Plato believed that truth exists and is knowable. Socrates taught that true education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel. He said it is not possible to teach children anything, but it is possible to make them think their own way to the truth.
Aristotle told us that we are what we repeatedly do, and that excellence is not an act but a habit.
Those concepts are practiced every day in Montessori classrooms in the belief that children are naturally curious and capable of independently making truthful meaning. They foster rigorous, self-motivated growth for children with the goal of nurturing each child’s natural desire for knowledge, understanding, and respect.
The obvious next question is this: what is the best practice to accomplish this interpersonal and intrapersonal dialog? Plato answers that the surest way to discover knowledge is through the Dialectic method: a free and creative exploration of shared connections by constantly challenging premises through counterargument. Thinking things through thoroughly in an iterative dialog. Not a debate where each party tries to convince others they are right. But a search for truth, alone or not.
And the surest way to initiate and maintain dialog is by questioning; something his mentor Socrates believed was at the heart of all learning.
This best practice should not be restricted to Montessori classrooms.
Here is an example of how to unleash children’s potential using the Terego Ideation Method™. The video’s subject is “Why Does Math Matter?” But the subject could be anything, the method still works across all subjects and all ages.
Download your Terego Ideation Method™ Certification workbook and get started today. It’s FREE. It is a guaranteed way for anyone to Think Things Through Thoroughly. That way you can help futureproof anyone, children especially.
See Tim Seldin, President of the Montessori Foundation, explain why Maria Montessori would approve of the Terego Ideation Method™.
Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers.
Thanks for reading, and please share with other teacher and parent friends.
Alex
