Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Montessori Vs Waldorf
Montessori Vs Waldorf
by Baroara Shell
Social I)en~lopment
In the MoolCSSOli classroom, mIlCh ofth!: young child' s ...-ori; is focused on indi vidual
learning tasks, performed scparately. Each chi ld WoRs i.ndqx:ndcntJy on a s mall rug,
doing a different task from the ot.herchiJdren. Onl y the teacher, as faciJilalor. may
interve ne irthe child requests help. Socialization takes place in 001 bothering other
childrt:n working. in helping a younger child learn 10 do a new task, or in waiting one's
turn if the child wants an acti vity already in use.
The Waldorf philosoph y Stresses thai the child grndually learns 10 be a social being.
and that the development o f the young child in the social realm is as ~t as
anything else wc do. 11tc teaeher has the role of orchc:suming how this happeos - throogh
modeling good social behavior with children. through joining logether in movement
activities. singing or gamcs to develop group consci ousness. and by helping children 10
humal\i sti cally work through disagn:c m<::nlS .
Intellectual development
Montessori sees the child as having ;m absorbenI: mind ready to soak up knowledge
and experience like a sponge. The theory is that. by supplying a child with ever more
challenging intcJJccruaJ tasks from an early age, you will eDd up with an edocall:d child,
Waldorf docs not believe thi s is the healthi est way to approach the educatioo of young
children.
Rather than introducing an earl y irncll ectual focus . Waldorfill9ead seeks to nourish
and 10 keep al ive the youn! child 's healthy imaginalioo and creative thinking powers.
lbc child's iDtellectual poIential ties within, and it unlOlds slowly, like petals of a
maturing nowC!', a~ the child moves from one developmental stage to the nexL
In Waldorf early childhood c1assroom~, wc do 001 seek to produce premature flowers
of inlelieclUalleaming, much as these flowers might fiod appreciation, Wc rather fo~go
such immediate satisfaction, and focus our attentioll5 upon each child's ultimate good,
and upon the proteCtion of hisIhc:r childhood. with the goal of a healthy, ""cll-rounded
adult in the future.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
WAWORF:
GnHleli u~, Elixabeth M., Early Childhood EducaIioo and the Waldorf School Plan;
Spring Valley, N.Y.:Waldorf School Monographs 1983.
Piening. Ekkebard and Nick Lyons. ed .• Educating a~ an An Ncw York: 'Ine Rudolf
Stei ner School Press. 1979.
MONIESSORI:
Gitter. Lena L. , The Montessori Way Seatth:: Special Child PublicatiOO5, Inc. 1970.
Lillard. Paula Polk. Montessori: A M<Xlem Approach New Yorl.:: Schocl.:en Books. 1973.
Montes.'>OIi. Maria, TIle Ab500-bent Miud New York; HolL Riochan & Winston. 1979.
OTHERS:
Pearce. JOSt.--ph Chilton. Magical Child Ne w Yorl-: Bantam Books. 1977.
Piagel. Jean. Play. Dreams & Imitation in Childho<:xl Ncw York: W.W. Norton & Co ..
[%2
This artide was edited with special thanks to Jim Schaeffcr and Lisa White.