A FOCUS ON RESPECT

SANDRA DEACON, UPPER ELEMENTARY TEACHER

In the Upper Elementary classroom, students focus on creating guidelines for their environments. We classify these guidelines into Care of Self, Care of Others, and Care of Environment. These guidelines also serve as a springboard for Grace and Courtesy lessons that help the students work as a community in all areas of school life. Many of the lessons at the beginning of the year involve care of the environment, such as rolling and storing work rugs and filling in classroom supplies on the supplies’ shelf. Upper students are expected to complete classroom jobs or chores to maintain their beautiful environments. This also helps instill gratitude and appreciation for the beautiful spaces we get to learn in every week. Every chore and job is taught under the premise of the Care for Self, Others, and Environment and how they relate to each category.

An example of an Upper Elementary student’s routine is to learn how to properly set a place setting. Each student does this before lunch everyday. They are also encouraged to invite friends and family to join them for lunch as guests. When a student is expecting a guest for lunch they are expected to arrange their guests’ hot lunch to be delivered to the classroom if necessary, set a place setting for their guest, as well as ensure that there are enough seats for the rest of their classmates. The students love having guests and being guests in their friends’ classrooms as well as visiting their teachers in Lower Elementary.

The all encompassing lesson here is respect. It is interwoven into every aspect of the Montessori classroom and is expected of all community members. When the adults expect and model respect for the children, the environment, and each other, it helps to create a cohesive community where the children are comfortable being vulnerable. A place where they are comfortable pushing themselves to learn new, and sometimes difficult concepts, and create a collaborative, rather than competitive, learning environment. Focusing on respect also teaches students to be empathetic, inclusive, and compassionate.