Day After School Party at T.R.A.C.S

T.R.A.C.S at River Island

http://slurl.com/secondlife/River%20Island/221/249/22

Last year, also beginning of September, we had a back to school party and this year a "Day after School Party". It is not only named "After School" because that it is on a Saturday but also because the day before it is the birth day of Maria Montessori.

Maria Montessori

Born: 31-Aug-1870

Birthplace: Chiaravalle, Italy

Died: 6-May-1952
Gender: Female

Religion: Roman Catholic

Location of death: Noordwijk aan Zee, Netherlands

Remains: Buried, Noordwijk aan Zee, Netherlands

Occupation: Educator, Scientist

Nationality: Italy

Executive summary: Founder of Montessori Education Method

Maria Montessori is remembered as the founder of the famous Montessori Method of education which emphasized hands-on, individualized learning within mixed age groups in a child-friendly setting. Her teaching strategies and her discoveries about the process of learning revolutionized the field of education in the United States and profoundly influenced children's education all around the world. Despite the familiarity of her name, few realize that much of the developmental, "hands-on" approach now employed in preschools and kindergartens can be traced to the innovations of Maria Montessori. Although best known as an educator, Montessori's formal training was as a scientist and medical doctor. She is also notable for having been Italy's first female M.D. For her committed efforts on behalf of children, especially in the face of the fascism of World War II, Montessori was nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize (1949, 1950, and 1951).

Montessori education is practiced in an estimated 20,000 schools worldwide, serving children from birth to eighteen years old.

Montessori education is characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological development, as well as technological advancements in society. Although a range of practices exists under the name "Montessori", the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and the American Montessori Society (AMS) cite these elements as essential:

•  Mixed age classrooms, with classrooms for children aged 2½ or 3 to 9 years old by far the most common
•  Student choice of activity from within a prescribed range of options
•  Uninterrupted blocks of work time
•  A Constructivist or "discovery" model, where students learn concepts from working with materials, rather than by direct instruction
•  Specialized educational materials developed by Montessori and her collaborators

Ironically, Montessori's methods were not derived from any extant pedagogical wisdom. She had in fact sidestepped the more traditional education path for women -- teacher's training -- in favour of science. But as an astute scientist and quick-minded observer, she had soon discovered some important and, for the period, revolutionary principles about children and the process of learning. Among these was the notion that children have an innate drive to learn, and that all on their own they are capable of amassing an incredible amount of information and wisdom about the world around them. This was startling news at the turn of the century as hitherto it had been assumed that children could only learn through instruction -- or more specifically, from being lectured by an adult.

Source: WikiPedia / NNDB