Worth much more than all these is the sense of self-worth and the self-esteem that they develop. Self-worth and self-esteem are what that makes a child happy. Sense of freedom and independence is a great advantage to life. Discipline becomes part of his life, self imposed. There is no bitterness about it.

It provides him with the necessary base to face the rigors of life positively throughout life.

A look at the Traditional classroom.

The Montessori method stands apart as a method of education, It is a method that truly respects the child and promotes independence in the child.

How is it different from the traditional method?

Walk into a traditional classroom and what do you see? Twenty, or thirty, or forty (or more!) children seated in parallel rows, facing the teacher. Let us assume that they are three-year olds, and that the teacher is telling them the colour name 'Red'. She shows them a red apple as an example of the colour. Some of the children do make the association. But here's a boy in the fourth row, who is hearing the word 'red' but looking at the shape of the apple. And there's another who is thinking of the taste! And the girl in the front row is thinking of her uncle who brought apples home yesterday! The children at the back aren't even listening.

This is the story of traditional education - it is based on the hope that the children are listening to the teacher, and are mentally making the connections that the teacher wants them to.

Why are children in Montessori schools happy while they learn?

One reason is that it brings about development in every sense of the word - truly an enveloping development. There is development of the body - physical development - as the child performs that involve movements of the fingers and large movements of the body. There is spiritual development as the child seeks for knowledge and is encouraged in this seeking - he develops the spirit of enquiry. There is intellectual development as the child gains the knowledge he has sought. There is linguistic development as the child speaks freely, is listened to,. Thus he learns to express himself. There is emotional development as the child feels the fullness of positive emotions at work completed and ends achieved. There is social development as children show consideration for each other as they share the material. The child develops the ability to concentrate for longer and longer periods. Through it all, the child is growing as an individual, not as an insignificant member of a group.

The Montessori method gives the child "inner work" and "outer work," both of which he needs in his efforts to grow and develop into an adult. It develops his will, his intellect, and his motor control, separately and together. His senses become efficient servants of the intelligence apart from supplying all experiences. These experiences are the raw materials for shaping his personality.. He has opportunity for intelligence to focus on the use of his senses. It gives him a strong foundation in Mathematics and Language. It gives him the ability to work, and helps him to be a responsible person. The real sense of the term ‘social interaction’ is seen in a Montessori House of children. Obviously the child is happy.

This article makes an attempt to explain the Montessori Method of education in layman's terms. It is often found that parents are not sure how this method works. The method sounds different because it has a macrocosmic vision of Life of humans. It is not only ‘teaching’ but includes teaching. It is more of a learning method than a teaching method By reading this article parents can understand how the method works. It will help clear any apprehensions they may have about the Montessori method.