BEHS 343 Montessori and Japanese Preschool Essay

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Philosophy

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BEHS 343

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Reshena Frink

Professor

BEHS 343

06/16/2020

Essay on Montessori and Japanese Preschool

By having an education and professional background in Early Childhood Education I have

learned about many different philosophies. Maria Montessori philosophy is one I find that

match my idea of how children should learn. To “follow the child” was Maria Montessori basic

principle. The Montessori classrooms are carefully prepared to allow the child to work

independently and allow for the joy of self-discovery. “The goal of education of education in

the school is the same as that in the home. The teacher does not try to direct, instruct, drill, or

over wise take charge of the children: instead the teacher tries to give the children opportunity

for independent Mastery. (Crain, 2005)” Japanese Preschool philosophy of free play in my

opinion mimics that of Maria Montessori. In Japanese preschool, they allow students 50% of

their school day to have free play. This type of free play allows children to play create and

discover with little to none interference with adults. “Although direct teaching was rare,

children seem to be learning a great deal as they pursued a variety of challenging open-ended

activities that grew from free play. (Lewis, 2007)” Also another similarity I notice is the mixing of

ages. In the Montessori school kids from the ages of 2 ½ -6 are in the same classroom learning

together. During free play in Japanese preschool children of various ages experience free play

together. While it’s easy to see how these two educational styles are similar you have two very

distinct structures.

What makes these two styles different from one another is that in a Montessori the

children lead, and activities are based on the interest of the students. With Japanese preschool

they include structured learning in their daily schedule as well as play activities such as art

projects, singing, dancing, meetings, and other activities. Montessori school promotes the idea

of free choice, its ultimate the basis of the program. Maria believes that through free choice a

child would have the freedom to opportunity to learn in an unrestricted way. In the Japanese

preschools, freedom of choice is only presented during free play. Children have the opportunity

to pick the activities they wish to engage in.

The children Maria worked with differed from the students in Japanese preschool

because as she worked with them she was learning the best method in her opinion to educate

them. She would observe them playing or doing an activity on their own and pin point the

educational aspect in it (building concentration, organizing, independence, etc.) Once she

observed the educational aspects of the activities children chose to do, she created an

environment to allow children to learn them efficiently. With Japanese Preschool, the children

aren’t expected to learn through free choice. While free play allows the children to learn

important ideas such as making connection and building a community. Also with Japanese

preschools they engage in class meeting which is used to discuss the events of the day. The

teacher is like the anchor of the meeting offering comments/ questions to get a conversation

and allow the children to freely express themselves. Interactions such as class meeting aren’t

presented in Montessori school. Even with the difference presented there are many aspects to

appreciate from both programs.

What I appreciate about the Montessori program, is how they allow the children to lead

their own learning experience. I also like how they promote self-confidence, they help develop

concentration and persistence, and build a solid foundation for future growth. In learning about

Japanese preschool, I found an appreciation for the class meeting. I love the idea of allowing a

child a chance to express how the day went for them. I also like the how they are structured

overall. I think the idea of free play is important and the fact that the allow it to take up half the

school day is amazing. I fully believe in the early stages children learn a great deal through play,

and I can see how children in Japanese school are giving the opportunity to do so. I also think

structure learning is beneficial. I think adding structure learning and planned activities with the

opportunity for self-expression (free play) is a great idea. Preschools in Japan reflects the

important values in Japanese society by promoting communication via class meeting, and the

importance of community and building connections via free play. With both programs I like

how they both promote self-driven play/learning

In my experience with childcare in the US they promote the idea of curriculum style

learning. While Montessori schools have goals they expect a child to meet in reference to age

and development they aren’t a curriculum base program. Even the Japanese preschools aren’t

curriculum base like those in the US. In working in working in head start program and

preschools I lesson plan for the students. We had lessons to teach the alphabet, numbers,

colors and so forth. While the programs I worked in provided time for free play daily it was

roughly 45- hour, while the children were likely to be there for 5 or more.

By already being knowledgeable on Montessori schools I didn’t gain any new insight

unfortunately, however I enjoyed learning about the Japanese style preschools. I really like how

they have a balance schedule that put focus on free play and creativity. While I favor the

learning ideals of Marie Montessori I also like the concept of the Japanese styles school. I like

that they made time for creative structured activities such as dancing art work and sing. I like

the idea of allowing children free to explore their likes with both programs. I like that the

teacher in the Japanese preschool were able to have time to engage the students and not just

observe and supply materials when needed as in a Montessori school setting. Overall I believe

they both are great ways to structure a preschool program.

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Reshena Frink Professor BEHS 343 06/16/2020 Essay on Montessori and Japanese Preschool By having an education and professional background in Early Childhood Education I have learned about many different philosophies. Maria Montessori philosophy is one I find that match my idea of how children should learn. To “follow the child” was Maria Montessori basic principle. The Montessori classrooms are carefully prepared to allow the child to work independently and allow for the joy of self-discovery. “The goal of education of education in the school is the same as that in the home. The teacher does not try to direct, instruct, drill, or over wise take charge of the children: instead the teacher tries to give the children opportunity for independent Mastery. (Crain, 2005)” Japanese Preschool philosophy of free play in my opinion mimics that of Maria Montessori. In Japanese preschool, th ...
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Tags: Early Childhood Education Japanese Preschool Maria Montessori philosophy Montessori program curriculum style learning