The Magic of Learning

Today, the American Montessori Society (AMS) published one of Maria Montessori many quotes filled with infinite wisdom: "Education is not something which the teacher does... it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being."

This phrase should make clear why the traditional model of education is corrupted from the start. We don't learn by "pushing knowledge" from the teacher to the student.  We, humans, learn by exploring, smelling, tasting, unveiling, playing, experiencing the world.  In our interaction with our environment we get called, moved, inspired by different things at various moments which become our real teachers and the lessons that come to shape us and stay in us and with us forever.

Maria Montessori understood this to the core, and one of the cornerstones of her legacy is a fundamentally different approach to the child, from one in traditional education where the child is perceived as an empty vessel that needs to be filled with teachings from an imparting adult, who is supposed to "know it all", phrases to be repeated endlessly, homework that in many cases do not make sense or engages the child at all and is supposed to be still (as much as possible), quiet in his or her desk, passively receiving this information that in the majority of cases is taste-less and doesn't stick in the child (do you remember your geography or grammar lessons from Elementary to High School?).

Montessori education allows the child to interact with the world and learn from it, at his or her own pace, excitement and passion. No homework is needed when the world is your school!