When I first read in Siegel and Bryson’s book, The Whole-Brain Child, that our brains were plastic, you can guess my first image: like a plastic bowl? Of course you know better. The authors were speaking of the flexibility of our brain to develop and change in size. The word neuroplasticity was new to me. I hadn’t read of the term in any of Maria Montessori’s writings or lectures; yet I believe she understood the experience of this science when she spoke of the normalization of the child. She knew that given the right environment the child’s brain can connect and heal itself from deviation, and can mature and work toward its true potential. Bryson and Siegel’s book explains scientifically how this can happen . . . how the brain has opportunities to mature with frustrations, conflicts, and abuse.
If we can understand the mechanism of the brain, then, hopefully, we can maneuver its behavior by creating a thoughtful environment for a child dealing with conflicts. I’m not going to go into the details right now—you need to read the book, (after you read mine: Montessori—Living the Good Life). Understanding the brain’s parts is enlightening. The left and right brain names are familiar of course . . . but there’s more—like an upstairs and downstairs, and the work of the amygdala and the hippocampus.
However, there is a major difference between the adult experience of helping to develop the child’s brain as Siegel and Bryson describe, and Maria Montessori’s method of normalization. While Siegel and Bryson’s ways can be taught by the adult to an older child, Maria Montessori’s materials and method allow the child from birth on to continue to develop his own brain and thereby gain a sense of independence which is a major element of one’s true potential. Next week: the Pink Tower.
(Please make comments below or by email: connieripleylujan@gmail.com)
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