Montessori Toronto Area Schools Have Been A Fixture Since The 1960s

By Annabelle Newton


Parents seek to give their children a leg up in their education with a Montessori Toronto area school. They are following a growing trend, but they need to be careful in their selection process. It is important to understand that not all schools closely prescribe to this education philosophy.

To avoid confusion decision makers are advised to confirm a school has been approved by authoritative organizations. Even schools that closely follow the methodology may have distinctions that matter to different parents. For the best fit, a thorough exploration of the available options is recommended.

There is a path breaking legacy rooted in this city. The initial school established anywhere in the country was started here. It became the beacon which spread its North American popularity. The educational pioneer opened its doors in 1961 under the leadership of a former student of Dr. Montessori herself. After a decade, an institute to train teachers was established. As a result, the city has a reputation as being a center for carrying on this tradition.

Each school accepted by an accrediting organization reflects this legacy. Properly trained educators employ the techniques and tools that reflect its guiding philosophy. For each lesson, teachers design their personal manuals adhering to the prescribed norms. Classroom settings are planned so that they nurture social skill development in the process. The teaching method and material encourage an inherent desire to learn that is believed to exist in each child. The founder of this technique complained traditional education failed to nurture this quality.

The founder of this unique teaching method was the first female physician in Italy and a psychiatrist at the turn of the last century. In her early career as a psychiatrist she worked with mentally retarded children and juvenile delinquents. As a result of this experience perhaps, she developed an interest in education and immersed herself in educational theory.

Her study and observations caused her to question the methods used to educate such children. Her major innovation was devised after she realized children learned naturally by interacting with their environment, without a structure imposed by adults. Her techniques and tools are designed to encourage this natural inborn instinct.

In our day and age this technique is accepted as a form of experiential learning. Scientists, with the help of MRI technology, know that this form of learning utilizes how a brain builds neural pathways. It encourages scholastic evolution using what is inherently natural for us. Experts have said her concept is the preeminent model of a brain centered educational program. It is amazing that this method was devised simply from objective observation, a century before the development of MRI technology.

Usually students remain in this system until they are 12 years old. There is a reason for this. The founder did not prescribe guidelines beyond this age. Despite this, its influence lasts into maturity. The child focused manner of learning imparted in Montessori Toronto schools contrasts with how students are conventionally educated. Under traditional education students learn the same thing in the same way at the same time. They are grouped by age, whereas here children of different ages learn in the same classroom setting.




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