The Child Learning and Society February 15, 2023

The Child Learning and Society

The gifts of reason, love, knowledge, and free will were given to humans. Depending on our needs,
we have the ability to change and adapt to our environment. Humans have an unusual evolutionary
history and possess intelligence, intuition, and the ability to move. We had three basic needs to
maintain our survival: food, shelter, and clothing. On the first day of their life, our prehistoric
ancestors discovered a way to meet these necessities. Because s/he searched for, discovered, and
experimented with what was required to survive, they were able to satisfy their desire for
sustenance.

Dr. Maria Montessori recognized the behavioural tendencies of mankind that has guaranteed both
its survival and quality of life over ages. Human do not possess instincts like animals, instead they
have tendencies toward behaviours that help them to fulfil their needs and reach their full potential.
Humans survived so long due to their inventiveness and adaptability that occurs irrespective of
colour, race, culture, sex or culture.

The Human Tendencies

 Explore – Exploration is the means through which one orients themselves in a given
environment, become familiar with it and discover relationships with it. Children are
naturally curious and love to explore and absorb the world around them through their
senses. As the child becomes oriented to find a way to meet his needs in the immediate
environment, they get motivated to explore, examine and investigate new environments
and gather new knowledge and experience. We not only explore with our bodies, senses,
and our hands but also through our minds and spirits. When the child discovers through
exploration, they orient themselves to it – placing new discoveries among previously
acquired knowledge and adjusting themselves with the new information obtained in this
process. A child’s freedom is crucial to understanding the world and making sense of the
information obtained.

 Orient – Human beings want to know their relationship to the environment around them. It
is important for them to know where we all fit in and how we are a part of the great picture.
It provides an understanding of the limits and boundaries that exist in the environment. It
helps them to coordinate their body and communicate the location of objects around them.
This is the tendency to become accustomed to one's surroundings, circumstances, and
environment; to establish a relationship with that environment; to gain safe, practical
knowledge and experience there; and to place oneself in that environment in order to
determine one's place in it and decide how to survive there. Physically and mentally curious
about our surroundings, we seem to have this innate curiosity. But this tendency goes well
beyond simple curiosity. Everything else is momentarily put on hold whenever we are in
unusual or altered situations until this strong orientation motivation is met. However, after a
certain level of orientation has been attained, our curiosity can play out more fully.

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 Adapt to one’s environment – Humans have the tendency to go through more

environments than animals and adapt as we possess other characteristics that help us in the
process, for example our curiosity to know things. There is an urge to know more, go further
and see beyond the existing environment and its elements. Even if the environments are not
favourable, we learn to adapt if it favours life. For example, a child born in Alaska will be
much more acclimatised to the low temperatures than a child born in the tropical climate of
India. Adaptation is a way through which we make ourselves comfortable in an environment
and it happens with a purpose to fulfil some specific needs. The young child absorbs the
culture of her time and place, taking in all the spirit, the customs, the ambitions/aspirations,
and attitudes of a society simply by living in that society and becoming a part of it. This
ability of the child to absorb everything in his environment, the adult has to be cautious of
what to offer to the child. Irrespective of what is being given to the child, he will adapt and
enjoy.

 Establish order - All the information and knowledge gained through orientation and
exploration are put in order. Life creates and preserves an order, an organization which
makes existence possible within a narrow range of survivability. Every information obtained
is classified and categorized. For example, things that are comfortable, dangerous, pleasant,
unpleasant, things that are alike and different and many more categories they have
explored. Many life forms share the motivation and the capacity to orient, explore and in
some way organize the experiences and information encountered in their environment to
preserve their existence. Humans however take all the information obtained through
exploration and orientation, and make meaningful patterns and order out of it. By doing this
we exercise our intelligence – the power to make connections and form associations among
separate pieces of information acquired.

 Use and extend one’s intelligence – It is the process through which we take the reality as we
find it and take some essence out of it and further process it through observation,
comparison, conceptualization, reaching tentative conclusions, verifying and finally
discovering the truth. The mind forms images of information that is derived sensorially and
categorizes it. Just as we order and organize the information we experience in the world; we
also order and organize these abstractions in our minds. We place them in relation to each
other; weave new patterns out of them, combining and summarizing them, creating an
entire representational system encoded in the brain.

 Translate thought to practice - This tendency comes into play when there is an interest to
make an accomplishment. At some level an individual has a reason, a desire, to achieve a
particular task. We are born with very few behaviours or capacities already in place along
with some vocalizations and few motor skills like sucking. Each individual has constructed
every action, capacity and characteristic which distinguish that individuality from the
universal characteristics of our species.

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 Strive for perfection – This tendency is the ability to repeatedly do an exercise in order to
reach perfection and to experience the joy of increased control and understanding of one’s
world. When a child is not satisfied with his performance in one activity or does not get any
joy from it, he will repeat the same exercise several times until a sufficient degree of
competence, excellence, or quality is achieved. While one tries to perfect, improvement is
sought, but this improvement is measured according to previous performance and
improvement with relation to the realistic model. Each level of improvement from the
previous attempt is seen as a process of achievement. As human beings we are not
motivated by perfection than is static, subjective, and absolute standard, but we see it as a
dynamic process gauged according to an achievable, expanding, relative and objective
standard of improved accomplishment.

 Communicate and relate - Humans delight in conveying thoughts, feelings, and knowledge
to others. Communication is closely related to tendency for activity. It is the motivation to
behave interactively with our environment and its elements that includes other human
beings. This also refers to our social nature, our interest in others and need to connect with
others in a two-way relationship, with each side capable of initiative and response. To
communicate is to be open to receive the vital information available in our environment and
in turn to convey our own messages out into the environment. Information passes back and
forth between:
o Humans and physical realities - weather, landforms etc
o Humans and other life forms – planta and animals
o Humans and their tools and machinery
o Other humans
Communication occurs through our bodies: through our senses, movements and actions that
include sign language, gestures, expressions, and words. We gain information through
interactions and make order out of it. With the help of ordered information we form
abstractions in our minds and create our imaginations.

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The Four Planes of Development

Goal: Self Construction Goal: Creation of social Goal: Value and thought Goal: Career
self; Who am I outside of personality Development
my family?
What is that? Why is it? Who am I? What will I do?
Creative period Development Period Creative period Development Period
Characteristics: Characteristics: Characteristics: Characteristics:
Absorbent Mind Reasoning Mind Valorisation of Needs
Sensitive Phases: Personality
 Order – 0 to 5 ½  Keen sense of  Merge academics  Achieve economic
 Movement – 0 to 5 justice and real-life independence
 Language – 0 to 6  Moral development experiences  Become self-
 Sensory perception and conscience  Work without sufficient
– 2 ½ to 4 ½  Age of rudeness pressure  Good mentors
 Social graces – 4 to  Period of intense  Experience with
5½ mental work adults who
reinforce parents’
values
Intense change and Age of intellect – mental Parallels 1st plane – Parallels 2nd plane
growth growth Loves to be with young
children
Ego centred Social being / Heard Self-focused, insecurity Legally and physically an
instinct and doubt adult
Independence Mental independence Craves independence Physically stable
Sensorial foundation – Cosmic education and
natural world interconnectedness
Loves beauty Loves knowledge for Concern for societal Wants intellectual work
history and culture problems
Work/Concentration – Period of stability – Intense physical change; Complete integration of
Follow inner guide to Healthiest Birth to Adulthood personality
fulfil their potential
Lives in the present Understanding of space
moment and time
Loves reality Creative imagination
Loves repetition Dislikes repetition
Need for order Move from concrete to
abstract, often
considered “messy”
Learns through senses & Forms & organizes
movement – works groups – works together
alone
Process oriented Goal oriented
Needs protection not Needs guidance and
interference structure from adult

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 The First Plane of Development (Birth to Age Six)

Infants and young children are in a “discovery mode.” They are driven, as if by an internal force,
to interact with the environment and absorb all the information about the world that they can
get. Infants want to explore with their mouths and hands; they are constantly in motion, making
sounds and listening, looking everywhere. They want to touch everything they can, to taste, to
move. Infants and young children acquire information about the world primarily through their
heightened senses of touch, smell, sound, sight, and taste. It is naturally a self-centred time
because little children have an immense task to focus on: building the foundation for a life, a
body, and a personality.

There are two subphases in plane one and three, in the first phase the needs and traits are
absorbed and in the next face the consolidation happens. There are sensitive periods during
which the child’s energies are absorbed by one the other life process or area of development. It
is for this reason it becomes crucial for not only what is given but when it is given. During
sensitive periods, there is a burst of energy in the specific area. This period must be taken
advantage to enable the child to achieve his developmental milestones. As an adult, it is
important for us to decide what kind of learning situations we have to offer the child and when
to do so. Rushing might not self-motivate the child to use their energy optimally to do the
activity. Likewise, giving an activity to late might kill the excitement and challenge for the child.

 The Second Plane of Development (Ages Six to Twelve)

Cognitively, six-to twelve-year-olds can imagine things that they cannot see, and they can
reason. Around age six or so, we see some striking changes occur: their limbs become more
elongated, their knuckles stand out where dimples may have been before, their adult teeth
begin to replace their “baby” ones, the proportion of their heads and bodies changes, and they
do not get sick as often. They seem to want, more than anything, to be in groups of peers. They
are practically obsessed with rules and social behaviours, they want to understand right from
wrong, and they want to see justice done—so they tattle on each other to see what the adults
will do. They make up clubs, they exclude some children and include others, and they worship
their personal heroes like sports figures, historical figures, or fictional action figures. This stage
of life is when important aspects of social organization are established in children’s
development. The attention to detail that attracted them in their prior years now morphs into a
desire for efficiency and more abstract thinking. They delight in making inferences and
connections between bits of information. This is an important time of consciously creating their
own organized structures of knowledge.

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 The Third Plane of Development (Ages Twelve to Eighteen)

Adolescents do not want to be treated as children anymore; they are eager to embark on their
journey into the adult world. They are highly sensitive and easily hurt, as if nature gives them
heightened awareness to ensure that they not miss any of the cues in social interactions that
they will need to understand as adults. This intense insecurity is why young adults need to have
authentic, confidence-building experiences where they face concrete challenges and learn to
overcome them in supportive environments through their own effort. Doing so repeatedly helps
adolescents build their personal repository of strengths for adult life. This is a fragile time
physically, when children get sick more easily again, and feel alternately and abruptly energized
and then tired, because they are growing rapidly and changing into adult bodies. They need
support to experience risks and gain confidence, but also to develop the empathy they are
alerted to at these ages. They need close friends and a supportive, team-like community while
they are defining themselves. This is the beginning of the child’s next task of building their
newly-adult selves. It is a time of self-reflection, of asking “Who am I?” with a sense of
overwhelming anticipation.

 The Fourth Plane of Development (Ages 18 to 24)

At approximately age eighteen, if the needs of each prior phase were met, we see young adults
who are confident and ready to start making their unique contributions to adult society. This is
when our children branch out into communities with more knowledge and experience, as young
adults themselves. This is the time for deeper, more specialized study, for helping others with
unique contributions, and for instigating change in their communities. This is when you see
young adults forming their political views and starting their careers in the workplace. They often
want to travel to other countries and explore the world with their own two feet. It is also a time
of steadier physical growth and strength.

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Educational ideas that can have effective impact on the child

Everything we think, feel, and do in the world has an impact on our education. School is more than
just a place for academics; it also teaches students about entrepreneurship, the economy, and the
fundamentals of reading and writing.

Students at conventional schools often attend a regular school day based on their age, grade level,
exam results, and specific learning requirements. Academically, our current educational system still
mostly revolves around teaching students’ content, having them memorise it, and having them take
standardised tests.

The economy is greatly impacted by education. As the percentage of educated workers rises, a
nation's economy becomes more productive because educated workers are better able to complete
activities that call for reading and critical thought. Education is an investment in human capital,
similar to an investment in better equipment

 Establish collaborations between local businesses and high schools to foster professional
and business relationships. Invite juniors and seniors in high school to contribute ideas, and
enlist their help in developing a programme. Take note of their voices and feelings. Provide
students the chance to shadow various businesses, organisations, and entrepreneurs. Put
students in the driver's seat and work with them as a listener, learner, and guide. Students
should be mentored and shown how to be mentors to freshmen.
 Showcase entrepreneurship: As future is uncertain, it is important to show children that it is
okay to ask questions and teach them how to think independently. Join them in innovation
and aid them in bringing their ideas to the world. Because society has been telling them
what to do, how to behave, and what is right or bad, most kids do not believe in themselves.
Students cannot reach their full potential if they cannot think and ask questions for
themselves. Engage their creative side and demonstrate that it is acceptable to fail, get back
up, and try again.
 Eradicate rote learning: The schools must be encouraged to introduce conceptual learning
which avoids students to mug up what they are being taught. While this will help students to
understand the concepts better, they will also be able to retain and apply them better.
 Evaluation system: Marks continue to play the most important card in deciding the future of
children and this often comes down upon students as a burdening factor. The pressure of
marks often makes students underperform. Instead of focusing the evaluation on a three-
hour exam, the focus of evaluation should be classroom participation by a student, projects,
communication and leadership skills and extra-curricular activities. Only then will the
students give their best and be evaluated at their best.
 Indian education needs to realize that the absorption power of every student cannot be the
same. Hence, the teaching method also cannot remain the same for every student in a class
of 30. Some students have faster pace of learning and some are slow. Teachers must have a
keen eye on observing each of their students. It is best if there is an investment in human
capital (teachers) to have better student-teacher ratio (1:12).

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References
1. Maria Montessori: Her life and work, E.M. Standing, Chapter VI
2. Article by Sarah Warner Andrews, Montessori Northwest
3. Four planes of development compiled by Jennifer Gregory Miller, 2022
4. Article by Katharine Edlin on Human tendencies
5. Article by Paula Lillard Preschlack on Four Planes of Development

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