexible, their hearts trusting and open. They come into the world with brains designed to learn from their local environment, to interact skillfully with the people and objects that surround them.
They enjoy experimenting with new things and investigating whatever interests them. They learn languages and gain new skills easily, as long as they are respected, assisted (when needed) and encouraged.
Maria Montessori understood this, and taught that the role of educators is to organize learning environments so that they facilitate self-discovery, creativity, concentration and collaborative exploration.
Children learn best when learning is meaningful, playful and self-directed. There is no need for constant control, monitoring, external rewards and punishments. In fact, such authoritarian efforts tend to deter children’s learning, deaden their natural motivation and curiosity.
They will put time and effort into mastering skills and helping one another. They have a natural desire to make things, to communicate, be creative and competent, sociable and successful.
Teachers and parents have an important role to play with this, but attempts to over-control the natural learning process will immediately begin to snuff it out. Rigid expectations, standardized testing and comparisons of children to one another is psychologically harmful, as no two children will learn in the exact same way or at the same rate.
Provide extra help for those who are struggling, but make sure it’s done with love, respect and good intentions. Bottom line, children lose interest when adults are too rigid, authoritarian and controlling.
They need to be free to learn.
~Christopher Chase
Related video on Montessori Schools / Real Learning is a Creative Process
Pingback: 24 Human Character Strengths and Core Virtues | Creative by Nature
Pingback: How We Participate in the Creative Life of the Universe | Creative by Nature
Pingback: Every Child is an Artist by Nature | Creative by Nature
Pingback: Educational Malpractice – The Child Manufacturing Process | Creative by Nature
Pingback: Why Corporate School Reform will Eventually Fail | Creative by Nature
Pingback: The View from Japan: Common Core is a Disaster in the Making | Creative by Nature
Pingback: Noam Chomsky on the Dangers of Standardized Testing | Creative by Nature
Pingback: The How, What & Contexts of Learning | Creative by Nature
Pingback: Facilitating Powerful Learning Experiences | Creative by Nature
Pingback: ÖĞRENMELERİ İÇİN ÖZGÜR OLMALARI GEREKİR... - İrem Kafe
Pingback: Let a Child’s Spirit Be Free to Unfold – M. Montessori | Creative by Nature
Pingback: How Wisdom Grows- Educating Hearts and Minds | Creative by Nature
Pingback: Ken Robinson: Government “Standardization” Blocks Innovative Education Reform | Creative by Nature
Pingback: Ken Robinson – How Schools Kill Creativity | Creative by Nature
Pingback: The Trouble with Standardized Testing | Creative by Nature
Pingback: The Real Agenda of “So-Called” Education Reform | Creative by Nature
Pingback: Self-Direction is the Key to Mastery | Creative by Nature
Pingback: Symphonic Intelligence: The Next Revolution in Learning? | Creative by Nature
Pingback: Invest in Children, Not Testing. It’s That Simple. | Creative by Nature
Pingback: Understanding How Our Brains Learn | Creative by Nature
Christopher,
I’m living on the same frequency as your blogposts. That always feels good, or at least like solidarity in the face of daunting odds against a major paradigm shift. What do you teach in Fukuoka?
I’m working on designing a community learning resource network, as are others, I have realized, and wonder how far away the tipping point might be. Thanks for your posts!
Sidney
Hi Sidney! I’d like to hear more about what you’re working on. Please PM me on Facebook?
Pingback: Ikigai (生き甲斐) – Reason for Being | Creative by Nature
Pingback: Aligning with Your Unique Human Potential | Creative by Nature
Pingback: Children Need to Be Free to Learn | jeylighton's Blog
Pingback: Education of the Spirit | Creative by Nature
Pingback: 24 Human Character Strengths and Core Virtues | The Agile Note
Pingback: How We Learn to Compartmentalize | Creative by Nature