"Norfolk
Public Montessori School"
In
1992 the Norfolk School District offered a public Montessori Kindergarten class
at Victory Elementary School. The program has now been expanded to Kindergarten
through third grade, as earlier approved by the Norfolk School Board. Norfolk
Public Montessori School provides an alternative to parents for their children's
education. It is a program that is part of the Norfolk Public Schools; therefore,
there are no additional fees or tuition charges. The subjects and curriculum meet
district standards. The difference lies primarily in the manner of presentation,
timing of material presentation, and in the materials themselves. Dr.
Maria Montessori, who created the Montessori method of education, believed that
no human being is educated by another person. A truly educated individual continues
learning from within by a natural curiosity and love for knowledge. Dr. Montessori
felt the goal of education should be for the child to cultivate his or her own
natural desire to learn. The
Montessori method of education is a balance of structure and freedom that gives
children in their formative years a strong basis for developing the learning skills
that will take them into later education and adulthood. The teacher in a Montessori
classroom facilitates learning and does not strive to be the focal point of the
environment. Rather, the teacher observes the child's needs and directs the child
toward the appropriate materials through which learning will be achieved. Children
in a Montessori classroom are exposed to academic areas early on, through manipulative
materials and are provided with real life, concrete experiences. The child's academic
progress is closely observed and monitored by the teacher. The Montessori classroom
is designed to meet the needs of the child with specialized manipulative materials
which are sequenced and isolate difficulties in order to lead the child from one
level to the next. Typical classroom environments are divided into specific learning
areas including practical life, sensorial, language, mathematics, geography, science
and the arts. Children
are free to choose from the materials that have been introduced to them by the
teacher. They may work on a material repeatedly to have the opportunity to discover
the underlying concepts and to attain mastery of the skills contained. Although
there are both large and small group activities throughout the session, the child's
academic instruction is most often individually presented. Each child is carefully
observed to assure respect for his or her own level of ability and progress. One
learner is not compared or paced with another.
Norfolk
Public Montessori School is one of the nine public
elementary schools in the Norfolk district. Although
the method for instruction is different from the other
eight elementary schools, the Montessori School is
a public school in every way.
| 
icon 