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Leading educators agree that the most important improvement in education in the past 100 years was the shift in focus from teaching to learning. Maria Montessori was the first to advocate this point of view, and her incredible success with students from toddler through adolescence in the slums of Italy quickly made her an international celebrity.
Over the past 100 years the Montessori philosophy has become one of the most widely accepted and proven forms of education. Because of its proven success Montessori has become one of the fastest growing and most popular educational methods in the world.
Maria Montessori did not begin her life as an educator. Born in 1870, she was the first woman to graduate from the University of Rome Medical School. In 1898, as a result of her interest in the works of pioneers in special education for the mentally challenged, Dr. Montessori became director of the State Orthophrenic School, where she achieved a degree of success with children whom most people thought impossible to teach. From there she opened a small school in the slums of Rome, where she improved literacy among the disadvantaged youth to such a great extent that governments and educators from around the world began requesting her help in setting up Montessori schools in their country. Within only a few years, she had established important schools in India, Europe and North America, and had become an internationally recognized educator.
THE PREPARED ENVIRONMENT
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MONTESSORI IS FOR ALL AGES
Some people regard Montessori education to be important only at the TODDLER PROGRAM (18 months to 3 years) and CHILDREN'S HOUSE (3 to 6 years)levels. However, as toddlers evolve into children and children into adolescents and young adults, the Montessori methods of education can continue to assist them in becoming exceptional, well-rounded, responsible and self-reliant individuals who will carry a love of learning, self confidence and sense of fair play throughout their lives.
TMS PROGRAMS ARE FOR ALL AGES
At TMS, individualized instruction personalizes each child's education, enabling each to reach his or her full potential, with the support to develop at an individual pace. Below are brief descriptions of our programs.
TMS PROGRAMMES
Toddler Program
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"Help me to help myself"
The TMS Toddler Program is a nurturing experience that fosters the development of movement, independence, language, creativity and social skills for children ages 18 months to 3 years. The Toddler Program cultivates a child's ability to learn during the most formative stages of his or her development.
Children's House Program
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"Help me to do it myself"
Children's House (Preschool Program) is for children ages 3 to 6 years. The program engages young children in a series of activities that are sequential, manipulative and sensorial.
The result of these activities is the development of concentration skills and the ability to focus attention. The following six areas of learning are focal points for the program:
- Practical Life
- Education and the Senses
- Reading and Writing
- Mathematics
- Cultural Studies
- Music, Art and Movement
Elementary School Program
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"Help me to think by myself"
TMS Elementary School delivers a quality Montessori education to children ages 6 to 12 years, a period of great intellectual growth motivated by a strong imagination and sense of reason.
This program consists of Grades 1 to 6 with an interdisciplinary focus on the following five areas:
- Language Arts
- Mathematics and Geometry
- Health and Physical Education
- Science, History and Geography
- Music, Art and Movement
High School Program
TMS COLLEGE
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The TMS COLLEGE Grades 7 to Grade 12.
TMS COLLEGE is the natural extension of Montessori education for the adolescent and young adult. The TMS COLLEGE program combines Montessori developmental theory with the universally recognized International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years and Diploma programs to offer a well-rounded, challenging, comprehensive course of study for young people destined for university. For the 2007-08 school year, TMS College will operate programs for grades 7, 8 , 9,11 with Grade 12 being added in September 2009.
All of these courses and activities are delivered in a manner befitting a Montessori College.
The following a "Defining Principles" of Montessori education are integrated into every subject area and provide us with our direction; these principles help articulate exactly who we are and what we believe about the education of adolescents and young adults:
- Educate the "whole person" (physically, intellectually and emotionally)
- Allow students to learn experientially through a prepared environment
- Practice concrete, real-world problem solving leading to abstract reasoning
- Utilize the three-period lesson (instruction, practice, presentation)
- Give students responsibility for their own learning; allow for freedom of choice
- Model and insist upon "grace and courtesy"
- Use the seminar as a staple technique; allow for Interaction and discussion of ideas
- Advocate and plan for holistic learning
- Teach occupations; instill in students the belief of the nobility of work
- Practice "the inner language of silence" provide time for reflection and meditation
- Emphasize communication and story-telling
- Allow for multi-age groupings; let the students learn from each other
- Give the students ownership of the facilities and responsibility for their care
- Provide opportunities for self-expression through the arts
- Provide opportunities for the evalorization of the individual
- Emphasize community building and socialization
- Emphasize humanities connection to the land and larger environment
- Demonstrate an optimistic, proactive world view; inculcate in the students a belief in the Essential goodness of humanity
Our IB Structure:
TMS College is proud to be an IB WORLD SCHOOL, and we implemented the prestigious IB Middle Years program into our curriculum at every grade level within the College.
The IB provides a universally respected curricular structure for our program, ensuring that our students are learning at a level which will prepare them thoroughly for academic studies at the best universities, and enabling them to compete with the best students from the best schools in the world. The program is based on a foundation which supports our Montessori tradition; indeed, we believe that in many ways Montessori and IB are a "perfect fit" for each other. The IB Middle Years™ Programme has as its fundamental principles the concepts of intercultural awareness, holistic learning and communication. In each subject area, special emphasis is placed on five "Areas of Interaction" which permeate all aspects of the curriculum, as follows:
- approaches to learning: the development of effective study skills and the learning process
- homo faber: the creative and inventive genius of humans
- community and service: the development of an altruistic attitude
- environment: the interdependence of humans and nature
- health and social education: mental and physical health
Assessment in IB courses is completed through the use of standardized rubrics which are used consistently by IB schools throughout the world. This assessment is monitored by the International Baccalaureate Organization, which means that students are consistently being assessed fairly, consistently and accurately according to world standards.
LINKS
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Associations
International Baccalaureate Organization
American Montessori Society
American Montessori International
Association Montessori International-USA
Canadian Council of Montessori Administrators
North American Montessori Teacher Association
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