011: Balancing Freedom & Responsibility in the Elementary Classroom

Trillium Montessori Talks

As a Montessori teacher, one of your most important roles is maintaining the balance between freedom and responsibility in your classroom. You want to give your students opportunities to think for themselves and make their own decisions, but you also want to maintain a level of safety and harmony within the classroom. So how do you find that sweet spot?

In this episode, we’re talking about finding balance between freedom and responsibility in your elementary Montessori classroom. We’re explaining the different types of freedom your students should have and why freedom should never be used as a reward or taken away as a punishment. We’re also talking about how children develop their inner sense of responsibility.

What’s in this episode:

• Why it’s sometimes difficult to find a balance between freedom and responsibility in your classroom
• What to do if you find yourself swinging too far towards one end of the spectrum
• What Maria Montessori says about freedom and how to implement it in the classroom
• Why freedom shouldn’t be used as a reward or a punishment
• How to “follow the child” and respect their stages of development
• How to identify your students’ needs and create opportunities for them to meet those needs
• How to respect each individual student’s abilities and level of understanding
• What kinds of freedoms your students should have in the Montessori environment
• Why Montessori children have the freedom to move without asking for permission
• How to inspire children to develop their internal sense of responsibility
• How finding the balance between freedom and responsibility sets your students up for success in society

For full show notes, resources, links and to download the transcript, visit trilliummontessori.org/podcast

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