MONTESSORI APPROACH TO HISTORY
Pranjali Bandhu
And people see in poems and fairy tales
the true history of the world,
Then our entire twisted nature will turn
And run when a single secret word is spoken
(Novalis)
History is considered to be the mother of all sciences. Therefore, it is treated as the mother of all the subjects taught in line with the Montessori approach during elementary school education. The five Great Stories narrated at this level are all historical (and at times geographical) tales of the creation of the universe and our earth, life on earth, the evolution of the human species, pre-history and history of humankind and the evolution of human creations such as Languages and Mathematics.
There are reasons for giving history this kind of importance. It is because everything has its history, its origin and beginnings, its causes. A historical approach gives children the sense of connection to the past going back to the creation of the universe. It is to help them understand that whatever they are today it is as a consequence of past (and incidentally present) events, actions by everything that constitutes life and being. This historical sense of interconnectedness/inter-being is inculcated to make them feel a part of the web of all life and being. This sense of unity can facilitate a feeling of gratitude to Nature, to ‘primitive’ ancestors, whose work has brought them to the stage where they are today and to everybody and everything around them. The feeling of gratitude and spirit of service could help in bringing in the idea of conservation of Nature, without which we would not be. It may also help in bringing in the idea that some of the ways in which our ancestors did things could be better than some of the things we are doing today. For example, they used natural resources in ways that were ‘conservationist’ rather than wasteful and waste creating. It may help in bringing in the idea of satisfying only our needs, and limiting needs rather than giving in to greed. It may help in bringing in the idea of sustainable development as against development that is destructive of the environment and hence harmful to humans also. It can help in critiquing and overcoming some things that were not done very correctly in the past, and in introducing the attitude of responsibility to everything and everybody around (Sarvodaya). In this context, regional/local and national historical awareness with all global ramifications are very important. One should know precisely where one comes from in order to know the path of peace.
In approaching things historically the unique nature or potential of humans can also be brought out. This unique potential means that humans being higher up in the chain of evolution have greater responsibility for all creation. The historical approach of Dr. Montessori mandates that events and persons are placed in context; that achievements are presented as being those not just of great individuals, but that there are many others who have helped make these achievements and advances happen through their efforts and endeavours. All of them should be appreciated. It may help in overcoming hierarchies based on caste/class, gender and ethnicity.
The uniqueness of humans lies among other things in the fact that they can engage in supra Nature activities and create their own environment, shelter, food and other products using natural resources. The Montessori approach says that the striving for greater perfection and efficiency exist as a tendency in the evolution of matter and energy. If this is so, then humans as they presently exist and function may be superseded by a superior species because this species as it exists now seems on the whole, with some exceptions, to have proved itself unfit for sustaining life on earth. Indeed, it seems to have become dangerous for all forms of life on earth and it is undermining the basis of its own existence. This is so because it has not understood its place in the cosmos, and human history is being seen as technology driven. The drive towards perfection is understood as the drive towards ever more precise and advanced technology rather than spiritually advanced human beings. The human species has put itself above Nature and existence rather than understanding its powers and potentials as a specific expression of matter-energy. If humans are destructive of Nature in their activities, they themselves will be destroyed sooner or later because Nature is more powerful than humans.
Montessori’s concept of history is teleological and seems to derive from optimistic linear Enlightenment philosophy, which itself is a continuation of the Judaeo-Christian tradition. In this tradition humans are regarded as the peak of evolution. If we are to believe in the findings of quantum mechanics then there are many possible histories and it is possible to go back in time. A linear approach no longer seems true.
In the Montessori approach, history is expected to be presented in the class room in an ‘objective’ way, just presenting ‘facts’ so that children can make their own choices about whom they consider great and what they consider positive. The teacher is not expected to bias them one way or the other. I have a little problem here, if I have understood this approach correctly. From my perspective, any history telling, whether it is of the uni(multi)verse or our earth, or the pre-history, ancient and contemporary history of humans, is bound to involve a degree of interpretation and hence subjectivity. It will be the result of an individual trying to understand something on the basis of received knowledge. It involves a great deal of selection from known facts and presentation is done on that basis; thereby some individual bias is always there. These biases depend on personal value systems. As teachers, interpreters, historians, story tellers it may be better to be oneself aware of these biases and while teaching make these biases transparent, and then leave the children to decide for themselves whether they want to follow your approach, modify or adapt your outlook, or come up with something entirely their own. This is the only creative way. Otherwise, in the name of democracy we are actually being authoritarian and dogmatic.
If we teach history in such a way that we show respect for all sentient beings from the beginning, then the children will likely develop a life-sustaining value system and will be able to analyse the human past and present critically and evaluate where we have gone wrong and where we performed the germs of right things. And they will know how to make the future better than the past.
February, 2013