Montessori approach to 6-9 years old children-7

ARE WE LOOKING BEAUTIFUL AND ATTRACTIVE?
When I came to Madras, I was questioning myself, '' Why most of the city people, rich people look fair? attractive ? ''
Even in my school most of the children look fair, good looking and some thing strange from the Indian community. What made them like this? When we look into the pregnancy, the mother makes all these features. Heredity expression plays the other role.
Dr. Montessori has talked about beauty, attraction and perfection. It is very clear that all the living beings are beautiful. Nature has designed them with perfection. But as Indian mythology, epics and modern embryology say, the mother is the shaper of the child from the embryo. She is the real Goddess who makes the child beautiful, healthy and perfect in all aspects.
The two different extremes:
When the mothers from rich back ground go through the pregnancy the stress is quiet low than the mothers in villages and in poor community. The rich mother just enjoys her pregnancy in a most comfortable environment. The husband , in-laws and other relation are there to support in a peaceful way.
But in a village situation, especially in poor community the need for food, shelter and clothing are stressing the embryo. The stress from drunken husbands, rude relatives, pain of poverty changes the fate of the child. The child is stressed from the pregnancy stage. The mal nutrition is the most worst stress for these children.
The rich mother is focusing the child to languages, arts, good food, fashionable life, books from pregnancy. I need not explain the other part of the poor mother. But after the delivery there are lot changes in the life of a rich and poor children. In both cases the parents are working. A rich mother works for more materialistic status. Where as the poor mother work for the daily bread.
The rich mother leaves the child at baby care homes. Where as the poor mother takes the child to the working spot. But the poor child is exposed to many relatives like grand parents, aunts and uncles. The nature is more exposed to a poor child. But the rich child is well cared by the nurses or baby sitters. They are well pampered by the family. Relatives and friends are not often exposed to this child. The child needs to spend the days only in A. C rooms and cars. Even the nature exposed to the child is a prepared one like a zoo, park or garden.
Based on these aspects, the language , culture and behavior of the children are framed for their future. The city child looses the native tradition, culture and art. Where as the poor child looses the exposure to modern life, changes in the society and education.
Today the parents and teachers in struggling to balance these 2 matters. The teachers in the city are feeling very difficult in making the children to know about various cultures, village life even though media is there to support. The stress for a language teacher in Indian cities is very difficult to express. The Indian regional languages are different and very much complicated. Unless the children are exposed to the language it is very very hard for the child and teacher .
The threat from NRI s:
This article will help the NRI people , especially Indians who are planning to settle in India. The Indian state governments are much concerned about the regional languages. Though the central government offers foreign language programme, recently the norms are very strong that the child must do the regional state language as third language.
English is the first language. Hindhi is the second language and the regional state language is the third language till grade 8. There are various examination boards which offer regional languages as second language and Hindhi as third language. But is states like Karnataka [ South Indian state] Kannada [ regional language ] is the first language.
My school follows the ICSC board. We teach both Hindhi and Tamil [ regional language ] in equal level till grade 5. After grade 5, the child will choose either Hindhi or Tamil as second language and other as third language. The foreign children can do their languages like French, German and other languages . But they must learn either Hindhi or Tamil as third language.
If any NRI child wants to do the foreign language from where he came the formalities are very complex. There are many such NRI children who are suffering in my school to learn a new Indian language as second language. The only reason is that they are not exposed to the languages.
Most of the well educated Indians in cities and abroad are not at all talking in the mother tongue language. The child knew only English. The parents feel very proud about it. But the threat for the child is in the society. The child who do not know to talk in its mother tongue is neglected in the native community. That child looses the tradition and culture. Apart from this the threat is the language education. As a teacher I have been much stressed with such children who knew only English. It is funny to say that I am teaching Tamil through English.
At the same time the children from East Asian countries are suffering in learning through English because they do not have any English exposure. The same stress is there for our village children to learn English. English is always a night mare. I say all these are because of the parents view on '' ultra modern life'' . The globalization has made the children to face this problem. Modern English education, women employment, media are responsible for this stress upon the children. The government is also very rigid in its policy.
So we warn these parents to think about the children and the stress . There is no child who will say '' no'' to the parents for tradition and language. From birth , the child must be exposed to the mother tongue. They need not be a poet or author, just the spoken language is enough. I advice , more vocabulary skill in names and verbs alone help these children.
Example: My friend living in USA never speak in English at home. The couple always converse either in Hindhi, Tamil or Malayalam [ their mother tongue]. Today his 6 year old boy is well versed in all these languages. The child is well prepared for a transplantation at any time. The mother is spending time regularly in evenings to teach the languages and math based on Indian syllabus. The child is always ready to come to India .
Same time when one of my cousin brother came to India from USA, the family went into quarrels. The children do not know to talk in Tamil and the uneducated grand parents could not accept them . More than that the children could not mingle with them. Within 2 weeks they went to USA.
The children from abroad when come here are like the saplings ready for transplantation. The parents just become aware of culture, tradition and their future and just bring them here. The children are not machines. Even the TV , video or audio sets differ in their voltages and watts from country to country. Children will adapt to any condition, but basic preparation is a must. Other wise we are wasting our money, answer ftime and energy in schools. They are not gaining much.
Example: A child from Korea came to our school. He do not know English. He was much stressed and could not mingle with any of his class mates. For 1 year the the teachers were just spending time in settling him. The new culture, language and other features made him just to roam and play. The child has just settled and started his learning. How to or his delay in learning?
A girl came to grade 7 before 3 years from Australia. When she was interviewed she was very good in reading Tamil. She was quiet confidence in spoken language also. Soon I taught her to write. The girl stood first in Tamil exams at the end of 8th grade. Now she is in grade 10. She has blossomed as a poet in Tamil . This is because of her parents .
Montessori schools in India must concentrate specially in languages. The importance given to EPL [ essential practical life activities ] , Math and English must be given to Indian languages. The school must be very very careful in appointing the Montessori adults knowing the regional language of the locality. The children need equal drilling and practice in the Indian languages.
So the beauty is not in the body or color, it is in cherishing the school and social life. From pre primary till grade 12, the child needs to enjoy the education. For that the parents and teachers need to plan from the beginning stage .
The beauty of the child has to be designed from the embryo stage. If Montessori schools reach all the villages they can train the village mothers and poor mothers to plan their pregnancy. Both the city and village mothers need to share and balance the various aspects of the children. Sakthi foundation has researched more about this. There are proper guidance for a couple under the family way. Please refer the site www. sakthifoundation. org .
Mahathma Gandhiji has welcomed Dr. Montessori to India and requested her to expand her education into all villages. But unfortunately that has failed after some time. Now Sakthividhya is trying the best to seed Montessori education in villages. Montessori education strongly believe in educating the parents. This is to make the children more happy and comfortable with the life.
The whole Montessori environment is designed to express and enjoy the beauty and perfection of life. Each activity in the school is well planned to make children to feel for the beauty of life. The following article will talk more about it.
Thank you!!!