About
In traditional education adults decide what children need to learn
and the ability to retain and reproduce information is used as a
measure of academic success. The teacher is the active giver of
information and children are passive receivers.
In the Montessori approach it is all about the activity of the child. The teacher takes on a different role, that is, to provide the right kind of circumstances so that children can be guided to find what they need from what is on offer. Children then become active learners and are able to reach their own unique potential because they are learning at their own pace and rhythm focusing on their own particular developmental needs at that moment.
- Choosing an education for your child is one of the most important decisions you may make as a parent. Being informed about your choices helps you to make good decisions for your family, your child and their future.
- Visit the Pre-School centre - Montessori @ Rimu, Maeroa, Hamilton, meet the staff, have a look at our facilities, meet other like minded parents and see the children engaging in many activities. Only this way, can you choose what is right for your child and family.
On the Barbara Walters ABC-TV Special "The 10 Most Fascinating People Of 2004" Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders of the popular Internet search engine Google.com, credited their years as Montessori students as a major factor behind their success. When Barbara Walters asked if the fact that their parents were college professors was a factor behind their success, they said no, that it was their going to a Montessori school where they learned to be self-directed and self-starters. They said that Montessori education allowed them to learn to think for themselves and gave them freedom to pursue their own interests.
It is quite an interesting collection of people throughout history who have gone to Montessori schools, sent their children to Montessori schools, or supported this method of education in one way or another. The short list includes: Alice Waters, Friedrich Hundertwasser, Julia Child, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Helen Keller, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Mahatma Gandhi, Sigmund Freud, Buckminster Fuller, Leo Tolstoy, Bertrand Russell, Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, John Holt, Ann Frank, the Dalai Lama, Jacqueline Kennedy, Prince William and Prince Harry of the English royal family, Cher Bono, Yul Brynner, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Yo Yo Ma.