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The 3rd Period: Cultivating Voice and Choice to Assess the Child's Mastery

If you are a Montessori educator for any ages or grades, then I know for a fact you have heard the coveted term ‘choice’. Ah, yes, choice! The thing we are all supposed to give the child at any appropriate opportunity. I often heard in my training that there should be plenty of opportunity for the child to display autonomy and independence through said ‘choice’. So, then why was I not providing it or seeing other teachers provide it my very first time in the classroom? Was I being naive? Was I just being the new, eager teacher? Is ‘choice’ not all it’s cracked up to be? The ‘choice voice’ inside my head says choice and independence are indeed possible to implement in my lower elementary environment, so why are we as guides trying harder to provide it daily? Maria Montessori placed a lot of emphasis on choice. However, the notion of choice that is celebrated in the infant-toddler environments and early childhood environments does not receive the same importance in the elementary and adolescent environments. It can often become harder to find the value in choice as math and language becomes more important the older a child gets, resulting in a compromised Montessori environment. 

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Choice teaches executive functioning skills.  Choice shows process, not product. Choice channels energy for all types of students. Choice asks, “Where can we take the adult out of the process?” Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator and philosopher, urges educators to stand up to an oppressive approach to education. Freire compares this traditional sense of education to banking: The teacher is the depositor and the students are the receptacles. However, with reform and transformation of the educator, the adult-child relationship begins to shift. He writes in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, "The students- no longer docile listeners- are now critical co-investigators in dialogue with the teacher” (p. 81). That is the power of choice. To embolden and awaken the child to become powerful contributors to their respective societies. Montessori educators have a privilege to facilitate these awakenings- it just takes daily commitment. It is my hope that you read this article, you walk away wondering when and where you can take a step back and observe where choice is a possibility in your environment- and have fun while you’re at it!