Education requires only one: through the child’s inner strength to achieve self learning. -Maria Montessori

MSS Senior Alumni: Gao Youli & Jiang Youjia
Currently studying in Grade 5 and Grade 2 at Dehong Shanghai Chinese International Scool

I. From Confident to Independence

Today, we are going to introduce two MSS senior alumni: sister Gao Youli and Jiang Youjia. Older sister Gao Youli entered EC class (for 0-3) when she was 3, while younger sister Jiang Youjia started in MSS Toddler class (for 1.5-3) when she was just 10 months old. They both enjoyed a happy Montessori learning experience at MSS.

Both sisters had a good command of English. After her graduation from MSS, Gao Youli started reading hundreds-of-pages original English books at Dehong international school. Recently, she has been reading the English versions of “Harry Potter and” and “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The younger sister, second grade as she is in, has already been able to communicate with her teachers, classmates and international friends in English. The Montessori bilingual environment at MSS has indeed laid a solid foundation for their English abilities.

Their mom Kitty believes: “The bilingual environment at MSS allows children to be immersed into listening, that will then help the extension of reading and writing. Each ability develops as a matter of course. Once a child’s sensitive period is missed, it can hardly be reobtained in primary school. Now they are quite confident in their English.”

Mom’s Sharing:

Kitty once sent her kids to school, where she saw many children “escorted” here by grandparents or babysitters, who gave those children the best of care, even including putting on shoes. The Teachers of MSS, however, would communicate with these “escorts” proactively, to let the children do by their own.

Kitty told her kids: “These slightest things- brushing teeth, getting dressed, or tying shoelaces- will be inevitably learnt while you grow up, yet the meaning of learning them at 2, 5 or 10 is apparently different. The sooner your learn these, the more confident you are, and ultimately you will feel competent. I think confidence originates from one’s capability to solve problems, so it is meaningful for you to do these slight things independently when you are young.”

Besides confidence, Gao Youli and Jiang Youjia share another predominant characteristic with many other children graduating from MSS: concentration and persistence. The sisters , for example, have been swimming for years. Gao Youli has even been training at a sports school since kindergarten and joined the school’s swimming team after she entered Grade 1 at Dehong. Recently, the sisters have tried to learn diving with a frequency of 2-3 times a week. The seed of their concentration and devoted persistence has been sowed and sprouted at MSS.

One’s confidence is derived from what he is good at and what he can solve, in the other word, kids should believe they can do the work well by their own, which echoes with Montessori’s philosophy:
We believe each child is embedded with concentration. They are able to take care of themselves, accomplish work independently and savor every moment of this process, which in turn, will protect them from disturbance, keep them concentrated and ultimately foster their perseverance.

The sisters’ experience is the mirror image of the Montessori’s philosophy. They can be involved in study or hobbies in a relaxed, confident mood, demonstrating concentration and independence. They allow themselves the indulgence of reading, and also the excitement of swimming. All of these turn into greater learning efficiency, helping them progress and grow up.

II. Respect Difference, Learn from Others

Having grown up in a loving and tolerant family, the sisters are more than willing to share the good stories at school with parents, such as classmates’ debate on the election of class administration and different children’s performance during a group discussion. Those open and free-wheeling conversations allow the sisters to understand and appreciate differences. More importantly, they can form their unique ideas and make independent judgements.

From the perspective of mom, every one has different characteristics, so as learning styles.

The older sister, for example, would rather try according to her own light in face of problems, even if she may fail. The Montessori environment should take the credit, where a teacher may not plainly point out the obvious mistakes made by children in their work. She would tell them, instead , “Thank you for your sharing.”
The younger sister, on the other hand, prefer listening to others first, and then put forward her own thoughts. She may take others’ advice, or act by her own ways. She would not resist but to respect the suggestions brought up by grown-ups, but meanwhile she will find her own way to fathom and solve problems.

MSS adopts mix-aged class, which means children at different ages can both work together and independently. The older children will play and learn with the juniors, so children are brought up to understand the differences in the environment. The most prominent characteristics of them is understanding how to respect others: “I know we are different, you have your ideas, and I have mine. Although our ideas are different, I fully respect you.”

Meanwhile, a respectful and peaceful mind will give children more opportunities to learn. Teachers, in the Montessori environment, are observers, who encourage and guide children to find and solve problems. Children, therefore, will simultaneously discuss: you take a different method from mine. I do it by this way, and you do it by another They gradually know how to learn from each other, and this process of discovering, is learning. Children in the Montessori environment will thus develop open mindset, which teaches them to respect, understand, and ultimately internalize new knowledge they learn from others.

Mom believes such a mindset not only benefits children, but also gives parents a grander view.

“What we learn from Montessori, is to respect differences on this planet. We won’t know how to appreciate children’s thoughts unless we perceive the meaning of respect. Only in this way can kids make their own decisions rather than drift with the current on their journey to high school and even university.”

III. Self-Motivated: “I” want to be better!

Children’s success doesn’t hinge on how much subjects they. There is no so-called textbook in the Montessori environment at MSS. Instead, we treat them as individuals and cater for all abilities, guiding them to be independent through the prepared environment. The Montessori materials possess tireless charm- children are free to choose the desirable materials and work independently. Through repeated work, they can grasp the opportunities to solve problems, challenge themselves and most importantly, gain happiness.

Children thriving in such environment are highly self-motivated, which is the same with both sisters. They have been strong-minded, independent girls since childhood, and their self-motivation contributes to their passion in study and hobbies.

After entering primary school, Gao Youli volunteered to serve as the librarian, helping teachers to sort and organize library books during her free periods. That gave her a sense of achievement, as when she came through problems, she could solve independently. This good habit had been fostered at MSS, where she learnt to do lots of things herself, such as ate meals, cleaned up, tidied up…So, she just maintains that habit ever time, everywhere, from classroom to home, from kindergarten to primary school, from life to study.

similarly, the younger sister will try her best in face of problems. Her class recently held a speech contest to recite ancient Chinese poems and texts, on which she won the second prize. Feeling thrilled, she reckoned there was room for progress. The life at MSS was brimmed with fun and novelty. Teachers would encourage her to spend more time thinking and trying to tackle problems by their own ways. At MSS, imperfection, failure and mistakes are nothing abnormal. They are, on the contrary, another important subject for children to learn how to accept themselves and better contribute to the world.

“Teachers of Dehong also identify that children graduating from MSS know exactly what they want, they are more thoughtful and self-motivated. They have a spontaneous pursuit: I want to be better, I hope I can do better in this respect. They demonstrate strong self-motivation, no matter in study or discipline, and that is not the result of any orders or requests.

Many parents are prone to deviate the correct course, using material incentives to arouse children’s independence and self-motivation. Yet that kind of incentives are never used in the Montessori environment at MSS. “A Montessori teacher once mentioned that they never gave children star charts or medals as the prize for some good behavior, such as brushing teeth, eating meals or cleaning up, as these were what they were supposed to do. She didn’t want children heavily attached to these external rewards, because if one day children stopped being rewarded, they may think they didn’t have to do these things anymore. Therefore, Montessori’s philosophy is to help children develop self-motivation from childhood, so as to understand what they do is out of their internal desire to “be better”, and the sense of achievement is by no means created by parents’ praise, but obtained through self-fulfilling.” Kitty said.

In this regard, both sisters have harvest pride from self-motivation. The older sister is fond of rock climbing and participated in the Rock-Climbing Competition (Youth Group) of the 17th Shanghai Games last year. She finished the height of 15 meters in 13 seconds, achieving a satisfactory result. Excited by rock climbing’s fun, changes and challenges, she constantly pursues speed, strength and even intelligence, stimulating her killer instinct and energy. The younger sister has already set a goal for herself: she will attend the yearly-held Shanghai June 1st Children Swimming Contest in 2023 and hopes to get a satisfactory place.

That is the core characteristics MSS committed to cultivating for children: “I want to do, I need to do ,I can do better” for all things. Through relentless attempts, exploration, study and development, children will continuously gain positive feedback and self-motivation, ultimately becoming a better person.

Postscript:

We are deeply inspired and touched by the story of Gao Youli and Jiang Youjia. We believe the sisters, equipped with strong self-motivation, open mind and adventurous attitude, will become more confident, lead more interesting lives, and stride to a brighter future.

That is the third issue of [MSS Alumni Interview Record], stay tuned and see you next time!