But what is Montessori's idea? In order to get along with children better, I took time to read Montessori Early Teaching, hoping that when I read some institutions and articles about Montessori in the future, I can distinguish gold from gravel.
Contrary to most people's understanding, Montessori does not have a set of strict teaching methods, let alone standard teaching AIDS. Montessori itself is a set of teaching ideas to help children grow up better. The most important thing is to let children grow up freely and independently. This is particularly difficult to grasp in China. According to the general view, if you want to love children, you should pay attention to them, and this is precisely the curse that restricts their growth. This book takes ancient slavery as an example. In ancient times, seemingly free nobles could not live independently without slaves. Formal slaves took care of everything, making slave owners less and less independent. This is especially true for families in China today. What we are worried about is intergenerational education, and what we are most afraid of is the meticulous love of grandparents.
Freedom means that children are not allowed to do anything according to their own wishes. Since children can't tell right from wrong, as parents and teachers, we should tell them clearly and repeatedly what is right and wrong. Moreover, there is no need to reward and punish children. We should clearly tell children what can't be done and what is forbidden. This is also very counterintuitive to most parents. Think of the little red flowers, certificates and gold bars issued to children by kindergartens and primary schools, which are exactly the opposite of Montessori's philosophy.
Don't help children do things, and don't limit children to explore things by themselves. No punishment, no reward, which sounds strange. But when you think about it, these ideas are also the source of children's independent growth and lifelong learning in the future.