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Dewey and Montessori educational philosophies John Dewey and Maria Montessori both were the famous scholars on early childhood education, their philosophies were similarly to advocated learn by doing, child-centered and education needs to value the social interactions between the children and the environment. Firstly, Dewey and Montessori were both advocated learn by doing, they believed that human beings learn through a ‘hands on’ approach. Specifically, Dewey stood for pragmatism, which means believing the reality must be experienced. John Dewey said that “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” (Dewey,1916) It means education must including the daily life skills but not put the emphasis on academic knowledge, …show more content…
Dewey believed in child-centered approach, he thought children should be allowed to explore their environment, it initiates them to learn through their spontaneous. However, he was alarmed by the excesses of “child-centered” education. He argued that too much reliance on the child could be equally detrimental to the learning process. (Rhalmi, 2011) Therefore the teacher is also important to the children’s development. For Maria Montessori, her philosophies of child-centered were also similarly to Dewey. In Montessori classroom, there is no focal center of the classroom, this reflects that the teacher is not the focus of the children’s attention. Children can choose their own work of their interest, and set their own pace without interruption. During the work period, teacher support and monitor the student’s work and provide individual and small-group lessons. This may show the teacher takes the facilitator role in Montessori classroom, instead of educator. In other words, the teacher should not give a hundred percent of freedom to children, but the freedom within limits allows for the natural development of self-regulation, so that children are self-initiate to the classroom, and have intrinsic motivation. According to “The Absorbent Mind”, Montessori though that the school environment must be rich in motives which lend interest to …show more content…
Dewey said that “I believe that the school is primarily a social institution. Education being a social process.” (Dewey, 1897) According to “The School and society”, Dewey thought that the school must helping children to see the connections between their classroom activities and what was going on in the world outside the school. (Dewey, 1913) Dewey thought that the school should help students learn to live and to work cooperatively with others, he also thought that the students should be actively involved in real-life tasks and challenges. For Maria Montessori, her philosophies of the social interactions between the children and the environment were also similarly to Dewey. The multi-age classroom is a core component of Montessori education, children include different ages, so that it enables children to experience the society earlier and develop their leadership skills. Besides, in Montessori classroom, children are taught how to regulate their own social interactions, teacher demonstrates the best way to respond to arguments or new situations, giving the ability to act confidently and pro-socially when the actual problem arises. In a self-regulating classroom, the natural social tensions are resolved mostly by the children themselves. (Montessori Northwest,
Dewey and Montessori educational philosophies John Dewey and Maria Montessori both were the famous scholars on early childhood education, their philosophies were similarly to advocated learn by doing, child-centered and education needs to value the social interactions between the children and the environment. Firstly, Dewey and Montessori were both advocated learn by doing, they believed that human beings learn through a ‘hands on’ approach. Specifically, Dewey stood for pragmatism, which means believing the reality must be experienced. John Dewey said that “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” (Dewey,1916) It means education must including the daily life skills but not put the emphasis on academic knowledge, …show more content…
Dewey believed in child-centered approach, he thought children should be allowed to explore their environment, it initiates them to learn through their spontaneous. However, he was alarmed by the excesses of “child-centered” education. He argued that too much reliance on the child could be equally detrimental to the learning process. (Rhalmi, 2011) Therefore the teacher is also important to the children’s development. For Maria Montessori, her philosophies of child-centered were also similarly to Dewey. In Montessori classroom, there is no focal center of the classroom, this reflects that the teacher is not the focus of the children’s attention. Children can choose their own work of their interest, and set their own pace without interruption. During the work period, teacher support and monitor the student’s work and provide individual and small-group lessons. This may show the teacher takes the facilitator role in Montessori classroom, instead of educator. In other words, the teacher should not give a hundred percent of freedom to children, but the freedom within limits allows for the natural development of self-regulation, so that children are self-initiate to the classroom, and have intrinsic motivation. According to “The Absorbent Mind”, Montessori though that the school environment must be rich in motives which lend interest to …show more content…
Dewey said that “I believe that the school is primarily a social institution. Education being a social process.” (Dewey, 1897) According to “The School and society”, Dewey thought that the school must helping children to see the connections between their classroom activities and what was going on in the world outside the school. (Dewey, 1913) Dewey thought that the school should help students learn to live and to work cooperatively with others, he also thought that the students should be actively involved in real-life tasks and challenges. For Maria Montessori, her philosophies of the social interactions between the children and the environment were also similarly to Dewey. The multi-age classroom is a core component of Montessori education, children include different ages, so that it enables children to experience the society earlier and develop their leadership skills. Besides, in Montessori classroom, children are taught how to regulate their own social interactions, teacher demonstrates the best way to respond to arguments or new situations, giving the ability to act confidently and pro-socially when the actual problem arises. In a self-regulating classroom, the natural social tensions are resolved mostly by the children themselves. (Montessori Northwest,