Role of a Montessori Teacher Directing children towards learning

The teacher sets the environment. There are many teachers who believe their classroom walls, floors, shelves, cupboards, and ceiling should all be covered with learning resources. This is in sharp contrast to an environment prepared in the Montessori way. Many people who visit a Montessori classroom for the first time are shocked. With its sparsely filled shelves and natural wood lessons, a Montessori classroom appears downright "boring" or "plain" to them.

We must remember the classroom is stimulating for the child. It is always set up at a child's eye level, encouraging them to approach the shelves. The shelves are neat and uncluttered, enabling the child to focus on the individually displayed lessons. The teacher presents each lesson to the individual, explains to them what the lesson is called, and makes it clear to the child that they can use it "whenever they want to." This allows the child "freedom to choose within a structured environment." Actually, about 80% of the materials are presented in silence, so as not to inhibit the child's attention from the process of the lesson.

The Montessori teacher is totally responsible for the noise level in the classroom. If the teacher is quiet, the room is quiet. If a teacher vies for attention, the children thrive on that neediness and the result is loud, disorganized chaos. The truth of the matter is children just do not need loud noise, bright colors or lots of stimuli. In fact, a child cannot concentrate on one task if their surroundings are too busy, too colorful, too loud, etc. The more simple the environment appears to us, the more the child will appreciate it. Remember the cardboard box that the toy comes in...?

With the systems of the Montessori Method in place, the teacher is able to step back and observe the classroom in its entirety. As long as the children are not harming themselves, another child, or the environment, they have that freedom of choice. When the teacher is aware a child is ready to move onto the next level, she then presents one to the individual and the learning and sense discovery continues to grow.