One of Maria Montessori's main beliefs was to have the ultimate respect for the child. As a part of that respect for the child as a whole human being is the understanding that we, as the child's guide, must place trust in the child. Below are the words of a current Primary guide, Emily, about what that trust looks like for a guide in the Primary classroom.
"It’s the beginning of the school year, we just opened our second location, and I will be bringing sixteen of my students from the previous location to my new classroom, while thirteen children who have never been in a Montessori environment before will soon be walking through those doors. Over the past three months, I’ve had the opportunity to set up my Montessori primary classroom exactly how I want it. I’ve poured my heart and soul into every aspect of this classroom, and my best friend is a toddler teacher who thinks I’m crazy for spending so much time making it beautiful for my students, because the “new kids are going to destroy it.” As the first new, teary-eyed face walks through the threshold of my classroom and half-smiles with wide-eyed wonder at the learning environment that will be his second home for the next three years, I think to myself “I TRUST them.”
I have thirteen new students that I know nothing about in my classroom, and I am supposed to “follow them.” I don’t know these little people and their big personalities yet, how to comfort them when they are missing home, or how best to redirect them based on their individual temperaments. I have a responsibility to serve these children as a Montessori guide, and their parents have TRUSTED me with the care, safety, and education of their precious little ones. When I see one of my new students crying in the book corner by herself, I walk up to her and ask “do you need a hug?” As she falls into my arms, I think to myself “I TRUST myself.”
Based on what little information I have received from parents during our open house, the abilities of each of my new students differ so widely, and I don’t know what their passions and interests are or how to harness those interests to achieve academic success. I remind myself that the child is on a journey toward self-development, and they know best what is needed to meet their own developmental needs –– and I TRUST that. I remember that Dr. Maria Montessori, whose wisdom I have TRUSTED more than anyone else, once said that the teacher “must have a kind of FAITH that the child will reveal himself through work.”
I observe one of my new students struggling to hold a pencil as he traces the frame of the Metal Insets with one of my returning students, and I make a mental note to give him a lesson on the Knobbed Cylinders tomorrow to strengthen his pincer grasp. As I demonstrate how to “walk on the line” for one of my more active new friends and see how coordinated and intentional his gross motor movements are while doing this, I think to myself “ I do have FAITH, and I TRUST the child’s process.”
The first day turns into the first few months, and all of my students have mastered the basic order lessons of the classroom, and we have achieved normalization. After giving my students a line lesson on handling delicate objects, I start to introduce glass slowly to the Practical Life area of my classroom. We are studying the continent of Asia this month, and my mentor gifted me two beautiful porcelain sushi trays for my shelves. As a little girl reaches for this work and starts walking with the tray toward the table, I think to myself, “I TRUST her.”
The year progresses, and I TRUST that my third year students are ready for kindergarten. Most of them can read, write, and do math at a first grade level. More importantly, I will be graduating kind, independent, and confident human beings. I TRUST that my students will leave my classroom knowing how to be gracious, courteous, mindful, and compassionate. They will not be shocked when they encounter people who are different from them, because we talked about the beauty of our differences every day for the last three years, and I TRUST them to demonstrate tolerance, acceptance, and integrity.
They will know that they are part of an interconnected universe, and that their actions have an impact on others and on our world. Because of the lessons I have taught them and our years together, I TRUST that they will be caretakers of the environment, protectors of living creatures, and peacekeepers. As I say goodbye to the little people whose triumphs I have shared every day for the last three years, I think to myself, “I trust them.”
