Our Philosophy

Dr. Maria Montessori believed that no human being is educated by another person. She must do it herself or it will never be done. A truly educated individual continues learning long after the hours and years she spends in the classroom because she is motivated from within by a natural curiosity and love for knowledge. In following with this the goal of early education at Rivendale is not to fill the child with facts from a pre-selected course of studies, but rather to cultivate the child’s natural desire to learn.
 
At Rivendale this objective is approached in two ways:

1. By allowing the child to experience the excitement of learning by their own choice rather than by being forced.
2. By helping the child to perfect all his/her natural tools for learning, so that their ability will be at maximum in future learning situations.
   

In The Absorbent Mind, Dr. Montessori wrote, “The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six. For that is the time when mans intelligence itself, his greatest implement is being formed. But not only his intelligence; the full totality of his psychic powers…At no other age has a child greater need of intelligent help, and any obstacle that impedes his creative work will lessen the chance he has of achieving perfection”

Behavior of the children

There is always a busy hum of activities in the classroom at Rivendale because the use of the materials involves many motions- walking, carrying, pouring, speaking and particularly the constant using of the hands. All activity, however, is guided by respect for the teacher, a respect fro the work of others, and a respect for the materials themselves. Goodness should not be equated with silence and immobility. Self-discipline should be acquired gradually through absorption in meaningful work. When a child becomes vitally interested in a particular classroom activity, his behaviour almost always matures. If a child misbehaves in the classroom, the teacher usually helps him to select work which will more fully absorb his attention.

Non-Competitive Atmosphere

Because the children work individually with the materials, there is no competition in the classroom. Each child  relates only to her own previous work, and her progress is not compared to the achievements of other youngsters. Dr. Montessori believed that competition in education should be introduced only after the child has gained confidence in the use of the basic skills. “ Never let a child risk failure, until she has had a reasonable chance of success”

How Rivendale accommodates different abilities

The use of individual material permits a varied pace of learning　that accommodates many levels of ability in the classroom. A younger or slower child may work for many weeks on the same piece fo equipment without retarding the other members of the class. Advanced children in the same room can move from one piece of equipment to another very quickly, thus avoiding the boredom of waiting for other members of the class to catch up. The children with a high level of ability are constantly challenged by the wide variety of material and their many uses.

It is a well established fact that young children mature at very different rates and that their periods of readiness for academic subjects vary a great deal. Because interest is stimulated and the material are at hand whenever a child is ready, some youngsters at Rivendale begin to read and calculate at an unusually early age. However, very early learning is not the norm, nor is it our objective. The ideal is that learning experiences should occur naturally and joyfully at the proper moment for each individual child. Dr. Montessori wrote “It is true, we cannot make a genius; we can only give each individual the chance to fulfil his potential possibilities to become an independent, secure, and balanced human being.”