| THE
Vol. 18, No. 2 Spring 1993
Language, Creativity, (15 Culture
Absorbent Mind Update
by Annette M. Haines
The Fertile… |
| WHAT IS NAMTA?
The North American Montessori Teachers' Association
provides a medium of study, interpretation, and im-… |
| THE NAMTA JOURNAL
VoL. 18, No. 2 • SPRING 1993
LANGUAGE, CREATIVITY, <f5 CULTURE
e
lo affiliation with the… |
| LANGUAGE, CREATIVITY' (i1 CULTURE
q!P
ABSORBENT MIND UPDATE… |
| PREFACE:
LANGUAGE, CREATIVOY, AND CULTIJRE
by David Kahn, Editor
Creativitywas not a term Montessori used; instead, she used… |
| and evolution, the migration of peoples, and linguistic activity through the
ages. At the same time, having the right language… |
| Annette M. Haines |
| ABSORBENT MIND UPDATE:
REsEARCH SHEDS NEW UGHf ON
MONTESSORI THEORY
by Annette M. Haines
Citing numerous emptrica/ studies… |
| center of current theory. This, according to John
Chattin-McNichols, author of TbeMontessori Con-
troversy (1991), has… |
| ■ Through the senses and movement, the child's mind comes into
contact with reality, and it is through these contacts… |
| Rosenzweig of the University of California
suggests that extensive and prolonged learn-
ing is required for the formation of… |
| of supporting self-organization coward even more differentiated
structures. (1990, p. 212)
Thus, the brain of the young child… |
| dendritic rings and "branchiness," Scheibe! proposes dendritic develop-
ment as a corollary to cognitive… |
| mechanisms to decrease the connection strength when the two cells are
not simultaneously activated.
Through this mechanism,… |
| Whereas
s1ca s stems
mo
order
en
s are
overp
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (M.R.I.)
are allowing neuroscientists such as… |
| with these authors when they suggest, therefore, that the formalisms of AI
cannot apply to the neural networks of living… |
| subconscious what Montessori calls "engrams," something like proto-
concepts, laying a foundation upon which… |
| the brain, "like lights on a Christmas tree," empirical research may soon
confirm what Montessori could only… |
| neuron's axon to another's dendrites. Since there are so many dendrites
to choose from, impulses can jump in a… |
| Much of the young child's learning is process learning, "how to" walk,
talk, grasp an object, build a… |
| recollections. Kinoshita (1992, p. 44) describes a
patient's flashback from childhood: F. R. was
stricken with a disease… |
| behavior in relation to brain myelination, "function possibly precedes and
causes myelination" (1991, p. 190… |
| increasing importance for theories of and research on the
genesis of animal and human behavior (Hess, 1973, p. 61).… |
| him, the form of human conduct which he finds in his surroundings" (1949,
p. 72).
The young child is predisposed to… |
| on, and this accounts for critical periods of development. (1973,
p. 60)
Gordon Bronson, in a study of the hierarchical… |
| Epstein's work in Phrenoblysis or "Stages in Human Mental Growth"
(1990) reflects continued interest in… |
| The study of African and American children mentioned earlier (Super,
1991) revealed changes in cognition proceeding at similar… |
| References
Arnold, M. B. 0984). Memory and the Brain. Hillsdale, New
Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.… |
| Carew, T., et al. 0990). The Development of Leaming and
Memory in Aplysia. In J. McGaugh, N. Weinberger, and G.
Lynch (Eds… |
| Hopkins, W.G. and Brown, M.C. 0984). Development of Nerve
Cells and their Connections. Cambridge: Cambridge Univer-
sity… |
| Minsky, M. 0985). The Society of Mind. New York: Simon and
Schuster.
Montanero, S. Q. 0991). Understanding the Human Being:… |
| Super, C. M. 0991). Developmental Transitions of Cognitive
Functioning in Rural Kenya and Metropolitan America. In
Gibson, K… |
| MONTEIIOR(I
PSYCHOLOGY OF IMAGINATION
CONCEPT MAP
I
II
Imagination through
- Imagination as Medium
Space and Time
for… |
| THE FERm..E FIEID OF IMAGINATION
by David Kahn
Starting/ram a precise definition of imagination in Montessori terms, David… |
| sown, to grow under the heat of flaming imagina-
tion" (Montessori, 1948, p. 15).
Imagination Through Space and Time… |
| known world, triggering the flight of the imagination. Emotion is evoked
by the mention of father and mother; a sense of time… |
| physical limits of the prepared environment and builds the child's critical
attention around a span of the concept.… |
| Imaginative con-
struction and exl,)lo-
ration is based, not in
some
ether.ea I
nethery.,oi1d, but sol-
idly in the real… |
| as if the thought of man had assumed a marvelous power; the power to
create ... " (1965 (19171, p.241). Imagination… |
| enhanced by imagination and where thoughts and logical connections are
tied together by the emotional excitement of making new… |
| Likewise, imagination inspires the miraculous discovery when the
logical layout of a binomial square yields the vision of a… |
| I gasped and turned away from the tombslone.
"Journey lo Persgrinatio,"
by child age 11
When a child… |
| Reflecting on imagination and enthusiasm, the adolescent forms an
identity reflected in another Montessori child's essay… |
| favorite books or plays. An imagination makes it easier for me
to see the ideas behind a story or a character. Most… |
| The imagination is funda-
mental to the use of sci-
ence and technology to
adcfress global nature sys-
tems and their well-… |
| needs, to understand that individual needs differ and that therefore
children receive different treatment based on different… |
| There is onJy one man in the world
and his name is All Men.
There is only one woman in the world
and her name is All Women… |
| References
Egan, Kieran (1992). Imagination in Teaching and Learning.
Chicago: U of Chicago.
Montessori, Maria (1965; first… |
| TEACHING HAnru TO YOUNG CimDREN
by Linda Alston
Linda Alston presents a personal account of how haiku writing can be used… |
| I want to stress here that haiku Is a
feeling. It Isa dramatic momentiound in
oommob everyday occurrences, in the
small… |
| information from them about haiku except that they loved it and they
taught it to the children at their Montessori school in… |
| It is as if nature set aside a special period for exploring and appreciating
her mysteries, which will later be overlooked by… |
| Dr. McGregor Smith, retiring director of the Environmental Ethics
Institute at Miami-Dade Community College in Miami, says,… |
| will start making their own maps and flags. They
invariably choose this work after this presenta-
tion.
The next day I will… |
| the symbol for the noun is a large black triangle. The number shows how
many syllables are in that word.
My next step is to… |
| The children's work is very individualized, so some children might be
ready at this point to write their own haiku… |
| The
Hum back Wh |
| Goon BooKS To SUPPORT CHilDREN's
REsEARCH
by Mary Maher Boehnlein, Ph.D.
In this review, Mary Boehnlein takes a… |
| ~
__r
Helic~opter
over Hawaii
Story by Rebel Williams
lftushal~
Cathy Diefenc:IOrt |
| In recent years, the whole language movement, with its emphasis on
literacy across the curriculum and the use of multiple… |
| in everyday life but also provide an opportunity to enrich the child's
introduction to basic scientific concepts.
An… |
| o~ |
| Sunshine Books
As the child's reading skill grows, the content area Sunshine series of
books (Levels One through Seven)… |
| outer space in addition to information
on asteroids, comets, and gravity.
Other books are about the humpback
whale, the… |
| At each of the above stages, children should be encouraged to write
from one to several sentences about the topic which are… |
| Margaret Loeffler |
| WHOLE LANGUAGE IN nm MONTESSORI
CLASSROOM: CONTINUING THE STORY
by Margaret Loeffler, Ph.D.
In this talk presented to… |
| I suggested that the beginning of this trail might
be found in what Piaget calls the symbolic or
semiotic function, which… |
| Vygotsky suggests that two developmental pathways grow out of
gesture. One leads to pretend play, as we have mentioned, and… |
| own observations regarding children in her schools writing words from her
dictation or composing thank you notes to important… |
| Certainly, we all have had experience in our own classes with children who
did not learn to write and read independently even… |
| inability to use written language that keeps one from being created in some
cultures but rather certain characteristics of the… |
| sounds in words. Their assumption is that once children understand what
reading is all about, mapping spoken language onto the… |
| written language
posses'sing su6-
stantial linguistic
knowledge imglicit
in their spoken lan-
guage. The major
task… |
| Research by C. Chomsky, Read,
Liberman, and others suggests that many
young children entering first grade have
developed at… |
| identities are recognized when the word is
seen. These identities include a phonological
identity (the sounds in the word), a… |
| From these wntmgs of contemporary researchers, it is clear that
Montessori was onto something when she suggested that writing… |
| occured in the method. My guess is that it was when the method was first
tried in English, with its many varied spelling… |
| area as well as nationally, your influence will be felt in recognizing the
congruence of Montessori's original insights… |
| Frith reminds us that as children move from one phase to another,
there may be apparent setbacks in performance. This is… |
| a,od
t
ea se
s e be e,\{ed
cbild
OU
0
eln eile
especial
V.:bat tt)eyf ea
from the alphabetic into the orthographic… |
| with children. I can almost guarantee that Montessori would not have
approved of basal readers because she believed that… |
| episodes. Specifically, there were the tales of Andersen, some of the short
stories of Capuana, episodes of the life of Jesus… |
| Over the years, I have used these games with children from a broad
socio-economic range, and I'm always pleased to… |
| would be supportive of the contemporary whole language approach. The
use of oral grammar games also would assist children in… |
| Loeffler, Margaret H. (1980). An Investigation of the Relationship
of Protowriting (Invented Spelling) and Cognitive… |
| Mrs. Francesca Claremont |
| LITERATURE AND GRAMMAR
by Mrs. Francesca Claremont
Transcribed and Edited by Jim and Frances Fitzpatrick
Here follow two… |
| long ago I was observing a literature class. The
teacher was reciting to the children an old friend of
ours, "The… |
| language. When the interest in words begins, as a teacher you can be a
great help by developing that interest. I once heard Dr… |
| There are dozens of words that you can pick out to give to children.
Bankrupt means someone whose bench has been broken (rupto… |
| it. Here are the symbols for the ~ansitive and the intransitive, the infinitive,
and the verb to be for auxiliary use.
Of… |
| of my ·career was washing dishes with Bernard Shaw after a very large
social gathering. Bernard Shaw's share of the… |
| kitchen. Adding section by section, piece by piece, they discovered the
style pattern and saw that the repeats in Malory are… |