We offer our students an alternative to the conventional mainstream school system. “Fascinated.Together. Powerful.” This is the claim of the Montessori School Herzogenaurach. We want to offer our students a place where they not only learn new things as enthusiastically and as independently as possible, but where they can develop their individual abilities and grow into strong, responsible personalities.
A good school climate in which everyone present feels comfortable and respects each other is the prerequisite of such an institution. The constructive and appreciative cooperation between students, parents, teachers and the supporting association therefore represents an important basis for the entire pedagogical work in our school.
Additionally, we are member of the umbrella organisation “Montessori Nordbayern”. The common promise “Living. Learning. Future.” is the basis of our educational work. Our students should enjoy learning, perceive and understand life in a differentiated way and shape the future.
Prepared environment
The didactical materials developed by Maria Montessori are available at every level. They build up on each other logically, ensure concentration on a specific learning content from the curriculum and enable the students to self-monitor. In all learning rooms, the work materials are clearly arranged and structured so that they are manageable for the students. These openly accessible materials encourage self-activity and give learners the opportunity to gain experience on their own after an introduction. This leads to the polarisation of attention, which according to Maria Montessori means being completely absorbed in work. This mental state of complete absorption leads to a sense of achievement and in turn creates the incentive for continued concentrated learning, which is the prerequisite for effective learning.
It is not the child who should adapt to the environment, but we should adapt the environment to the child.
Maria Montessori
Self-organised learning
The hallmark of Montessori teaching is free work. The students plan their working time by deciding for themselves as far as possible how they want to fill the lesson time meaningfully. To this end, they choose suitable material in consultation with the teachers, determine the duration of the activity and monitor the results as far as possible independently. Thus, they can learn at their own pace.
Thanks to the atmosphere of calm and the feeling that no other will wants to lead and suppress it, thanks to the freedom that is left to it, a spontaneous activity reawakens in the child and it begins to work joyfully and with concentration.
Maria Montessori
Learning in mixed-age groups
Learning in mixed-age groups has been shown to positively influence learning and social behaviour. Younger children benefit from older ones, as contexts and materials are explained to them. Older children benefit from younger ones as they consolidate their knowledge by passing it on.
Our primary mix is grades 1-4, and our secondary mix is always two grades combined, resulting in a mix of grades 5/6, 7/8 and 9/10.
I think one day people will understand that it goes against nature to separate children by grade – it creates boredom and makes intellectual exchange difficult.
Maria Montessori
Nature, culture and society
History, biology, physics, ecology, health, music, art, philosophy – the list of subjects is long and varied. We bundle the teaching of relevant knowledge into a single subject. This offers our pupils the basis not only to understand the laws of nature, but above all to learn in an interdisciplinary and holistic way and to recognise the interrelationship that people have with each other and with nature.
A real speciality in Montessori education is the elaborate presentation of so-called cosmic stories, materials and experiments, which arouse the students’ interest and subsequently motivate them to do independent research, give lectures or start new projects together. “Evolution of Life”, “The Coming of Man” or “The Great River” are just a few presentations that students from Grade 1 onwards engage in with great interest.
This is an essential educational principle: teaching details means creating confusion. To establish relationship among things is to teach knowledge.
Maria Montessori