Newark post., 1912-06-12
4 E.2EI IDEA IN i2RIMy a
ARR EDUCATION
An I@.c-o3@.a3 Experiment n New
York

Ma .lirID%, IN ~ dF!lCie III lhc
june uumbvr Of Mcclure $ Maga-
zine. describes the Montessori idea
which, j, attracting 50 much atten-
ton in the world Or primary edu-
cation.
Miss Anna +. George. the author
Of the article. is Or. Montcasori 5
lil.,. American pupil. and is now
testinu whether the system can be
aprlitd To The education ot Amerl-
can "'.Ijreu.
II n..ra@ I.1IHa} from per-
a.aH .-rrrtoncr IN the school
room t,af .ua11 work. " Accord
tn.. +, the hiuIcr@arlyH method.
the t..>. inrin e.. expression FOR
siN-},ar. II rEilsu,m. required a
-r "a, H."I or direction and inter-
pr,c"1.au on the pat "T t'1e trAnh-
rl ne, ..n il brraMr o! value 10 the
criIa. rive believed. for this r"a-
sen. /. a;d not 10 1nunh toward
na.il- the c@iiG ."d"p1n}r"t.
Gf~. tyt~-" "a -."p.r heard Of
Na.ra Man} ~>~o15. tlu italian
womau. and her .y~tom -. primary
oduc&t.en. than she Hrrau> rN-
trnm~y lutrnr..aH and began the
>.r.Gy ul tie method. 81. visited
E,".y .n' tnG.r3 urj2 Nr. Nom
ta>~s... s%:n,}.ug ,.r work in the
>,|302 in Rome. IIamsii0talr
,.,...,. J.. .,r..,Il,,,, ..,.1.t h,.~ ituaWi-
cH-. /" rrartt"oI Use in the first
Nan-r-,a.i ~rh5uI established in
AMn' a-uul,r lie auSpircs OF
.l,. rr@uk \. Naada.lin, 1T 'I0rry-
The school s~um is a part OF a
ria>za closed ia with GLASS. The
children H&yp mlnr>tood from the
b"ginIin& that everything in the
room Is tncir oUU Nearly all Of
the pupils, numbc2ia2o dozen,
are under five the youngest only
three. They represented all vary
ing grades uf Intelligence and
character.- those who were cX-
cnplinalr high strung and disor-
.Hniz i. others who were unre-
-mpn.ivr and methodical, others
who had - little muscular control
that they could hardly get ont Of a
chair without knocking it over
Some were - quiet and un0ggres-
~1yc tiat Trey could hardly be
"nr~~f ~ leave their corners.
others so fond Of applause that
they constantly demanded the
center Of the >ta@c. " The problem
wa~ t. take these children. place
a2rl in the >anooi room with the
Monts~sori materials and. with as
little positive direction as possible,
lead them, largely through tie de-
yei3ument Of their senses. into the
knowledge and the u,1 Of their in-
teIicctual powers as well as 10 nor
NAL physical control: to lift the
children out OF the confused mass
Of impressions in which they NOV,
cd and make them see the world ii
its accurate proportions.
Miss George declares the first
weeks Of her school were extremely
discOuraging. She was strongly
tempted to resort to Group work II
order to establish temporary order
and discipline. We may gain some
idea OF the problem the teacher
had set herself when we realize thr
are Of the children. and that it wa
their first taste Of liberty. In ;
few DAYS however. there was a no
ticeablr change. the material
which had at first failed to attrac
became of @enuine interest. an'
the children became striEjnGly in
dividuaIiHad. The materials wer
kept On low book shelves and ii
pupils were privileged to use q
pleasure. Nm aTtlci" that attract
ed one child did not seem to pc
~r>s The slightest interest for Al
other.
The Fundamental IDEA is 10 a
low the child to find that 3bjel
which arouscS his interest. III
enthusiasm that follows someumt
arrives with strange >uddennes
and i, appearance always NEAR
an entire absence Of di>ordcr. II
has achieved a power ot concentr;
lion and real independence. Chi
dr2u WHO had previousiy hun
upon each other or their parent
struck out for themselves. ~
iov with wHich they would tell,
did il all myself. no one knew
was doing it. - is frequently rete
red TO bv Miss George.
learning to write. under II
Mmtes,ori method has become ;
uyno"zcjous requirement. T