We are in the midst of an educational crisis. Philippine educational standards have deteriorated to such an extent that Filipino children are ranked the least proficient in reading, math and science among 87 nationalities evaluated. This was validated by global academic rating organizations – the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Matrics (SEA-PLM). Dr. Maria Montessori discovered that man constructs himself by undergoing four stages of development, revealing the four characteristics of the child’s mind – from the Absorbent Mind in preschool (birth to six years old), to the Enormous Reasoning Power and inflamed imagination in grade school (six to 12), Economic Independence in high school (12 to 18 years old) and finally, full maturation in Adulthood (18 to 24 years old).
Interdependence
The Montessori preschool classroom is where the children learn to work independently, freely choosing individual sets of materials from the Prepared Enrvironment displayed in open shelves: Practical Life, Sensorial Arts, Language, Math, Cultural Arts. But in a traditional preschool, the teacher is more active lecturing the class and insisting that the children be silent and immobile, merely using one set of workbooks and a few play materials.
Grade 4 children can demonstrate a Botany project on how to make a dish garden. Work in Montessori is considered a recipe complete with ingredients and step-by-step procedure. The children gather the pottery container, the pail of water, the trowel, the soil and the three plants needed to make the dish garden. This allows the children to follow the procedure to get the work done.
Formal sit-down dinner is an annual high school project. To satisfy the child’s need for economic independence, high school students in complete uniform prepare to serve guests in a formal sit-down dinner. The whole class is divided into groups of cooks, ushers, waiters and dishwashers. Complete with wine, guests pay P500 per meal. Usually, the banquet is served to parents and their guests. High school students take charge of the Mini Mart, the school fair held every December. They prepare snacks, meat and fruit preserves, beverages and a variety of ornamental plants to sell to students and guest parents.
Cosmic Organization
To suit the enormous reasoning power and moral judgment of the six- to 12-year-old grade school children, we use a very rich set of Montessori science and math materials. Let me focus on Montessori Cosmic Science not the Cosmic Math and Geometry. These are made up of picture charts or illustrations that stir the imagination. They are hung around the classroom walls while the nomenclature cards are displayed in open shelves around the room. The Cosmic Organization is the overall curriculum of the Operation Brotherhood Montessori preschool, grade school and high school. It is an integrated set of subjects in Geography and History, Botany and Zoology, and Economics, gradated in difficulties.
The Cosmic Organization portrays the three kingdoms of the cosmos – the animal kingdom, the plant kingdom and the mineral kingdom that provide the food, clothing and shelter needs of man in seven continents of North and South America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Antarctica (represented by the puzzle map of the world). Man has the responsibility to take care of these three kingdoms. The basic needs of man are both spiritual and material. The food, clothing, shelter, etc. are the material needs, while religion, education, arts and entertainment are the spiritual needs.
Zoology and Botany
Zoology nomenclature is introduced as early as preschool in the Montessori system, using the simple graphics of the parts of a fish, the body, tail, fins and head. The lesson becomes more scientific in first grade where the five fins are identified as dorsal, pelvic, anal, pectoral and caudal.
Basic Botany lesson in preschool makes use of the four illustrated nomenclature cards identifying the parts of the flower (corolla, pistil, stamen, calyx). Later in primary school the lesson extends to the production of fruits, an illustration of asexual reproduction which introduces the Facts of Life or the reproductive system in plants. Example are the fruits of the tomato, eggplant or okra plant that provide the analogy to human sexual production. Later, this allows the children to be aware of sexual reproduction, such as how babies are developed in the womb of the mother, with the fertilization of the egg from the mother and sperm from the father.
Our working world
Do you know where bread comes from? The farmer plants and harvests the wheat. With the help of a driver, the wheat is brought to the miller. There, the miller grinds the wheat grains to become flour. After packing into individual bags they are delivered by another driver to the baker. The baker is assisted by the dough maker and oven tender. One mixes all the ingredients to knead the dough. The oven tender bakes it and makes sure the bread is prepared well. Once baked, it is packed and delivered by another driver to different shops to sell. Then the bread is ready for people, who purchase them to take home. Count how many people are involved (10 people). These are all illustrated in nomenclature cards. Imagine how many people it took to prepare a piece of bread. We should not have any problem in employment. We should also be grateful to all these workers.
The Great River
The Great River is a very unusual chart referring to the circulatory system of the human body such as blood and the heart. The comparison is made to the governance of a country. Major departments surround the great river such as the Department of Nutrition (digestive system), Reproductive System, Transport Ministry (muscular system, skeletal system), Department of Defense (Immune system), Department of Purification (the tespiratory system of the lungs). At the head of the river is the City Hall (the brain and the nervous system with the ministry of senses) that communicates to all the ministries.
The cells of the human body are the citizens of the country. Its health is of primary importance to strengthen the country. All the citizens work 24 hours. They never stop working day and night. All body systems must be in excellent condition to make the nation great. In traditional schools, the different body systems are taught separately in different intermediate grade levels. Thus, the skeletal and muscular system, digestive system, respiratory system, etc. are each taught in different grades. Whereas in Montessori the whole set of systems is taught only in the fourth grade. Thus avoiding the confusion of the child with the fragmentation of the human body system, allowing him to appreciate that the Great River is surrounded by the Great Nation.
Totem pole of the history of man
“21st century man owes his present life from the achievements of men in the past centuries.” The Totem Pole is a giant pole in the middle of a tribal community. It is usually carved with major figures of significant importance to the community. Example: The Totem Pole of the native American-Indian community in the USA.
The Cosmic Totem Pole represents the history of mankind within the past 21 centuries. Men representing different historical epochs stand on top of one another. Each man rising over another gains a wider vision of the world. The Primitive Era is represented by the caveman who is at the very bottom of the totem pole. Towering over him is the Village Settler. History then ascends to the conquerors who represent the Great Civilizations of Egypt, Greece, Rome and China.
The monarchy of the kings and queens follow in the Medieval Age and the Renaissance. This gives birth to the British, Spanish, French, etc. empires which are established from various explorations. Colonies are founded. Thus the Spanish Empire colonized the Philippines, while the French Empire conquered Vietnam and the Dutch Empire colonized Indonesia.
Industrial Revolution starts. Modern Man appears making more discoveries. Attempts of man to progress extends out to the Space Age. One can say, therefore, that the 21st Century man owes his present life to the achievements of men in the past centuries. Our ancestors had to undergo both failures and successes to provide us all the benefits of the modern age. Let us thank them for all their sacrifices and struggles to give us a better world. Let us not take this for granted. Providing the missing curriculum requires immediate attention. True education enables our children to understand and walk through the different stages of global sustainability.