The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 1914. AN EDUCATIONAL REVOLUTION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 7, 27 May 1914, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 1914. AN EDUCATIONAL REVOLUTION.

It Ls generally admitted that the true >;i;ici;ci) of educating children still in a crude s-Uitc, and that there is plenty of room for iisiprovvmcii'.. Tic kindergarten has dona jnudli good work in interesting and stimulating the dawning intellects of tho young, but the great difficulty has hitherto been that of sustaining the interest of children and at Iho same time gradually calling into useI'ul activity the mutual faculties that are only in an embryo stage, but in such ■i gradual manner that a child's brain shnil not be strained beyond its normal capacity. Dr. Montessori, an Italian lady, claims to have .solved this problem by a method which fits in with the dominant spirit of the ago —freedom. The method is undoubtedly a revolution in teaching, for instead of the children being taught they teach themselves—a maximum of liberty on the part of the child, and a minimum of interference on the part of the teacher. In describing her impressions of visits made to the Montessori schools in Rome, where the system bus had a fair trial, Mias Simpson, in her report to the New South Wales Department of Education, says: "Each child is doing his own growing; he is doing the thing in hand himself, not sitting still and seeing it done by the teacher, as is so often tho case in class teaching." It is difficult to realise that •children who are allowed to do what they please should take readily to the educational collar, but Miss Simpson slates that she has never seen more diligent and orderly children than those of the Montessori schools in Rome and elsewhere. This testimony is particularly valuable as coming from an experienced educationalist who has studied tho new system on the spot. Instead of being cooped up in desks and working in obedience to the teacher's will, the children move about freely, choose what they wish to do, and do it for only just .13 long as they please, but the teacher's help is always available when needed. The process approaches somewhat of the nature of developing instinct rather than intelligence!—the method of the bee more than that of the student—but it would seam to be a thorough success. Tables and chairs are substituted for fixed desks, and these can lie moved about at will, so that a child need not ! remain in one position longer than he is * inclined. This is a distinct advance on i the old method, which invariably pro- , ilured langour and weariness, and it has 1 the: great advantage of bringing out the i (rend of each child's particular prede- . liclion. A child wiU certainly become j far more interested in whatever he fancies Minn in tiio-e things which are I forced upon bis notice. This individual learning is one of the best points of tho I svst.em, as no two children are alike, and the class system has been responible for many failures. Dr. Montessori, as may be expected, speaks very highly , of her system, (she ,-:ays that the most astonishing results have been obtained in reading and writing, as well as in all other subjects, zest and eagerness prevailing. Not only do they progress more rapidly than under any other system, but they do so without mental fatigue or strain. If this result is achieved with infants, there is no reason why it should not be equally successful , wij,h the uy>ya advanced learners, but ~» J»u,st alvraj'ft.ba the question of thci. w *'f £5 guidance. To introcontrol as • "~"' i *« >" l <> a third or duce a free-will s,. - Slwhind. Sia!£ higher standard of a Neu tn ., t j school would be a bold expern.. j would make a strong bid for aim. . j

but it is quite conceivable that if tlio , •Montcssori mcthoil of education were tiled in the infant classes and the children grew into it that the result might be of the greatest advantage. It is bhe absence of individuality that presents the present method of State education from the best results. Any ffnsftle contribution to the solution of the educational l«rol)lcm should P« heartily welcomed and .arcfully considered. Tlio neaVc.V Wo can approach to Nature's methods in all the concerns of life the safer are the lines on which action is taken, ainVthc, greater is the nrobability of permanent sin-cess.