HAPPY CHILDHOOD.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1635, 9 November 1916, Page 4

HAPPY CHILDHOOD.

THE M(LNTESSOIH SYSTEM. AS APPLIED AT THE CENTRAL INFANT SCHOOL. Recently members of llie Wanganni Education Hoard visited the Central Infants’ School, at Wanganui. Here has been adopted the Montessori system of infant teaching, the Wanganui Hoard being the first educational body in New Zealand to introduce the complete system. As a means of teaching the children the most efficient manner possible this Montessori system is a very great advance on all tin* older mehtods, as is fully evidenced by the truly marvellous progress which is being made by little dots whose first essays at school work were the despair of the mistresses in oldfashioned schools. The ell eel on the visitors, seeing the new method so efficiently applied by the competent staff at the school, was one of wonder and astonishment, to soo the great advance made in infant teaching. Those who may have gone to criticise left the school building with nothing but wonder and praise for the Montessori system of infant teaching and the highly intelligent way in which it is being administered. ASSEMBLY. Punctually at 0 o'clock the visitors saw the little ones ranged outside the school. Here the children went through handkerchief drill, followed by the march inside and the re-assembly there. Then came the ceremony of prayers, birthday greetings, and the day’s welcome to the teachers and to each other. These are till carried out in song, and the wee mites’ rendition of the hymn, “When He cometh to make up His Jewels,” left with the visitors a sweet and lasting impression. THE METHODS EMPLOYED.

The day’s work, too, is all on these lines. The children learn quickly and well, and are completely and ahsorbedly happy in dump;. There is no question of forcing the child to learn, Jt does so naturally, and full advantage is taken of the first instinct of childhood —play. All things tire done under the influence of play. Reading, writing, and the elimentary ideas of numbers arc inculcated by various games. The children play at an endless variety of games. The instruction never becomes monotonous, and is ever being switched off to other subjects. Balls, numbered, and letter blocks —in fact, everything that delights flic heart of a child —is brought into service. The children play musical games, sing all sorts o$ little roundelays, and draw their impressions of familiar things in colours on the blackboard. The whole method is wonderful, but is it wonderful that it is so successful?

RESULTS

One very marked feature of the system i* jhe very fine writing produced, the free use of the wrist and hand in blackboard writing being conducive to an extraordinary control of the chalk or writing material. For instance, there was some writing on a blackboard on the day of the visit which attracted the special attention of the visitors because of the almost perfect formation of the letters. When an enquiry was made it was proved that the pupjl >vg,s a little girl only seven years of age, .Home of the advanced children can write very much belter than many third and fourth standard pupils in the primary schools, so that when the system becomes more universally used there is on doubt whatever that writing will be improved out of sight as the result of the Montessori method. The progress too, of the children is interest iug. (tine liffle girl who only started school in April of this year has made such rapid progress that she will pass out of the infants’ school this year and go straight into Standard 11. in the primary school, while another child who passed through ih,e infants’ school was found to he sufficiently advanced to go into Standard 111., omitting Standard 11., the progress made being truly remarkable. Before terminating their visit, Mr JBemnjiugw’ay, on behalf of the Edu-

potion Hom'd, expressed the pleasure Hint one and all felt at seeing the system in operation, and said he< was proud to lie associated with such a progressive Education Board as the one which had pioneered in this Dominion. The children, he was sure, would in the days to come feel extremely glad that they were privileged to attend and receive their instruction in the Montessori school in Wanganui. Indeed, lie might say the members of the Education Board had themselves received quite an education that day concerning t he new and more successful way of leaching infants.