Write a Informative Speech 6-8 minutes with an outline
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InformativeSpeechOutline.docx· Maria Montessori
Introduction
How are the ideas of the first woman to receive a medical degree in Italy in the early 1900’s used to influence the present day education system in the United States? Maria Montessori was this woman and many characteristics of her teaching method can be found today both in the public and private educational systems found in our country.
After working in a Head Start Program for ten years, I have seen how preschool programs promote children’s self-help skills and recognize the individual developmental levels of each child. These are just two common factors supported by Maria Montessori’s method to educate children in order to develop confidence, self-discipline, and the ability to make choices.
Montessori’s philosophy on the education of children included specific ideas in three major areas. They are children’s development, the learning environment, and the approach used in the classroom by the teacher.
Body
I. Maria Montessori believed that children develop as a result of their absorbent minds and through work activities.
A. Children are born with the ability to learn during basic life experiences by absorbing this information.
1. Adults should give children the freedom to learn in their natural surroundings without criticism or restrictions.
2. Children have the ability to learn at different stages in their early years, especially from birth to age three.
B. Montessori’s ideas supported the promotion of concentration and self-discipline in children through work activities.
1. Self-discipline is the result of the natural development and maturity of children when the Montessori method is used.
2. If children are placed in the right classroom environment and given challenging work that leads to intense concentration, self-discipline will soon follow.
II. Maria Montessori also believed that children’s learning can be promoted through the use of a highly structured and a well organized classroom environment using specially designed materials.
A. The classroom environment is set up to be relaxed, comfortable, and arranged with consideration for children’s height.
1. Chairs and other furniture used in the room by children are child-size and materials are stored on shelves within easy reach of the children.
2. Classrooms are divided into specific working areas and children work in their individual space, either at a table or place on the floor, within these areas.
B. Materials used in the classroom are made to teach a specific lesson and are maintained in order to appeal to the children.
1. Puzzles and other materials are made to let the children immediately know upon completing an activity if it was done correctly or incorrectly.
2. Materials ranging from very simple to complex provide challenging activities for the children.
3. The materials always appear new and ready to use by the children, without any missing pieces.
III. Maria Montessori believed the teacher approached educating children by encouraging increased independence from adult interference using three progressive stages.
A. The first stage involved monitoring the classroom environment and observing the children.
1. The teacher’s first and most important responsibility is to monitor the classroom and to maintain the materials.
2. During this state, the teacher can aid or guide the children’s activities as much as she feels necessary.
B. The second stage involved the teacher calming the children by entertaining them with songs, games, and nursery rhymes.
1. The children at this time are not involved in a work activity that consumes all of their attention.
2. A disruptive child during this stage is distracted with an activity or one-on-one time with th
C. The third stage involves the teacher observing the children beginning to work on an activity with an intense concentration.
1. This work activity usually involves a simple life experience such as, pouring a glass of water or sweeping the floor with a child-size broom.
2. As the children increase their concentration abilities, the teacher provides more and more complex materials designed to challenge the children.
a. During this time, the teacher does not interrupt the children, not even to offer help, a positive comment, or even a noticeable look.
Conclusion
In many preschools programs today, some characteristics of the Montessori educational method can be found, possibly in the materials used in the classroom or in the use of the observation of children. Her teaching methods strive to establish confidence, self-help, and the freedom to make choices.
Maria Montessori believed she could change the world for the better by using her teaching methods to improve the way children are taught, which eventually would take them into an adulthood better prepared to contribute to a free society. She has said, “The child is endowed with unknown powers, which can guide us to a radiant future. If what we really want is a new world, then education must take as its aim the development of these hidden possibilities.”
Bibliography
Montessori, Maria. The Absorbent Mind. Translated by Claude A. Claremont. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1995.
Salkind, Neil J., eds. Child Development. Florida: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1994.
Essa, Eva L., eds. Introduction to Early Childhood Education. Canada: Delmar Learning, 2003.
Morgan, Harry. The Imagination of Early Childhood Education. Westport, Conn.: Bergin and Garvey, 1999. <http://emedianetlibrary.com/reader/reader.asp?product.id=63532
