The Life of Beauty

There’s something almost indescribable about how the inquisitiveness of children, and their persistent ability to explore their world, completely overwhelms our senses. Whenever we observe a Montessori classroom in action, and truly let ourselves become absorbed in the environment and the interactions, we are entirely seduced by its humanity.

A prospective Montessori teacher, who is possibly interested in pursuing their training to return to join us at Baan Dek, set up a time to observe the classrooms in action. After an immersive morning session, spent in both the Toddler and Primary environments, we received a series of insightful observations. We thought it might be helpful to share those outside perspectives here:

This morning I observed the toddler room and the primary room at Baan Dek. My intention was to observe how the guides interacted with the children. I absorbed much more.

Toddler Observation

In the toddler room I was quite the distraction. The children seemed intrigued. They were definitely not afraid. It’s like they were experimenting with me, the new addition to their environment, to see what kind of interaction we could have.

A couple of the children stayed focused on their work. The work I witnessed was easily distracted. I wonder what makes the guides tick? How and why do they patiently encourage over and over again? I was overwhelmed with the thought of guiding that room.

[full-image url=”https://baandek.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/primarymontessoriclassroom.jpg”]

Primary Observation

Then I sat in on the primary room. A gradient of focus was much more observable in the primary room. Not just in comparison with the toddler room but within the room itself. Again my goal was to observe the guides, but my attention was stolen by a child.

She was stunningly beautiful. It appeared to me that she had chosen her dress and her boots… The kind of style only a 5 year old can brilliantly display. She was appropriately arranging a bouquet of pink flowers, which seemed happy to be cared for by such beauty.

Once complete she gently instructed a younger boy on the lacing frame. Next she seemed to dance around the room like a princess in her castle adorned with confidence and joy…and with no apparent purpose other than observation.

Eventually, she helped another boy with the tying frame and finally danced with the broom as she swept the floor. She was a beautiful vision for the entire time I was there…

[quote] Her mind, body, and soul obviously united in that moment. [/quote]

I wonder what the guides consider as their goal? To prepare an environment? Sure but to what end? What is the purpose of education? To train individuals with a certain skill set to aid in the survival of others and themselves? To provide experiences for individuals that overwhelm the senses with joy and comfort?

I think I saw a different purpose of education, even life, this morning…. The life of beauty. The convergence of everything we are and are capable of. Born from struggle, determination, and encouraging relationships.

So what makes these guides tick? I bet it’s the glimpses of beauty…the glimpses that inspire hope for the others and that generates patience and encouragement in relationships. It’s the beauty in a child that recreates itself in the guide.
What are the possibilities of this kind of environment and relationship with each other?!