On June 2, I will be presenting to the staff of Clark Montessori Junior and Senior High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.
I have long admired the Montessori approach. The following shares four fundamental characteristics that Discipline Without Stress and the Montessori approach have in common.
1)
Children learn best through intrinsic motivation.
There are neither rewards nor punishments in true Montessori environments.
2)
Competition hinders learning.
Students learn to monitor their own progress in order to recognize self-growth. This leads to personal satisfaction based on effort—instead of comparisons about what others may have accomplished.
3)
Montessori develops self-discipline and independence.
Students in a Montessori environment learn to be responsible for their choices. They become truly self-disciplined with much less need for adult intervention.
4)
Montessori is education for life
.
The Montessori approach is designed for young people to develop fully as individuals—not just academically, but emotionally and psychologically as well.
