How to educate our children with special needs? What is Montessori Method of education?

When we ask this question to those interested in serving people with special needs, we will find them advising us to use the Montessori Method, mentioning its advantages as one of the best educational approaches suitable for this purpose.

Curriculum term: Its meaning is not limited to the content or course (the educational material) that is provided only, or the method of teaching used only, but it means all the experiences that are provided to learners under the supervision, sponsorship or direction of the educational institution. These experiences are found in the content, method and activities inside and outside the institution during and after the school day (homework if any), trips, camps…etc.

Before we get to know the Montessori approach of education, we stop for a moment at (Who developed this curriculum?) and what is the educational thought that is based on it? And how do we apply this approach to get the best results from it?

Maria Montessori

She is an Italian educator, philosopher, physician, scientist and educator.

She was born in a small town in central Italy in 1870. She is the first Italian girl to enroll in medical school and graduate as a doctor. Later, she focused all her interest in working with mentally handicapped children. She studied the works of her predecessors in this field, including doctors Jean Itard and Edward Seguin, and was influenced by the writings of (Jean Jacques Rousseau). She studied engineering for a year, and followed the scientific method in education, which relied on:

1 – Observation, experiments and scientific research

2 – Studying the development of children and the mechanism of their education.

She founded a school for the disabled called Orto Frenca and worked as its director and spent two years in the school administration. She applied the principles of Sejuan in the education of people with mental disabilities, and succeeded with greatly, which led her to believe that there are great mistakes in the methods of education used in teaching ordinary children.

She marveled, saying: While people were so impressed by the success of my students, I was so amazed that ordinary children remained at such a poor level of education.

Therefore, if the methods that succeeded with children with special needs were used with ordinary children, would have succeeded resoundingly. That is why she decided to research and study the matter from all sides.

She combined her experiences and knowledge with her background as a physician and her influence with hard-working educators to form a single theory of education that later became known as the Montessori Method.

Which called that self-education is the basic rule for all teaching methods, that is, the child does the work himself according to his ability and inclinations. She gradually began to invent new ways that make children teach themselves under the supervision of teachers who believe in this principle and know how to guide the learner to self-learning.

She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times. Maria died in the Netherlands in 1952 AD.

her books

1 – From childhood to adolescence. 2 – A guide in the education of young children. 3 – Education for a new world. 4 – Education for peace.

5- The accommodating mind. 6 – The child in the family. 7 – Latent human power. 8 – Discovery of the child.

9 – The secret of childhood 10 – the training of the child. 11 – The advanced Montessori Method.

The question remains, is the Montessori educational method, followed a century ago still valid today? This is what we will learn about in the following articles