cosmic education

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Recommended: Development stages of a child

Maria Montessori described the educational needs of the 6- 12 year old elementary child as: the acquisition of culture, the exploration of morality, and the development of organized social activity (Montessori, 1948, p. 4). The child of this age is further described as having a "hungry intelligence" that is eager to explore the vast fields of knowledge (Montessori, 1948, p.4). The learning environment and the adults within that environment must maintain a vast pool of general information from which these intellectually hungry children can explore. Through the exploration of this well prepared environment the child begins to recognize the interdependence of all things:
The stars, earth, stones, life of all kinds form a whole in relation with each other, and so close is this relation that we cannot understand a stone without some understanding of the great sun! No matter what we touch, an atom, or a cell, we cannot explain it without knowledge of the wide universe. (Montessori, 1948, p.6)
It is this idea that all things in our universe are connected and dependant on one another that forms the basis of Cosmic Education.
Cosmic Education in the Classroom
The curricular areas in a Montessori Elementary Environment, though well defined physically, are taught in an integrated manner. First beginning with the large overall view of a concept and then drilling down deeper into the concept through details that connect subject areas. For example, History and Geography are taught as one curriculum because it provides the student with a unified awareness of how their world came to be and their place in that world. It begins with the great lesson stories describing the formation of: the universe, our solar system, and the Earth. Th...

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...ry and Geography as taught in this type of environment fits into Montessori's idea of cosmic education if we take the time to interweave all of the possible connections we can for the students. This will allow them to see the purpose and order in the world around them. They will come to know the important interrelated connections that all things share in order to exist and survive. Hopefully, they will come to feel a genuine love and sense of respect for the world around them. In the end, our goal is to guide the children as they move toward reaching their full potential as human beings. To find their place in the world and to accomplish their "cosmic task" of protecting and giving service to the world that they depend on for their own existence. It is only then that they can become good stewards of their environment and fulfill their true calling within it.

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