Montessori Celebrates Its 100 Years of Glory

SEGi College is fully equipped with Montessori equipment to assist students better in learning

9th February 2007 One hundred years ago in January 1907, Dr. Maria Montessori opened the first Montessori Children’s House for fifty illiterate children from the slums of Rome and that marked the beginning of the Montessori movement which makes the single largest educational pedagogy in the world today. “Dr. Maria Montessori was pioneering doctor in Italy. She gained international notice when the severely learning-disabled students she worked with passed educational test designed for non disabled children,” said Lydia Foong, Dean of the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences of SEGi College Subang Jaya. The result of her great effort: more than 5000 Montessori schools are spread across the United States of America and more than 22,000 schools in 100 countries.

“The Montessori philosophy maintains that children are not merely ‘adults in small bodies’, but they have their own pattern of development and learn best by interacting with their environment through first-hand discovery. Montessori focuses on the individuality of each child and helps each maintain the natural joy of learning,” said Foong.

The premise behind Montessori education is simply that each child is unique and should develop based on his/her full potential.

“Children in Montessori classes learn at their own pace and according to their own choice of activities within a broad range of subject areas. These areas include practical life exercises, sensorial activities, mathematics, science, language, geography, music, and art,” said Foong.

For Montessori students, learning is a journey of self-discovery that ultimately leads to high levels of concentration, high self-esteem, self-motivation, self-discipline, and a love of learning.

When asked, Foong explained “The Montessori Method encourages individuality within a communal setting where each child is responsible for himself/herself.  The secret of the Montessori methodology is that children gain concrete experiences that tie into abstract concepts.  This encourages critical concepts that the child will need later in his/her life.”

“The activities in the Montessori curriculum enable the child to gain skills in coordination, orderliness, self-confidence, independence, control over his/her small muscle movements and an understanding of his/her immediate environment,” added Foong.

The Montessori curriculum introduces geography, history, science, mathematics, arts and so on in a very fun way. A lot of learning tools like globes, puzzle maps, flags, topological charts and so on.

“Learning about the natural world is a centric component in Montessori. The child’s interest in the world is captivated through activities about his surrounding world, cultural diversity and pluralism. Through experimentation and exposure the child develops a sense of respect and placement in his environment,” explained Foong.

Besides, children are encouraged to express creativity through musical instruments and artistic activities. Activities include collage, finger and brush painting, water color and clay makeup.

“To heighten awareness and understanding, children are exposed to music and movement in Montessori curriculum. Expressive art is a natural part of the Montessori classroom in which focus is process oriented,” said Foong.

SEGi College FOESS is dedicated to improving the quality of programmes for young children. The early childhood profession is becoming a popular career option as well as a programme that young parents to learn about tried, tested and proven methods of bringing out the best in young children.

Partnering with Montessori Centre International, UK, SEGi College offers the International Diploma in Montessori Pedagogy in powers the way for those intending to learn appropriate ways of parenting as well as child development. The programme is recognized and approved by LAN (Lembaga Akreditasi Negara) and MOHE (Ministry of Higher Education).

“To mark 100 years of centenary of Montessori Education, we are arranging a Montessori Centenary Conference on the 17 of March 2007. We will feature some guess speakers like Barbara Issacs, Sandra Morris Coole, Charmaine Soh, Puspa Sivan and Dr. Chiam Heng Keng. All of the speakers have been greatly involve in Montessori and Early Childhood Education,” said Foong.

The International Diploma in Montessori Pedagogy include subjects such as Montessori Philosophy, Child Development, Observation & Assessment, Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood Education, Childcare, Health and Special Education Needs, Practical Life, Sensorial Education, Literacy Skills,

Mathematics, Cultural Studies (Science, History, Geography) and Creative (Arts, Drama, Music & Movement).

The Montessori Method of Education for young children is also thought in the diploma in early childhood programme.

Upon completion of the Diploma, Students have the option to articulate into the Bachelor of Early Childhood Degree from the University of Southern Queensland, Australia.
 
SEGi College is the largest private education provider in Malaysia. With a network of 6 campuses in 5 major towns and cities in the country, the college has a total of 15000 students. SEGi also own St Nicholas Montessori Centre for children aged 2 ½ to 6, located at Bandar Utama, Subang USJ, Klang, Malacca and Penang.