AUG 31 was Dr Maria Montessori’s birthday. The Pakistan Montessori Association had planned to honour its icons that day, starting with its legendary founder-educator and followed by her luminous successors in Pakistan — Mrs Gool Minwalla and others. Special tribute was to be paid to Farida Akbar, whose contribution as a trainer of trainers is unparalleled. Cyclone Asna disrupted the programme. The event was held a week later.
The storm was nature’s revenge for the excesses committed by humankind. This was a warning to us not to tamper with nature’s ways. The same also holds true for the child’s education. When incorrectly managed, our school system causes ‘deviations’ — a term used by Dr Montessori — in the child.
I quote from The Absorbent Mind to show how misunderstood our children are. “Education is not what the teacher gives: [it] is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the human individual. It is acquired not by listening to words [of a teacher], but by [gaining] experiences from the environment.”
The gist of the Montessori philosophy is that the child ‘constructs’ itself and by doing so it constructs the man/ woman it will grow up to be. The teacher’s role is to facilitate the child in this self-construction process. She prepares the environment from where the child gains its experiences. Montessori’s emphasis is on the psychic development of the child that begins at birth.
This is an autonomous process. It must be fully respected. Every child is born with diverse ‘tendencies’, strengths and weaknesses. The child must be encouraged to explore its self-learning instincts. Any attempt to control the child in the name of discipline and uniformity is self-defeating. The ‘strait-jacketing’ of children destroys their interest in education itself.
The child must be encouraged to explore its self-learning instincts.
Farida Akbar would always remind her students: “Follow the child.” It sounded so exciting. I would wonder, can’t we make our early childhood education more child-friendly by adopting some basic principles of the Montessori philosophy?
In March 2023, I decided to experiment with 10 children from a low-income community. Having acquired a classroom from a neighbouring school for two hours in the afternoon thrice a week, I launched my ‘Aao Khailain Markaz’ (Come Let’s Play Centre). My friend Hawa Mohammad, an excellent teacher trainer who acquired her expertise from renowned institutions, readily agreed to join me in my venture for six months. Above all, it was a privilege to have Farida Akbar as our mentor and guide. I had requested her to brief Hawa about her relationship vis-à-vis the children. Hawa says the time she spent with Mrs Akbar was a unique learning experience. “She enriched my understanding of a child. Her passion for her work was remarkable. She visited the centre whenever she felt her presence was needed.”
We collected a lot of teaching material, including many colourful picture books, flash cards and stationery for the children. The basic principle Hawa followed was to ensure that every child had the freedom of choice of the activity that interested it. Other do’s and don’ts for Hawa included: speak softly; don’t order the child, just do yourself whatever needs to be done and the child will imitate you; do not say ‘no’ to a child if it has to be stopped, just distract it with something more attractive. Being a gentle person herself, Hawa was quick on the uptake.
How fast the children oriented themselves to their surroundings and pace of work was amazing. They showed a remarkable sense of timing. They started recognising their names written in Urdu and were attracted by books which they picked up themselves for Hawa to read out to them. The most significant of all was their immense interest in whatever they chose to do. Each of them sat and worked with great concentration without being asked to. Above all, they became very articulate as we always spoke in Urdu, the language they spoke at home.
We gave nature time to do its work as there was no hurry. We had been told that when a child’s finger muscles and hand-eye coordination are ready, it will begin to write without being shown how to.
We never made the children competitive or rewarded them for their good work. But we ensured that they were always happy and did what they wanted to do in a carefully planned environment. Thus, they derived satisfaction from accomplishing their work. This satisfaction was their own reward.
I now understand why our present system is flawed. We push the child too much and create competitiveness. That has made us what we are: ambitious, greedy and willing to cut corners to get what we want. Give the child time and it will turn out to be nature’s best specimen in a world of diversity.
Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2024
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