The Absorbent Mind

This was one of the deepest books I’ve ever read. Even though some of the science may have changed and the vocabulary can be strange as philosophy it is brilliant and true. I wish every parent and teacher would read it.

This book was written a long time ago and some things are out dated but how the child's mind works and their needs are very much the same today. As a mother with some back ground in education, I have found the concepts and ideas thought provoking. My 20month old loves to work by helping me as much as she can, this is a great sense of accomplishment and self esteem for her which helps me to know how to teach her in ways such as, work ethic. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is a child's care giver or thinking of placing the child in a Montessori school. I also found wonderful learning toys for my baby and toddelor.

This book provides an excellent explanation of Maria Montessori's observations and resulting philosophy. While the translation is, at times, a bit awkward, is does not disrupt the reading. It seems to be translated word for word, with little interference or interpretation from the translator and editor. I have studied and implemented the Montessori philosophy for years, both in my classroom and with my own children. This book explains very clearly, with no frills, the natural development and needs of children, and what we must do as educators and parents to provide the best environment for success. There are a few typos, but not enough to remove a star in the rating.

I have not yet read The Absorbent Mind but gave it a four because I know that it will prove as fascinating and informative as her other books. Also I am familiar with the idea of the absorbent mind which Maria Montessori discusses in her other books and which has been discussed in the books about her and her theories on education. The absorbent mind is a fascinating concept which briefly states that from the ages of birth to six years old the child learns from absorbing all the elements of its environment.

This reads sort of like Einstein's Dreams as Montessori puzzles out why things are as they are and why we haven't notice the child is born to learn if we allow it to happen by providing the right environment and materials and teaching methods. This is an excerpt to show the kind of thinking in the book. Highly interesting! Deep! "Supposing we put a little levity into this weighty subject and tell a little story. A certain young man wished to marry and recounted all the praises of the lady of his choice. An elder guide responded in writing and this is what happened: The young man praises her beauty; the guide writes a zero. The young man finding beauty is not enough, states that she is rich; the guide writes zero. The young man says, she is learned, but the guide again writes zero. The young man says: “All this means nothing, well, she is athletic, she rides, swims, plays tennis.” Again the guide writes zero. The young man goes on describing all sorts of qualities which his lady-love possesses and the guide continues to write zero against them. Then the young man says: “She is of good character,” and the guide says: “That is something,” and writes a figure one in front of all the zeros. All the other merits acquire their value from this one quality and with that one in front of all the zeros her total value increases a thousandfold. So it is with civilization, all the achievements are naught and lead to destruction, but if love is there they all acquire a great value."

Maria Montessori was a leader in the field, and her schools have become a fave in America. A friend of mine was curious about what's a good alternative for his kid's education, so I bought him this book. Granted, a lot of the kids in these schools now are among the privileged few whose parents can afford private education, and some of the kids these schools graduate make you realize why the heavens invented birth control, but the book is great stuff.

This book lays the foundation for Dr. Montessori's approach to educating the young child. She argues that the very capable infant absorbs its environment in a very natural process that results in the stupendous achievements of locomotion, language and acculturation into whatever social mileiu the child has been born into with no direct teaching required. The child's inner drive for mastery and independence propels its efforts to achievement. The adult's role is to expose the child to a wide variety l of experiences in the infant's first few years so that he or she can interact with his or her environment. Dr. Montessori's point is that the child learns critically important skills such as the mastery of language without direct adult instruction, that within the child is a mechanism that self-directs astonishing achievement through.contact with the environment. These observations laid the foundation for developing a system of education that harnesses the young child's inner drives to mastery and independence through interaction with a carefully prepared environment.

This is Montessori's last book, and the most in-depth discussion of her theory based on decades of scientific observation of children. It discusses the special mind of the child, and how nurturing the special potentialities that only children have is the only way to change (and save) humanity. Montessori's theories are particularly interesting today in light of recent neurological discoveries, especially those related to critical periods and language. This is a very dense book, and requires a good deal of concentration and time to read. I would recommmend The Child in the Family as the first book for one wanting an overview of Montessori ideas.

Si te feficas a la educación o si tienen hijos, éste debería ser un libro de cabecera.

Very good book!

La verdadera obra prima de Maria Montessori

Easy to read

Good book, decent condition for a used book.