The following is the text from this section of the 2009-2010 edition of Child of the World, Montessori from Three to Twelve Years
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ART & MUSIC
Imagination
does not become great until a person, given the courage and strength, uses
it to create.
If this does not occur, the imagination
addresses itself only to a spirit wandering in emptiness. —Dr. Maria Montessori, MD
All of the academic work in the elementary class is connected
with and expressed by means of the arts. Instead of unrelated art and
music lessons for the few, the techniques of creating in all areas (art,
music, drama, dance, etc.) are taught by the teacher (often with the help
of parents or specialists, but only when called upon by the students,
for a reason), and then used to make learning exciting. There might be
a play acting out the process of photosynthesis or the population of the
world, a quilt made with squares of leaf shapes as a school fundraiser,
or a series of beautiful watercolors demonstrating the principles of geometry.
Just as in all areas, the teacher is in charge of teaching the tools and
the students of designing and executing the work.
When we look at the curricula of the past, the Greeks and the Tibetans
for example, we see that music and dance, and the arts in general, were
an important part of the classical education. This was developed over
many years of trial and error. It was considered "back to the basics,"
perhaps because they had discovered that purely mental learning did not
stick in the mind, and that the arts allowed a student to enjoy learning,
instead of just cramming in facts for a test. Maybe they discovered that
learning that was fun and creative was remembered and that children who
look forward to enjoying school have a better chance of being successfully
educated.
When information is processed in some active, musical
or artistic way—graphs, posters, drawings, creating maps, songs,
plays, and so forth, the knowledge becomes permanent and it strengthens
the creative part of the brain. Processing means The Arts!
A student becomes interested in a topic, with the teacher or a few friends
she designs the research, then settles down to read and gather information.
Most projects are, in the end, presented to the group in some form. Part
of the group plan may be to decide who will do the art, the costumes,
the music. Or an individual may work on something and present it as a
song or poem, or a sculpted model. The work, whether it be in the field
of geography, biography, history, math, or language takes the form of
a project where the head and hand work together toward a creative, artistic
expression. In order to learn in this way the child needs the tools and
uninterrupted time. The adult supplies art materials, the model, such
as exposure to good music or art, long blocks of uninterrupted time, and
respect for the child's ideas and expression.
When a child learns by combining academics and the arts the whole understanding
of life—and development of the brain—makes a giant leap. There
are no limits to avenues of creativity.
Not only are famous artists and musicians studied, but ordinary people
who bring the arts into their everyday lives. A child might interview
parents, teachers, grandparents, to see what art forms they pursue as
hobbies, what they did as children, and what are their dreams. One school
we know selects a group art creation every year and auctions it off to
raise class trip funds.
Studying the creations of other cultures, experiencing their dances and
music, studying the reasons why different architectural forms developed,
and clothing or language, gives a child an understanding of the universality
of human needs and expression.
When elementary-aged children reach adolescence they enter one of the
most creative periods of life, and will create based on those talents
they have begun to develop in these earlier years. The period of life
between the age of six and twelve is the time to explore as many creative
forms as possible. |