Real Life Skills Early In Childhood

 

Sadly, Incoming College Students Often Overmatched by Their Emotions Social and Emotional Learning Helps Youngsters Transition to Young Adults Easier

 

It is a constant amazement how many of today’s young people leaving home for the first time for college struggle with how the real world works. They may be academically prepared—but beyond that, a select few may need a bit more help!

 

This trend leads educators to ask—what were you being taught in grade school?

 

As the Director of a Montessori private school, I can only point to the things we’re doing with the Montessori Method--fostering independence, building problem-solving skills, focusing on persistence, and using all the social and emotional tools we can muster to give children real-life skills.

 

And these tools are introduced as toddlers and preschoolers—not high school seniors!

 

As a recent article published in The Washington Post by Shannon Reed, here’s a list of four skills our teens are not walking into college with:

 

• navigating differences

• dealing with illnesses

• managing homesickness

• using manners

 

Why and how have students learned so much academically—only to fumble when it comes to soft skills like self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and decision-making?

 

Despite our multi-generational push toward diversity at school, we still have millions of youngsters who don’t know how to deal with differences of race, religion, gender, disabilities and nationality with other classmates. 

 

A core tenant of Dr. Maria Montessori’s teaching over 110 years ago has endured: children include other children from a young age to learn from, learn with and learn how to teach others. As a result, Montessori students have a nearly innate sense of understanding what another child is about—and accepting their traits and characteristics as they do their own.

 

These collaborative and cooperative traits give Montessori students the ability to accept people for what they are and to trust them despite differences.

Much like toddlers getting together, incoming college freshmen get sick with cold, fever, mononucleosis and the flu. Or, worse, a family member has health concerns or has recently passed.

 

As a result, teens are emotionally consumed and often are ill-prepared to deal with their own health concerns. 

 

For example, they come to school sick—and potentially infect students and teachers. Or worse, they don’t know how to control their emotions concerning their family.

 

In a Montessori setting, sickness of one’s own, or of their siblings, parents and grandparents is a topic of conversation—not just of illness but the circle of life of how people grow old, get sick and pass. It’s a topic that is discussed matter-of-factly but also lovingly and emotionally. How is it that our Montessori kindergarten students know how to deal with loss, but college-bound kids don’t?

The Montessori Method teaches perseverance and self-determination. We guide children as they make mistakes. Why? Because making mistakes is the only way they learn.

 

Montessori classes are not age-based. Rather, they are age-range based. Instead of 20 kids all in the same classroom who are all within one-year of age despite different learning levels, Montessori teaches children who are within a three-year age range. 

 

In our toddler program, young students learn from older students. So, if a project is too hard for our youngest students, then it is acceptable and desirous that older students help them figure it out. And, as students rotate out to enter more challenging studies, those youngest students ultimately become the oldest ones. 

 

What do they do? 

Why—act as teachers to the latest incoming group!

Thus, those who relied on others to start ultimately has others relying on them later. 

 

As a result, students develop self-worth, confidence and abilities to help others. Ours is a serious set of social and emotional skills that help students deal with challenge, loneliness and seeking their place in the world. When children are confident and believe in themselves, they can find resiliency within themselves and don't need to seek home for fulfillment. Homesickness is a form of dependence on parents to fix our problems, do our laundry, reassure us that we are valued. But Montessori children do all of these things on their own from a young age.

 

Manners

 

Summation