Montessori Case

In this essay I intend to write about the relationship between discipline and obedience from the Montessori perspective and how both these virtues are related in the development of the will. The word discipline traditionally means the enforcement of rules and orders through force and punishment. "It is the practice of training people to obey rules and punishing them if they do not" ( Wehmeier , 2005). It gives one the impression that discipline has to be enforced upon a person. "spare the rod and spoil the child ", does this really work? . Must children be caned and made to be silent and afraid of their teacher who moves at his/her pace expecting everyone to be on the same page. Is being afraid a sign of true discipline.? "The discipline we are looking for is active. We do not believe that one is disciplined only he is artificially made as silent as a mute and as motionless as a paralytic. Such one is not disciplined but annihilated. We claim that an individual is disciplined when he is master of himself and when he can as consequence control himself when he must follow a rule of life".( Montessori, 2007b, page 51).Montessori approached discipline from a different perspective. She saw each child as an individual and emphasized on 'following the child'. According to her, true discipline comes from within a child and cannot be imposed from the outside. It develops naturally and reveals itself after maturing in the right environment. This discipline is not limited to the nursery or the presence of the teacher, but extends out into the society and is present even if the teacher is not around. A true disciplined child is one who is in control of his movements, actions and behavior. He/she is able to concentrate on his/her work and has self-respect, respect for others and the environment around him. A child who has self-control and is able to find deep concentration and fulfillment in his/her work is a disciplined child therefore, punishments or rewards have no place in his/her life.

So how does this inner discipline emerge?. For this inner discipline to emerge, the child must be given freedom within limits to move and manipulate his/her environment through work with his/her hands, freedom of choice, freedom to explore, discover, repeat, make mistakes and freedom of expression/communication. However, giving a child freedom does not mean that he/she can engage in destructive/harmful activities, total freedom can lead to chaos. The physical and emotional safety of both the group and the individual should be given priority in the learning environment. The teacher should intervene to prevent a child from offending or hurting others. The introduction of ground rules is also very important in the learning environment. Ground rules should be simple and followed by everyone including the adults. They should be there to act as a guide and not to control. The ground rules should also be introduced in a positive way for example in addition to lessons that teach social graces/classroom etiquette. These lessons like how to walk, talk and carry apparatus in the classroom not only equip the children with essential everyday skills that are important in the learning environment, but also indirectly teaches them to be self-disciplined and be in control of their movements and actions.

Discipline, respect and freedom with responsibility are key elements of the 'favorable environment'. What is meant by the term 'favorable environment?'. It is a setup carefully prepared and adopted to the children's needs where they can engage in purposeful activities that are stimulating and offers freedom with responsibility at the same time. There are three elements of the favorable environment. First the physical environment, where everything is child sized and light to support easy movement in the classroom and easy access to the learning materials. Secondly the intellectual environment with auto-didactic materials arranged in careful graded sequence with control of error to encourage independent learning. Thirdly the social and emotional environment where peers of mixed age and adults are essential part of it ( social cohesion ). How can discipline be fostered in this favorable environment?. The favorable environment provides the best possible conditions for the child's holistic development ( normalisation ). The child's inner needs and 'sensitive periods' are met and catered for. What are these inner needs and 'sensitive periods'?. Children have an innate desire to do things for themselves and be independent. It is very important for adults to acknowledge this need for autonomy and facilitate these needs. 'sensitive periods' is the term Montessori used to describe the transitory time in a child's life when he/she develops a strong spontaneous desire to learn and master a particular skill. A child can learn more easily at this time and enjoys repeating some actions like going up and down steps again and again without getting tired. Montessori classrooms and materials are designed to meet all these needs. Children also need a consistent, stable and predictable environment for them to feel secure to explore and have an inner orientation as they construct themselves out of the elements of their environment. Lack of order and