15. Look at the drawings. How do the pictures match with the teachers’ characteristics? Discuss it with your group-mates. Make dialogues.

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Additional Activities: Miscellaneous

16. A) Investigate the biography.

Maria Montessori (1870-1952). Montessori was no follower of tradition or past practices, in her private life or in her professional activity. She attended a technical school and then a medical school. She

became the first female physician in Italy. She established a children’s school to provide an education for disadvantaged children. Montessori came to the conclusion that children have an inner need to work at tasks that interest them. Given the right materials and tasks, children need not to be rewarded and punished by the teacher. She believed that children prefer work to play, and need a carefully prepared environment in order to learn. The Montessori teacher worked with each student individually rather than with the class. The role of a Montessori teacher is that of an observer whose ultimate goal is to intervene less and less as the child develops. Knowing how to observe constructively and when and how much to intervene is one of the most important qualities of a Montessori teacher. At the center of her pedagogy is the child as a unique, unrepeatable, respectable and admirable individual, as a competent being encouraged to make maximal decisions, one of life’s most marvelous expressions.

The Montessori approach views education as an aid to life.

b) Write questions to the answers.

1. … … … … …? No, she wasn’t

2. … … … … …? Yes, she did.

3. … … … … …? The first physician in Italy.

4. … … … … …? She established school for the disadvantaged.

5. … … … … …? When given the right materials and tasks.

6. … … … … …? No, they prefer work to play.

7. … … … … …? They need carefully prepared environment.

8. … … … … …? She worked with each student individually.

9. … … … … …? The ultimate goal is to intervene less and less.

10. … … … … …? As an aid to life.

17. Describe the Maria Montessori’s picture. Try to decode the abbreviation “LE” in the picture. Use the expressions: it is likely to be, it is unlikely to be, it is sure to be, I suppose it to be, I believe it to be, I think, It means, etc. You may hope for the key in the following units.

18. Read each statement below carefully. Check either “agree,” “disagree” or vague to show what you think.

Statement	Agree	Disagree	Vague
1) Jan Komensky believed that caring and polite teachers should guide children’s learning.
2) Rousseau considered senses to be more efficient and desirable than learning in the classroom.
3) Emma Willard didn’t want women to get any education.
4) The words “Education is not preparation for life: education is life itself” belong to John Dewey, an American educator.
5) A school should resemble a loving home. Children should develop self-discipline.
6) Maria Montessori attended a technical school and then a medical school.
7) A. Makarenko was an educator, writer and a well-known poet.