The Art of Intervention

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The art of intervention is a term used to explain the ways in which a Montessori teacher can step into a childs’ environment and help if needed. The Montessori concept of intervention or “help” was to be observed and also controlled by the adult. Maria Montessori believed that the environment should be set for a child to be successful and thrive in. When Maria Montessori was quite successful with her teachings she came up with the 8 intertwined roles of the Montessori teacher-guide. They were: caretaker, facilitator, observer, collaborator, teacher who sits back, assistor, co-participant, and measurer. These were the qualities that Maria Montessori believed to play an important role in a teacher-guide as part of the classroom and will be discussed as the main topic of this essay. Help plays an important role in teaching, however as a Montessori concept Maria believed that an adult or teacher-guide only stepped in and helped when needed, and if otherwise done would distract the childs’ concentration or the effort of the child doing their activity. However at the same time it was also belief that under love and care that the teacher would provide, the child would thrive and be successful in what they accomplished. “Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed”. (Montessori, 1966). Maria Montessori was a big believer in independence so she tried to encourage that through the children as well as the teacher-guides. Help was also sought through the environment. The way that the environment was set up in the classroom was to be pleasant as well as inviting to a child. It is set up like home, so to make the child feel comfortable like a home away from home this helps the child concentrate on the activities of the classroom and they can have more interest in them than worrying about where they are. The teacher-guide is another way the environment is set

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