Discipline And Obedience From The Montessori Perspective
“The power to obey is the last phase in the development of the will, which in its turn has made obedience possible.” (Montessori, 1988, p.239)
Montessori believed that the disorderly and disobedient acts of a young child where from those actions that he/she had yet to develop and so where unable to control successfully.
Discipline and obedience could not therefore be inflicted on a young child as had been traditionally thought, nor could it be sustained through rewards and punishments. “Obedience is seen as something which develops in the child in much the same way as other aspects of his character.” (Montessori, 1988, p.234)
As Montessori observed, obedience is a developmental process and can not occur unless the child has developed the previous foundation that is his will. She describes the will as an intelligent direction of movement. (Montessori, 2004, p.132)
I will now go on to explain the relationship between discipline and obedience from the Montessori perspective and how it relates to the development of the will.
Discipline from a Montessorian perspective is a maturational process, it starts from birth and will be reached by the age of 6 or 7 years. “Let us always remember that inner discipline is something to come and not something already present.” (Montessori, 1988, p. 240)
Discipline develops naturally in a child, through the opportunity to act freely and spontaneously within a favourable environment. It is this favourable environment that nurtures the child's natural drive to independence and to adopt a behaviour that is beneficial to him/her. It helps the child and offers him/herself experiences to develop from within himself/herself the capacity for order, self control.
If we look back to when a child is born all his actions are driven solely by a hormic impulse, an inner guide that directs the child towards independence, an urge to satisfy his own...
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