The key characteristics of an authentic Montessori school include a carefully prepared environment with specialized Montessori materials, mixed-age student groupings, and Montessori-credentialed teachers. Authentic programs also emphasize fostering independence, respect, cooperation over competition, and allowing children freedom and flexibility in their work. Lessons are designed to inspire natural motivation and include a rich, interdisciplinary curriculum.

1. What are the characteristics of an Authentic Montessori School? Any school can put “Montessori” on their door and claim to be a Montessori school. What sets apart authentic programs, from programs which have deviated from the philosophy to the point of drastically compromising the effectiveness of the method? Ideas presented are adapted from Rambusch & Stoops (2002), Seldin (2006), and Dorer (2011).

2. Carefully Prepared Environment Montessori classrooms are designed to be inviting and inspiring to the children, with diverse subject areas throughout the room that children are encouraged to explore independently.

3. Respect Montessori educators have the utmost respect for children and the natural process of child development. Honoring childhood and the needs each child has means that teachers’ lessons celebrate the unique individuals they are helping to guide and inspire.

4. Foster Independence Montessori classrooms nurture independence in children so that they can feel confident and capable, recognizing the gifts they offer to their community. Teaching children to trust themselves and to accomplish things independently prepares them for any challenge life brings.

5. Montessori Credentialed Teachers Montessori teachers hold not just a Bachelor’s degree, but also complete a full Montessori teacher training program for certification as a Montessori Lead Teacher from a MACTE accredited training program. This intensive training includes child development, classroom management, Montessori philosophy, and the full Montessori curriculum for the entire age span of the certification level. Having an appropriately trained and credentialed teacher in the classroom is one of the most important aspects of an authentic program, since the teacher acts as mentor and guide and helps to set the tone for the whole classroom experience.

6. Complete Montessori Materials Maria Montessori designed specialized learning equipment made of beautiful and natural substances like wood, metal and glass, rather than plastic. These materials are self-correcting, hands-on, and develop physical as well as intellectual processes. Classrooms must have the full range of true Montessori materials to be used by children as they work in the classroom.

7. Mixed Age Grouping Montessori classrooms are made up of mixed age groupings at each level – typically three-year age groupings in class. This builds community by offering older students the opportunity to inspire and mentor the younger ones, and helping younger students to challenge themselves and try new things. The multi-age grouping also helps to insure that children are not slowed down when their abilities are above or below their same-age peers.

8. Cooperation Montessori classrooms foster cooperation and community, rather than competition and individualism. Montessori educators know that our communities are enhanced by the diverse ideas and abilities in our classrooms and that working together, we accomplish more than we could alone.

9. Internal Motivation Montessori educators rely on natural or logical consequences, rather than punitive punishments or rewards to motivate behaviors. Teaching children to relate to one another and to see the natural consequences of their actions respects their ability to learn from mistakes and be the best person they can be, without rewards or punishments.

10. Uninterrupted Work Period Children benefit from a long work period that is uninterrupted by breaks and specialty subjects. Giving children a long uninterrupted period in the carefully prepared classroom each day offers them the freedom to explore and think about concepts more deeply, rather than feeling rushed and pressured to fit more into their time. Montessori classrooms emphasize quality and depth of work, rather than speed and quantity. This helps children to develop their thought process and enjoy the peace of projects completed thoroughly and beautifully.

11. Rich and Cosmic Curriculum Montessori classrooms include the full range of subjects necessary for giving children an understanding of the universe! Teaching children from a more broad perspective inspires them to see the relevance in each new lesson. Subject areas are interrelated and incredibly comprehensive, with each new lesson building on previous work. New concepts are always introduced with an understanding of how it fits with lessons already discussed.

12. Freedom Montessori emphasized the need for classrooms to offer essential freedoms to the children. This inspires the children to love their work and gives them responsibility for their education and behavior. These freedoms include: Freedom to move freely in the classroom, as long as the movement is for purposes which are educational in nature. Freedom of choice – children should be able to choose what they will work on, where they will work on it, and how long they will work on it. Freedom to repeat – Montessori programs rely on extensive repetition of experiences and projects in order to solidify understanding. Adults can never know how many times something must be repeated for a particular child to have mastery of it. The richness of the Montessori environment and the early age that broad concepts are introduced relies on repetition for full understanding and mastery.

13. Sources Dorer, M.J. (2011, February 21). Montessori Characteristics. Handout distributed during the Education 6210 course at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN. In-text citation(Dorer, 2011). Rambusch, N.M. & Stoops, J.A. (2002). Finding the right school. Retrieved from http://www.montessori.org/sitefiles/finding_the_right_school.pdf In-text citation (Rambusch & Stoops, 2002) Seldin, T. (2006). Finding an authentic Montessori school. The International Montessori Council. Retrieved from http://www.montessori.org/imc/index.php?option=comcontent&view=article&id =265:finding-an-authentic-montessori-school&catid=16 :articles-introducing-montessorieducation&Itemid=44 In-text citation (Seldin, 2006)