In Montessori education, the Mathematical Mind refers to the inherent human tendency towards logical thinking and the acquisition of mathematical skills.[1] According to Maria Montessori, all babies are born with a mathematical mind, exhibiting a natural propensity to learn things that enhance their ability to be exact and orderly, to observe, compare, and classify. Humans naturally tend to calculate, measure, reason, abstract, imagine, and create. However, this vital part of intelligence requires guidance and opportunities to develop and function effectively. If mathematics is not part of a young child’s experiences, their subconscious mind may be less receptive to it at a later date.
Contents
- 1Montessori Quotes
- 2Research and Critiques
- 3Comparisons to Other Methods
- 4See Also
- 5Glossary of Montessori Terms
- 6Please help to translate this page into your local language
- 7References
Montessori Quotes
- “If we can, when we have established individual discipline, arrange the children, sending each one to his own place, in order, trying to make them understand the idea that thus placed they look well, and that it is a good thing to be thus placed in order, that it is a good and pleasing arrangement in the room, this ordered and tranquil adjustment of theirs — then their remaining in their places, quiet and silent, is the result of a species of lesson, not an imposition. To make them understand the idea, without calling their attention too forcibly to the practice, to have them assimilate a principle of collective order — that is the important thing.”[2]
- “The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.”[3]