“… the tomorrow of the child… is the constant occupation (of traditional education) . . . The present is never taken seriously into account.”
M. Montessori, from The Child (Adyar, 1974)
Thus Dr. Montessori viewed the failure of traditional education to address the child’s present moment. Montessori education, in contrast, aims towards the child’s experience of “here and now.” Such experience reveals the child’s true nature-spontaneous and creative, in harmony with its environment.
The Adult Experience
The adult’s experience of “here and now” is not normally so harmonious. Fears of the future and unresolved problems of the past roughly intrude to cloud the true nature of reality.
The Nature of Reality
On the surface, reality appears to change over time-“past,” “present” and “future” appear completely separate and distinct. However, in truth, all reality exists only in the experience of “here and now.” The appearance of change of such reality is actually a shifting consciousness which locates the individual’s state of being in relation to life unfolding in an eternal present.
Eternal Present
Erika Cheetham writes in The Prophecies of Nostradamus that “The modern disciples of Einstein recognize nothing but an eternal present. . . The whole trend of advanced knowledge is to place the laws of physics in a four dimensional continuum, that is, the eternal present. If this is so then past, present and future exist simultaneously.” Cheetham suggests that the future and past can be revealed by realizing the present moment. In short, a reality which changes in time is an illusion.
Time
Modern science suggests that “time” is a measure of change of consciousness-within an unchanging, eternal reality defined by the present moment. It is a little like sitting in a speeding train looking at the passing scene which seems to rush by out the window. However, the actual reality is that the scene is not moving-but rather the individual and the train is moving.
No Escape
In sum, there is no escape from “here and now”-the present moment is eternal. To resolve all of the great mysteries of life and the problems of humanity there is no where to go and nothing to do. This great creative idea of realizing “here and now” is clearly reflected by the silent and passive Montessori teacher in the classroom.
Classroom Practice
The Montessori teacher creates the right conditions for the realization of the child’s experience of the present moment by a practice of conscious disengagement from direct involvement with the child. Dr. Montessori noted the value of “doing nothing” in Reconstruction of Education (p. 9): “When I ask the child (what I can do to help him), he is so kind to answer me: ‘Personally, please, do nothing. You can do nothing directly for me.'”
The Path of Montessori
Montessori education follows a path of revealing and freeing the child to experience the present moment. Along this path of creative non-intervention, the Montessori. teacher enables the child’s true nature to unfold in the classroom. Likewise, the creative Montessori path is leading humanity to a fulfillment of Dr. Montessori’s prediction in Discovery of the Child (p. 330) that “New generations will experience a new age when misery will … be destroyed.” Such a vision is now unfolding in the eternal “here and now.”
Originally published in 1982 in Vol. 3, No. 3 issue of The Montessori Observer