Montessori And Learning Disability
Montessori and Learning Disability
November 2016
I have just been looking back to the power point and hand out that I made for the training day I gave to my colleagues in L'Arche back in 2009. It was the subject of one of the thrice yearly (I think they were) training days that I organised for the support assistants who worked in the the day provision workshops. I really continue to feel strongly about the links between Montessori philosophy/education and good practice for working with people with learning disabilities. Don't get me wrong I am open to other methods and love learning new skills, however, my Montessori training and work has remained a constant source of inspiration. I hope you will find my thoughts interesting!
Later that same year (2009), when I was first seriously working towards working in the museum sector, I was invited by the the then leader of the education team to carry out a week or two's work experience at the London Transport Museum. As part of that work experience I carried out several observations of how nursery aged children interacted with the museum - as it was then. I then wrote up extensive notes into a report for the museum, which included my reflections and suggestions for ways forward.
The following text is the hand out that I created for L'Arche and then adapted for the London Transport Museum. The actual notes and the power point are not included here. Let me know what you think and if you are interested in hearing more or perhaps even asking me for some consultancy? (Better get something about work in there!) :)
Just please bear in mind that I wrote the handout back in 2009. My role at the time was Day Provision Co-ordinator and I supervised the then five different workshop leaders. It wonder if I what I would write the same and different if I was compiling an up to date list...
The handout is/was as follows:
Questions: (Inspired by the Montessori Method)
What do you think the workshop does well and has to offer the people with learning disabilities who come to it?
What aspects do people like about working in the workshop? What is unique about the workshop?
What things do you feel the workshop could do better with in what it offers people with learning disabilities? Are people as independent and in control as possible?
Environment: (How the workshop space is set up.)
Is there order in the environment?
Does everything have its place?
Do people know where to find everything they need without the help of an assistant?
Can the people reach everything?
Is everything within their reach appropriate? (So you don’t need to say no or stop someone from taking something.)
Are there any unnecessary distractions in the physical space? (E.g. large colourful pictures and or objects.)
Are people working in a space that is appropriate for them? (E.g. sitting, standing and with where in the room they are and who else is near where they are working.)
Is there enough opportunity for movement in the work place and within the activities themselves?
Daily routine: (Timing of things)
Is the timing of daily events clear?
Does everyone know what is happening and when?
Is the routine as it is working for everyone or do people require changes?
Is everyone clear about the work they are doing, goals/expectations, boundaries?
Activities/Work: (In the environment)
Are they suitable for people?
Are they too difficult? If they are, is there a simpler or part activity that could take its place?
Have you observed, broken down and tried the different movements needed for an activity?
Could some people be challenged more?
What new skills could people learn and be involved in?
Is there a particular skill that the people are expressing a desire to refine? If yes, how can you support them with this?
Are people choosing their activities?
Do the activities have a clear purpose and meaning?
Are there any jobs that assistants are doing, that adults with learning disabilities could be doing? (E.g. getting cups and taking them back at tea break.) Remember we are enabling people to be as independent as possible. What may seem hard work the time will be worth it in the long run.)
Assistants: (As teachers)
Do you have a positive attitude to everyone in the workshop?
Is there favouritism?
Are you aware of your prejudices?
Do you approach people in a positive way?
Are you careful about not criticising their work, even in a subtle way? (You can show the activity at another point, rather than criticise at the time. Or look at the appropriateness of the activity)
Do you value all activities and work the same?
Do you allow people to take their time and repeat where necessary? Do you give people time to finish their work cycle?
Are you doing too much for people? (Think about even the small things/parts of the process.)
Do you ensure that you don’t interfere when the person is concentrating on their work? (Even by speaking to them with a positive comment! Concentration is a very important skill to develop.)
Do you make sure that you don’t constantly praise people? (People should not rely on others to feel good. The aim is that it comes from within.)
Are assistants clear with people about when the person can make a decision and when they can not?
Are people allowed to make all possible decisions?
Do you take time to sit back and observe?
What areas do you feel you need more support in?
Some quotes about Montessori education.
‘An adult can substitute himself for a child by acting in his place, but also by subtly imposing his own will, substituting it for that of the child. When this happens it is no longer the child that acts but the adult working through the child,’ Montessori.
‘The most important discovery is that a child returns to a normal state through work…. A child’s desire to work represents a vital instinct since he cannot organise his personality without working; a man builds himself through working.’ Montessori
'It is important for us to know the nature of a child’s work. When a child works, he does not do so to attain some further goal. His objective is the work itself, and when he has repeated an exercise and brought his own activities to an end, this end is independent of external factors.’
‘It is necessary for the child to have this order and stability in the environment because he is constructing himself out of the elements of the environment… it is his foundation.’ Montessori
“A child’s different inner sensibilities enable him to choose from his complex environment what is suitable and necessary for his growth. They make the child sensitive to some things, but leave him indifferent to others. When a particular sensitiveness is aroused in a child. It is like a light that shines on some objects but not on others, making of them his whole world’ Montessori
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Its Been a While
April 2017
I can't believe that is has been so long since I last updated this blog. I am still very much working in this field as a freelancer. It sometimes happens that energies need to be transferred away from things like blog writing. In my case it has been the fact that I have been taking on new work and therefore as well as this new work involving new planning and making and practising - it has also been a time of processing and reassessing what I do.
I have been feeling pretty ok about the work I have been doing in this area up until now. However, having taken on several pieces of new work at once I suddenly realised that I felt a bit of anxiety and I felt a bit like I needed to go back to basics. I guess no-one really likes feeling stress, however, I see this time of reassessment as a positive thing in the long run. It is important to discover what essence new work will take on for example in terms of needing to work out a new sense of flow for sessions and also to have a feeling of humbleness in the light of meeting new people, getting to know them and what they enjoy.
So what work have I taken on? I have started to work at the National Maritime Museum (NMM) as one of the new SEND Facilitators, trailing new sessions for children who attend special schools. It is called 'Sensory Seas' and involves children becoming explorers at the NMM. I have also led a couple of sessions on behalf of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS). These sessions have been short music and storytelling sessions for two groups of children at a special school. The sessions have been based on English folk songs. I have also recently started leading music sessions at two residential homes for adults with learning disabilities. This week I will be joint leading the first of three sessions leading up to a performance of the 'Invisible Palace' 'Boundaries' project in Crystal Palace Park. We will be supporting L'Arche London to take part with other local community groups. Emmie and I are focussing on stories connected to The Great North Wood and Crystal Palace Park. Last but not least - I have been developing ideas for a couple of other local heritage projects! More to follow on those...
I aim to storify as many comments as I can from social media and the media about the planned £500m development of Crystal Palace Park by the ZhongRong group, that was launched today in #crystalpalacepark. So far this is a mishmash of initial tweets. I will hunt for more and accept suggestions!
Cutty Sark to Greenwich North tube listening to the 'Dockers' memoryscape audio trailer in photos - part one
Yesterday saw a fun trip down to the Thames with my friend's daughter. Our aim was to visit the Design Museum for the first time and say hi to my friend who works there. I love visiting new places - and we particularly enjoyed guessing what everyday objects were made from the parts of objects on the top floor. We made it into a guessing game and I think my friend's daughter did better than me! Other than that I am always amazed by how much fun kids can get from the natural (and manmade) environment. The Thames around London Bridge is perfect for this - exploring the bridge itself as well as boat watching, climbing on parts of ships and the steps around the scoop. We treated ourself to a fid value river bus trip too :) I reminded myself again of taking things at a child's pace with no agenda of my own :)
Dear tumblr friends,
My apologies if you have been waiting for more updates here. I have been largely updating via Facebook and I realise those posts do not come here. Here is a link to the trail so far!
I hope you are well and I will get working on the remaining segments!
#100happydays keeping with my career theme - well any passions in life I have to say it makes me happy to see this building most the time I approach it and think of my lovely colleagues I'm about to work with. Also enjoyed a curry with my sis and her boyfriend this eve! :)
‘Tickle Monster’ ... make your own monster and something it transforms into... as in the story... or colour a monster... this book and the laminated shapes were kindly borrowed from a friend of mine here :) Native Speaker Teacher in a Vienna Primary School...
Approaches to Research
So, I have finally been dipping into the book entitled 'Doing Your Research Project'. The one that is hailed as the 'traditional' approach. We have talked about some different approaches to research in our classes, but still I feel a bit stuck between styles. I like the ideas of 'Action Research', yet I am not really trying to challenge anything or change anything about the job I am doing, because it is not my job, it is an independent project. Yet, I think I have been calling what I am doing action research just for the fact that I am aiming to make a 'product' (in other-words a trail) myself as part of my learning about what makes an effective community trail.
I am also quite intrigued by the 'narrative inquiry' approach. I like the ideas of it, but my question is whether I can be a good storyteller or not! I am looking for stories for my project - stories about the park - and looking into other people's trails that they have created, which are stories - and psychogeography itself seems to have its roots in stories - which I must check out - and I am indeed blogging the process so there is some hope that the narrative approach could be incorporated in my study and writing.
Apologies for the very obvious nature of this entry. I am probably not sounding like an MA student!!
In other news, as they say, I've started listening to the radio for the duration of this assignment (ok, as of yesterday) in order to concentrate on the medium of the spoken word - to consider its potential and gain inspiration.
Questions I have been thinking all along, but came to me quite strongly on the underground yesterday are - and these are exactly how I typed them and so don't always make perfect sense, but it is a snippet of my thoughts in action - mostly on te theme of what questions I might ask makers of trails: 'Good practice and effective community trail? Effective for who? The listener or the maker and the community? Or all? What benefits have ppl found? I am looking into alternatives too because can gain inspiration from them... What types are there?! Was there a reason for making a community trail as opposed to another form of interpretation/ engagement? For you what are the positives of making a community trail?'
My next task is to send out the questionnaires and also the text I have been working on to try and recruit participants. I've ordered my digital recorder at last! The Tascam dr-40! Fingers crossed it arrives ok, it works and that I can work out how to use it properly as well as of course get the good stories to record!
Okay, for now it is onwards with reading some articles we were given in class a couple of weeks back about research styles and then for some more reading of my intro to psychogeography book and hopefully a listen of some of the audio trails that people sent me and that I won't be able to go and try them out on the spot as such. I am still hoping for an improvement in weather again to go and try out the trails in location!!!
East side streets....
More About The Great North Wood
From around 2016 I think!
I have an ongoing interest in the The Great North Wood. When working on projects about The Crystal Palace I became entranced by the idea of the wood that previously covered much of the local area - It would have spanned from Camberwell to Croydon!
I recently developed two music and storytelling projects for adults with learning disabilities about the Great North Wood. The first was a weekly class for adults with learning disabilities based at West Norwood Leisure Centre about The Great North Wood, developed with a collective entitled Sound Tracks. This comprises of Keith Park, Emmie Ward and me.
The second project was in association with The London Wildlife Trust and funded by the Crystal Palace Park Fund. Coralie Oddy, Emmie Ward and I developed and delivered 10 sessions for adults with learning disabilities in Crystal Palace Park about it's history - centring on its history as part of The Great North Wood. Find out more about Sound Tracks here.
In May 2013, I jointly created a tree walk in Crystal Palace Park with a museum colleague. The walk included nature activities and storytelling about the Great North Wood for local children.
In June 2015, I jointly curated an event about The Great North Wood in Brockwell Park as part of the MADD 2015 programme. The event included folk music, blue printing and storytelling.
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Teaching, learning, music, heritage, nature, theatre, stories, art, cats, community, diversity. Kent, U.K. Instagram: @ret_uk
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