Reflection on Theorists/Theories

Abstract

This paper outlines the work performed by Maria Montessori and Arnold Gesell, how their theories have impacted the field of Early Childhood Education. How I, a student of Early Childhood Education can incorporate this knowledge into my daily life to become a positive influence to every child that I touch in my path of educating.
Reflection on Theorists/Theories
There are two individuals in early education history that stand out to me; they are Maria Montessori and Arnold Gesell. Both have helped to shape early education as we know it today. Maria Montessori bought us the theory of observation of children to open the door to a way of teaching. Arnold Gesell, who bought us the developmental milestones of children. Refer to as the norms, should be consider a starting point to measure development. Both still inspiring early educators of today.

It is impressive that Maria Montessori is the first female physician in Italy. This endeavor was a major feat to achieve in her time. She provided great contributions to the cognitive-development theory. Not only did she achieve this accomplishment, she used her skills to aid the children of poverty and disabilities. This to me is a very courageous and endearing act. During her work with impoverished communities, she observed that the environment had no stimulation or structure for children to learn. This led her to embark on another adventure, she opened a preschool named Casa di Bambini in 1907. Maria Montessori formed her beliefs by observing children. One of Montessori’s beliefs, “In reality, the children are the teachers". The adults were to create an environment conducive to learning. Once this environment is created the children would venture out and learn through play. This belief is still practiced in childcare facilities today. There are safety guidelines that each facility must abide by for the protection of all children. Complying with the safety regulations and ensuring children can be active and play without danger, in turn gives children a wondrous world to investigate. In her observations, she formed many other beliefs. One being education of children starts at birth and continues on in the early years of childhood. She called these years the “sensitive periods” (Gordon and Browne 14). The Daily Montessori web site writes, “Within Maria Montessori’s framework due to her studies with children, she has observed the occurrence of sensitive periods. In other pedagogies it can get called developmental milestones or windows of opportunities. It is these periods in the child’s life when certain ability manifests itself strongly. During these periods, the child has an especially strong sensitivity towards a particular piece of knowledge or skill. The sensitivity lasts for a certain period and does not reoccur”.

Sensitive Period for Order (age 18 months to 2 years)

Sensitive Period for Language (birth to 6 years)

Sensitive Period for Movement (birth to 4 years)

Sensitive Period for Refinement of the Senses (birth to 5 years)

Sensitive Period for Weaning (5 to 6 months)

Sensitive Period for Numbers (4 to 5.5 years)

Sensitive Period for Manners and Courtesies (2 to 6 years)

(Retrieved February 06, 2011, from http://www.dailymontessori.com/sensitive-periods/montessori-sensitive-periods/)

This belief is very much alive still today in our society. In centers of, today infants are not just left to lie in their crib. We have areas that infants can crawl, touch, and discover new things. Another belief that Montessori implemented within her preschool was to make items assessable to the child. This meant having furniture that was suitable for the children size. Insuring the environment was safely brought down to a child’s level, so the child could take part in activities. Our current classrooms are set up in the same manner. You can see in the classrooms of today small tables and chairs, carpet areas where children can gather, and lower shelves, so that children can retrieve items simply. This change in the environment has also lead to the belief that children should have the freedom to choose what they want to learn about. We still demonstrate this today in choice time. Children make their choice of which interest center they will play in, by doing this a child can develop their skills, while developing confidence in themselves to my choices. This is a way of accommodating the child’s needs, and not forcing regimented education upon a child. Montessori also had the belief of training the senses on practical life (Gordon and Browne 14). We see this in interest centers. They consist of anything from a simulated kitchen, art studios, to a miniature library. The children choose to play at the center of their preference reenacting tasks that they view at home on a daily basis. While doing these tasks you can see children sharing with one another leading each other, and working out their differences. This play exposes children to life 's experience’s of bonding and building relationships. Montessori’s beliefs are very much alive in early education of today. It can be seen in many Montessori facilities across the country.

Like Montessori, Arnold Gesell performed observations of children. “Arnold Gesell received a doctorate in psychology in 1906 from Clark University. He held a faculty position at Yale University. He established and directed the Clinic of Child Development”. Gesell 's idea of maturation was rooted in the biological, physiological, and evolutionary sciences. (Retrieved February 06, 2011 from Maturation) He performed observations of children which in turn allowed him to describe developmental milestones. It is written “Arnold Gesell was one of the first psychologists to systematically describe children 's achievements in terms of physical and psychological development”. (Retrieved February 03, 2011, from Arnold Gesell (1880-1961)). Gesell believed children followed an established natural process of growth. Written in the Encyclopedia of Children, “Gesell 's initial work focused on developmentally disabled children, but he believed that it was necessary to understand normal infant and child development in order to understand abnormality. Gesell was one of the first to describe expectable maturational sequences in various domains of neuromotor development from early infancy through school age.” (Retrieved February 06, 2011, from http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Fa-Gr/Gesell-Arnold-1880-1961.html) His research resulted in creating what we know today as being the norms of development. He was criticized by his peers because he did not a make it clear that the achievements of milestones depended on the individual child. His research referred to being too narrow of a study, and not accurately representing the population of children. Although his work, criticized, it became the standard of norms for early childhood education. The charts studied in today’s early education describe the milestones Gesell determined a child may reach. The "norms" used today as a guideline in a child’s development, but not as a set in stone development plan. The standards of norms are used as guidelines in daily assessments. It gives educators the foundation of what to anticipate during each developmental stage. We have learned the development of each child is not written the same as another. Each child is an individual with many factors in their lives. Factors such as environment, culture, and health, social and emotional, all can affect their development. Children do not come in one-size-fits-all. We, as educators must remain aware of the conditions that affect the child and respect a child 's development as an individual journey.
I feel both Maria Montessori and Arnold Gesell’s teachings can help me to be caring, and a respectable educator. I believe as Maria Montessori believed that children need to be given the opportunity to experience practical life situations. They should be given choices to express themselves in play. I can learn from observing children in their environment, and better understand what their needs are to help them develop further. I also believe it is important to give a child the chance to perform a task. It is easy to run to the aid of a child that you might think is in need, and perform a task for them, but in reality, coaching a child to perform the task provides them with a much more valuable lesson. The norms of Arnold Gesell are a valuable tool for me to learn and understand the guidelines of development. It gives me a starting point to use while observing a child 's progress. I plan to incorporate these teachings into my daily life as a volunteer. I will remember to give the children I work with the opportunity to make choices, and to give the children the chance to use their capabilities to perform a task. In my observations, I will use the norms as a guideline to understand what I 'm seeing. I must remember this is a tool, not an exact science of each child. I hope with these lessons I can become a positive influence to the children I am privilege to share my experiences with in the Early Childhood Education field.
References

Retrieved February 02, 2011, from Maria Montessori (1870 -1952): Italy 's First Female Doctor and Educational Pioneer. (n.d.). Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers ' Network. http://www.suite101.com/content/maria-montessori-18701952-a56841
Retrieved February 03, 2011, from Fountainhead Montessori - Philosophy. (n.d.). Fountainhead Montessori - Home. http://www.fms.org/curriculum/EducationalPhilosophy.html

Montessori Sensitive Periods - Developmental Milestones ... (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dailymontessori.com/sensitive-periods/montessori-sensitive-periods/
Arnold Gesell (1880-1961) - Development, Children ... (n.d.). Retrieved from http://social.jrank.org/pages/276/Gesell-Arnold-1880-1961.html

Maturation - Development, Gesell, Biological, Theory, Child ... (n.d.). Retrieved from http://social.jrank.org/pages/384/Maturation.html

Gesell, Arnold (1880–1961) - Encyclopedia of Children and ... (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Fa-Gr/Gesell-Arnold-1880-1961.html Gordon, Ann Miles, and Kathryn Williams. Browne. Beginnings and Beyond: Foundations in Early Childhood Education. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.

References: Retrieved February 02, 2011, from Maria Montessori (1870 -1952): Italy 's First Female Doctor and Educational Pioneer. (n.d.). Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers ' Network. http://www.suite101.com/content/maria-montessori-18701952-a56841 Retrieved February 03, 2011, from Fountainhead Montessori - Philosophy. (n.d.). Fountainhead Montessori - Home. http://www.fms.org/curriculum/EducationalPhilosophy.html Montessori Sensitive Periods - Developmental Milestones ... (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dailymontessori.com/sensitive-periods/montessori-sensitive-periods/ Arnold Gesell (1880-1961) - Development, Children ... (n.d.). Retrieved from http://social.jrank.org/pages/276/Gesell-Arnold-1880-1961.html Maturation - Development, Gesell, Biological, Theory, Child ... (n.d.). Retrieved from http://social.jrank.org/pages/384/Maturation.html Gesell, Arnold (1880–1961) - Encyclopedia of Children and ... (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Fa-Gr/Gesell-Arnold-1880-1961.html Gordon, Ann Miles, and Kathryn Williams. Browne. Beginnings and Beyond: Foundations in Early Childhood Education. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.