‘THE SECRET
OF CHILDHOOD’ AND THE ‘SENSITIVE PERIODS’
Maria
Montessori
Principles
of Montessori method
The first
principle is to train the pupil to be independent of others in respect of the
ordinary practices of life. The ultimate reference is to the sense of touch,
which is regarded as fundamental and primordial. The Montessori maintains that
the sense of touch is fundamental. It undergoes great development during the
early years of life. If neglected at this age, it loses its susceptibility to
training.
The
Psychological method
Montessori
“psychological method in education implies that the educative process is
adapted to the stage of mental development of child, and to his interest. In
the Montessori method, ‘It is necessary then to offer those exercises which
correspond to the need of development felt by an organism, and if the child’s
age has carried him past certain need, it is never possible to obtain, in its
fullness, development which missed its proper moment. If a child fails to
perform a task or to appreciate the truth of a principle, the teacher must not
make him conscious of his error by repeating the lesson. She must assume that
the task has been presented prematurely. Before again presenting the stimulus,
she must await the manifestation of the symptoms, which indicate that the need
exists. The duration of a process is determined not by the exigencies of an
authorized timetable, but by the interval, which the child finds requisite to
exhaust his interest.
No Prizes
In the
Montessori system there are no prizes. The pupil’s sense of mastery is his
highest reward: “His own self-development is his true and almost his only
pleasure.”
Perfect
Freedom
According to
Montessori, “The method of observation (that is, the psychological method) is
established one fundamental base – the liberty necessitates independence of
action on the part of the child. “Whoever visits a well-kept school is struck
by the discipline of the children”.
Adapted
Environment
Montessori
advocates that the environment should likewise be so adapted. She gave the
child an environment in which everything is constituted in proportion to
himself and let him live therein.
Practices of
Montessori method
The practices of the Montessori method fall into
three classes:
1. The exercises of practical life;
2. The exercises in sensory training; and
3. The didactic exercises.
The
Exercises in Practical Life
Freedom,
according to Montessori, does not consist in having other at one’s command to
perform the ordinary services, but in being able to do these for oneself, in
being independent of others. Thus in the House of Childhood the pupils learn how
to wash their hands, using little wash-stands with small pitchers and basins,
how to clean their nails, brush their teeth and so on. Exercises are also
arranged to train the child in the movements necessary in dressing and
undressing.
Montessori
devised certain formal gymnastic exercises to develop co-ordinated movements in
the child. She disapproved of the child practicing the ordinary gymnastic
exercises arranged for the adult. She maintained “We are wrong” if we consider
little children from their physical point of view as little men.
Exercises in
Sense Training
“To make the
process one of self-education”, Montessori explains in The Advanced Montessori
Method,” Method, “it is not enough that the stimulus should call forth
activity, it must also direct it. The child should not only persist for a long
time in an exercise; he must persist without making mistakes. All the physical
or intrinsic qualities of the objects should be determined, not only by the
immediate reaction of attention they provoke in the child, but also by their
possession of this fundamental characteristic, the control of error, that is to
say, the power of evoking the effective collaboration of the
highest activities (comparison, judgment).”
In sensory
training the senses are isolated whenever that is possible. The pupils of the
Montessori schools are blindfolded, a feature of the training which seems to
add zest to their efforts. The auditory exercises are given in an environment
not only of silence, but even of darkness.
Material
Used in Sensory Training
• For perception of size : A series of wooden
cylinders varying in height only, in diameter only or in both dimension at
once, are employed, likewise blocks varying regularly in size, and rods of
regularly, graded lengths.
• For perception of form : In it are used
geometrical insets in metal, in wood or the shapes of the insets drawn on
paper.
• For discrimination in weight : It was tablets of
wood similar in size but different in weight.
• For touch : All highly polished surface and a
sand-paper surface are used.
• For sense of temperature : Here are used small
metal bowls with caps.
• For auditory acuity : Cylindrical sound boxes are
used containing different substances.
• For the colour sense : A graded series of
coloured woods is used.
• Tactual Activity : Similar methods are adopted in
developing in the child’s tactual acuity, and in training him to discriminate
differences in temperature and in weight. In these exercises the child is
blindfolded or is enjoined to keep his eyes closed during the tests; he is
encouraged to do so by being told that he will thus be able to feel the
differences better.
Development
in Elementary Education
The Parliament has passed the Constitution’s 86th
Amendment Act, 2002 to make elementary education a Fundamental Right for
children in the age- group of 6-14 years.
The progress of enrolment has increased from 192
(lakh) persons in 1950-51 to 1224 (lakh) persons in 2003-04 in the age group of
6-11 years. For the development of education at elementary level several
provisions were laid down by the government.
Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan
The Scheme of Sarva Shilksh Abhiyan (SSA) was
launched in 2001. The goals of SSA are as follows: (i) All 6-14 age children in
school/ Education Guarantee Scheme Center/bridge course by 2003. (ii) All 6-14
age children complete five year primary education by 2007 (iii) All 6-14 age
children complete eight years of schooling by 2010 (iv) Focus on elementary
education on satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life (v)
Bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at
elementary education level by 2010 and (vi) Universal retention by 2010. The
programme covers the entire country with special focus on education needs of
girls, SCs/ STs and other children in difficult circumstances. The programme
seeks to open new schools in habitations which do not have schooling facilities
and strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of additional
class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement
grant. The SSA has a special focus on girls and children of weaker sections.
District
Primary Education Programme
The
Centrally sponsored Scheme of District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) was
launched in 1994 as a major initiative to revitalize the primary education
system and to achieve the objective of universalisation of primary education.
DPEP adopts a holistic approach to universalize access, retention and improve
learning achievement and to reduce disparities among social groups. Adopting an
area-specific approach’ with district as the unit of planning, the key
sensitivity to local conditions and ensuring full participation of the
community. DPEP is based on the principle of ‘additionally’ and is structured
to fill in the existing gaps. The programme components include construction of
classrooms and new schools, opening of Non-formal/ Alternative Schooling
Centers, appointment of new teachers, setting up early childhood education centers,
strengthening of State Councils of Educational Training through District
Institute of Education and Training(DIETs), setting up of Block Resource
Centers/Cluster Resource Centres, teacher training, development of Teaching
Learning Material, Research based interventions, special interventions for
promoting education of disadvantaged groups, girls, SC/ST, etc. initiatives for
providing integrated education to disabled children and distance education for
teacher training have also been incorporated in the DPEP Scheme.
Education
system in Kerala – History
- Gurukul System
- Pallikkoodams by Christian missionaries - irrespective of caste or religion
- School for girls was established by the Maharaja in 1859, which was an act unprecedented in the Indian subcontinent
- In the 1860’s, the government spread the educational programs into Malabar
- Kerala's achievements in the field of education - near total literacy, free and universal primary education.
- Low drop out rate at the school level, easy access to educational institutions, gender equality in access etc. –
- In these respects, Kerala is often compared not only with the other Indian states or developing
countries
but also with some of the developed countries.
Division of
education system
- Kerala Primary Education -- Kerala High School Education
- Kerala Secondary Education [+2]/Vocational Secondary Schools
- Kerala Higher Education ---- Distance Education program in Kerala.
Boards of
Education
- Many of the schools owned by private sector are aided by government.
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Kerala State Education Board
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Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE)
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Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE)
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National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)
No
fees(or a nominal fees) are required in schools run by or aided by government.
Fees concerning the higher and technical education are very low; the ratio of
recovery of government's revenue expenditure was 2.6% in 2009–2010
Major
Govt. Interventions
- 1994 – DPEP (District Primary
Education Programme)
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A major initiative to revitalize the primary
education system and to achieve the objective of universalization of primary
education.
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DPEP has so far opened more than 1,60,000 new
schools
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Village Education was given more importance
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About 1,77,000 teachers, including
para-teachers have been appointed
- The most negative part of the DPEP –
ú
it gave the children's a lot of negatives
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It made d language and spoken abilities of our
students worse
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they were made to collect match boxes n
feathers, well they were aimed at giving practical
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experience for children - but what did it
actually gave them? something is still a
question mark…
- 2001 -SSA – (SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN)
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Centrally sponsored scheme at the end of the
Ninth Five Year Plan to improve the educational status.
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Education for girls, scheduled caste and tribal
children
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Education of sc/st children
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Free textbooks to all girls/SC/ST children up to
Class-VIII.
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At least 50 % of the teachers to be appointed
have to be women.
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Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS).
- 2007 - Higher Secondary centralized
Allotment Process (hsCap)
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Popularly known as Single Window Admission
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The
software is developed by taking care of all the existing rules of rank
generation and Communal reservations by the DHSE (Directorate of Higher
Secondary Education)
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hsCap provided by NIC has eliminated the
requirement for a student to apply in multiple Schools where the student is
seeking the admission and also eliminated the task of virtually appearing for
interview in multiple schools
Other Govt.
Schemes
- Kalakshethra
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Kalaksethra
is a district training centre where special training/ coaching will be given to
artistically talented but financially backward students.
- Merit Cum Means Scholarship
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Comprehensive scholarship scheme of the Higher
Secondary level for the meritorious students belonging to BPL families.
- Remedial Coaching
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Remedial coaching is implemented to give special coaching to weak
students in selected Government Higher Secondary Schools having pass percentage
below 50.
- National Service Scheme
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NSS provides platform for leadership practice
life-skill acquisition etc and help the volunteers learn how to live among
others
- Adolescent Counseling and Health Care Programme
§
These was some of the very useful schemes
introduced by the government.
2008 - Choice Based Credit System
- The Four Pillars of the UG reforms
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-Semesterisation ---- - Choice-based credit system - “Courses”
to “programmes”
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- Continuous assessment --- - Grading
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