The Fundamental Needs ofHuman Beings by Cheryl Allen
The Fundamental Needs of Human Beings is a story that has many versions, as stories often do; yet, the idea stays the same. Teaching Montessori children about our basic human needs prepares them for Montessori’s important concept of what we refer to as ‘Peace Education.’
Image courtesy of montessoriservices.com
In the late 1930s, Dr. Montessori spent several years in India. A young Indian child proudly proclaimed the wisdom of his very old culture, possibly even hinting that this European visitor (Dr. Montessori) from a much younger culture, might not have wisdom to share with him. Dr. Montessori took that thought and kept it with her as she observed her surroundings. Possibly she saw telephone cables being strung overhead, thought of railroads, motor cars, and perhaps other signs of Western technological progress. Certainly the Great Lessons that she had been working on continued to be a part of her thoughts. With the help of others to create and demonstrate for her, Dr. Montessori created what she called “A Lesson In Humility”. Possibly, she gathered the children again, making sure to invite her questioner. She also had two teachers on bicycles to assist in her demonstration. These adults carried a wooden dowel with a piece of black cloth
32
wrapped around it. Maybe she invited a child to hold the end as the adults rode off. Those gathered around watched three hundred meters (984 feet) of black fabric unwind. Probably, it gently billowed in the breeze before settling down on the dust of the road. As the bicycle riders became specks in the distance, a white strip of cloth ended the nearly three hundred meters of black cloth. Possibly, Dr. Montessori explained, as Montessori guides do today: “This white strip represents the entire time humans have been on Earth. This black cloth represents the entire time of Earth.” The thoughtfulness of this lesson, and the humility and awe that come with it, are examples of the strength and honesty of the Montessori cultural curriculum. Montessori practitioners have spent more than ninety years building on that black part of the strip, having an understanding and appreciation of the work of the universe and planet before humans were a part of it, before looking at the ways humans have become a part of and affected the Earth. A Montessori elementary cultural curriculum uses the Fundamental Needs of Humans to explore different cultures. The Fundamental Needs are often introduced by asking the
TOMORROW'S CHILD © § SEPTEMBER 2021 § WWW.MONTESSORI.ORG
