The Teacher

"Scientific observation has established that education is not what the teacher gives; education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words but by experiences upon the environment.

The task of a teacher becomes that of preparing a series of motives of cultural activity, spread over a specially prepared environment, and then refraining from obtrusive interference. Human teachers can only help the great work that is being done, as servants help the master.

Doing so, they will be witnesses to the unfolding of the human soul and to the rising of a New Man who will not be a victim of events, but will have the clarity of vision to direct and shape the future of human society."
Education for a New World p2 Introduction.

Montessori was the first early childhood expert to fully recognise the psychic life of the child as the single most important element in development. She saw that children were not 'empty vessels' waiting to be filled up with information, but rather dynamic individuals who needed the right environment in which to develop in fullness of self.

She recognised the inherent vulnerability of the children, who had, through their physical weakness and lack of experience, to rely on the many adults in their world. She saw the profound damage that could be done if children were not allowed to develop according to their innate sensitivities.

What Montessori therefore asked of her teachers was that they no longer saw their role as that of simply imparting superior knowledge and understanding, but rather that of observer and catalyst between the children and the environment.

She wanted them to have a real understanding of what was going on in front of them and to become increasingly sensitive to the psychic needs that the children were demonstrating. She saw the child's spiritual nature as the true force behind all learning and wanted teachers who could recognise the importance of this quality.

She asked of her teachers, therefore, something that is now more common in psychological training: that they not only study the philosophy and the materials, but that they undertake their own self-analysis in order to better understand their own belief and value systems.

In this way, she felt, the teachers would begin to see how subtly and unconsciously the negative influences of adults could be passed on to the children.

"...we must be humble and root out the prejudices lurking in our hearts. We must not suppress those traits which can help us in our teaching, but we must check those inner attitudes characteristic of adults that can hinder our understanding of a child." (The Montessori Method p.153, Chap X).

She asked that they be "more psychologists than teachers" and considered that success lay in the ongoing nature of the teacher's own personal development as well as in the sensitivity of the observations of individual children. Ultimately she saw their role as not so much to teach the children as to 'direct' the natural energies that they saw emerging.

Extract from a course lecture, Barcelona 1933

What is it that teachers must do 'actively' to refine their way of serving and developing human life - in the environment that has been created and adapted specially for children? Above all, a teacher has a real duty to:

look after the environment in the most careful way, so that it looks clean, light and well ordered
repair things that are worn through use by mending and repainting, or obtaining some attractive ornament, "like a faithful servant who prepares the house for his master's return"
teach the use of objects and show by example how one undertakes practical tasks. It must be done with gentleness and accuracy so that everything in the environment can be used by anyone who chooses to do so
be 'active' when putting the child in rapport with the environment, and be 'passive' when this rapport is achieved
watch the children so as not to miss anyone who is struggling to find hidden objects, or anyone who needs help
go wherever he is called
listen and reciprocate when he is asked to do so
respect those who are working without ever interrupting
respect those who make mistakes without ever correcting them
respect anyone who is resting and anyone who is watching others work without disturbing him, without calling him, or making him return to his own task
be 'tireless' in trying to offer objects to those who have rejected them; and in teaching those who still haven't learnt and who make mistakes - making the environment as alive as possible and yet keeping a concentrated silence, using soft words and a loving presence
make his presence felt to those who are still looking, and hide it from those who have succeeded
appear to those who have finished their work and have made every effort possible, offering them his soul in silence, like a spiritual object.

"I give very few lessons on how to give lessons, least my suggestions - becoming stereotypes and parodied - should turn into obstacles instead of help. The directress is dealing with different personalities and it therefore becomes more a question of how she should orient herself in what is for her a new world, rather then any rigid and absolute rules." Montessori quoted in Standing, E.M., Montessori: Her Life and Work, 1957, p.307 <

Quotations

"The subject of our study is humanity; our purpose is to become teachers. Now what really makes a teacher is love for the human child; for it is love that transforms the social duty of the educator into the higher consciousness of a mission."
Maria Montessori - A Biography p 98, Chap 1

"I personally believe that we should give more attention to imparting a spirit to teachers than scientific techniques, that is, our aim should be towards what is intellectual rather than material."
The Discovery of the Child p 5, Chap 1

"We must create in the soul of the teacher a general interest in the manifestation of natural phenomena until he comes to a point where he loves nature and experiences the anxiety of one who has prepared an experiment and is waiting for new data to appear."
Ibid p 5, Chap 1

"Every external object and still more every external activity which hinders the frail and hidden impulse which, even though it is still unknown, acts as a guide to a child will be an obstacle. A teacher can therefore become a child's main obstacle, since her activities are more conscious and energetic than his."
Ibid p.97, Chap 5

"Activity has hitherto been the special competence of the teacher, but in our system it is left mainly to the child."
Ibid p. 149, Chap 10

"The profound difference that exists between our method and the so-called 'objective lessons' of the older systems is that the objects are not a help to the teacher... The objects in our system are, instead, a help to the child himself. He chooses what he wants for his own use, and works with it according to his own needs, tendencies, and special interests. In this way the objects become a means of growth."
Ibid p.149, Chap 10

"The principal agent is the object itself and not the instruction given by the teacher. It is the child who uses the objects; it is the child who is active, and not the teacher."
Ibid p.149, Chap 10

"The teacher... has many difficult functions to perform. Her cooperation is not at all excluded, but it becomes prudent, delicate, and manifold... Not words, but virtues, are her main qualifications."
Ibid p.150, Chap 10

"She is the main connecting link between the material, that is, the objects, and the child."
Ibid p.150, Chap 10

"As is well known, in our method a lesson is only an explanation of an exercise. By far the most important element is the work of the child himself in repeating it over and over again."
Ibid p 252, Chap 17

"From his scientific training, a teacher should acquire not only an ability but also an interest in observing natural phenomena. In our system he should be much more passive than active, and his passivity should be compounded of an anxious scientific curiosity and a respect for the phenomena which he wishes to observe. It is imperative that a teacher understand and appreciate his position as an observer."
The Secret of Childhood p. 50, Chap 8

"It has always been recognized that a teacher must be calm, but this calmness is usually considered to be one of character, a lack of nervousness. But there is here a question of a deeper calm, an empty, or better, unencumbered state that is a source of inner clarity. This calm consists in a spiritual humility and intellectual purity necessary for the understanding of a child, and which, as a consequence, must be found in a teacher."
Ibid p.137, Chap 20

"The way in which we observe a child is extremely important. It is not sufficient to have a merely theoretical knowledge of education."
Ibid p.149, Chap 22

"We insist on the fact that a teacher must prepare himself interiorly by systematically studying himself so that he can tear out his most deeply rooted defects, those in fact which impede his relations with children."
Ibid p.149, Chap 22

"A teacher, therefore, who would think that he could prepare himself for his mission through study alone would be mistaken. The first thing required of a teacher is that he be rightly disposed for his task."
Ibid p.149, Chap 22

"And so we discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being. It is not acquired by listening to words, but in virtue of experiences in which the child acts on his environment. The teacher's task is not to talk, but to prepare and arrange a series of motives for cultural activity in a special environment made for the child."
The Absorbent Mind p.7, Chap 1

"...while, in the traditional schools, the teacher sees the immediate behaviour of her pupils, knowing that she must look after them and what she has to teach, the Montessori teacher is constantly looking for a child who is not yet there."
Ibid p.252, Chap 27

"The teacher, when she begins work in our schools, must have a kind of faith that the child will reveal himself through work. She must free herself from pre-conceived ideas concerning the level at which children may be."
Ibid p.252, Chap 27

"The teacher's first duty is ... to watch over the environment, and this takes precedence over all the rest."
Ibid p.253, Chap 27

"The teacher, in this first period, before concentration has shown itself, must be like the flame which heartens by its warmth, enlivens and invites... Before concentration occurs, the directress may do more or less what she thinks best; she can interfere with the children's activities as much as she deems necessary."
Ibid p.254, Chap 27

"The great principle which brings success to the teacher is this: as soon as concentration has begun, act as if the child does not exist."
Ibid p.255, Chap 27

"The teacher's skill in not interfering comes with practice, like everything else, but it never comes easily. It means rising to spiritual heights. True spirituality realizes that even to help can be a source of pride."
Ibid p.256, Chap 27

"The real help that the teacher can give does not lie in obeying a sentimental impulse, but it comes from subjecting one's love to discipline, using it with discernment."
Ibid p.256, Chap 27

"To serve the children is to feel one is serving the spirit of man, a spirit which has to free itself."
Ibid p.258, Chap 27

"It is my belief that the thing which we should cultivate in our teachers is more the spirit than the mechanical skill of the scientist; that is, the direction of the preparation should be toward the spirit rather than the mechanism."
The Montessori Method p.9, Chap I

"We must make of them worshippers and interpreters of the spirit of nature."
Ibid p.10, Chap I

"The educator must be as one inspired by a deep worship of life."
Ibid p.104, Chap V

"A man is not what he is because of the teachers he has had. But because of what he has done."
Ibid p.173, Chap XII

"In fact, when the child educates himself, and when the control and correction of errors is yielded to the didactic material, there remains for the teacher nothing but to observe. She must be then more of a psychologist than a teacher..."
Ibid p.174, Chap XII

"Indeed, with my methods, the teacher teaches little and observes much, and above all, it is her function to direct the psychic activity of the children and their physiological development. For this reason I have changed the name of teacher into that of directress."
Ibid p. 174, Chap XII

"...her direction is much more profound and important than that which is commonly understood, for this teacher directs the life and the soul."
Ibid p.174, Chap XII

"The directress of the 'Children's House' must have a clear idea of the two factors which enter her work - the guidance of the child, and the individual exercise. Only after she has this concept clearly fixed in her mind may she proceed to the application of a method to guide the spontaneous education of the child and to impart necessary notions to him... In the opportune quality and in the manner of this intervention lies the personal art of the educator."
Ibid p 176, Chap XII

"When in a school everything revolves around a fundamental fact, and this fact is a natural phenomenon, the school will have entered the orbit of science. Then the teacher must assume those 'characteristics' which are necessary in the presence of science."
Spontaneous Activity in Education p. 129, Chap IV

"The fundamental quality is the capacity for 'observation'... it is obvious that the possession of senses and of knowledge is not sufficient to enable a person to observe; it is a habit which must be developed by practice."
Ibid p.130, Chap IV

"The vision of the teacher should be at once precise like that of the scientist, and spiritual like that of the saint. The preparation for science and the preparation for sanctity should form a new soul, for the attitude of the teacher should be at once positive, scientific, and spiritual."
Ibid p.138, Chap IV

"When she feels herself aflame with interest, 'seeing' the spiritual phenomena of the child, and experiences a serene joy and an insatiable eagerness in observing them, then she will know that she is 'initiated'... Then she will begin to become a 'teacher'."
Ibid p.141, Chap IV

"Education should be regarded as something of such importance that it is not entrusted to just any person, more or less qualified, morally or intellectually; but to persons who are very specially qualified."
The Child, Society and the World, p 102, Chap VI/3

Study guide

- Chapters I, XII

Spontaneous Activity in Education - Chapter IV

The Discovery of the Child - Chapter 10

The Secret of Childhood - Chapter 22

The Absorbent Mind - Chapter 2

Journal articles

Baker, K (1993) 'Some Thoughts about the Spiritual Development of the Teacher', NAMTA Journal, v18, n1, p98-104, Winter

Caldwell, C et al (1981) 'Beliefs about Teaching in Montessori and non-Montessori Preschool Teachers', Journal of Teacher Education, v32, n2, p41-44, Mar-Apr

Epstein, A (1998) 'The Behavior Part is the Hardest: Montessori Teachers and Young Children with Challenging Behaviors', Montessori Life, v10, n4, p24-25, Fall

Hallenberg, H (1997) 'Men in Montessori Education: Why I am One of Them', Montessori Life, v5, n2, p26-30, Spring

Kahn, D (1993) 'Montessori Professional Development: More Depth and More Breadth', Montessori Lif,e v5, n2, p38-39, Spring

Wheatley, Helen (1994), 'The Training of Montessori Teachers', International Journal of Early Childhood, v26, n2, p54-56

Archive resources

Billington, F (1914) 'Montessori Method in the Felden School, Manchester', The Link No 5

Boyd, W (1917) From Locke to Montessori, George Harrap & Co London.

Culverwell, E (1913) The Montessori Principles and Practice, G.Bell & Sons, London.

Kilpatrick, W (1915) Montessori Examined, Constable, London.

Kimmons, C (Chief Inspector of Schools 1915) 'Some Recent Montessori Experiments in England', Report on Conference of New Ideals in Education.