Title: Montessori: A Modern Approach
Author: Paula Folk Lillard
Source: Veddma library
ISBN: 0-8052-0920-4
Available online
Notes: This book describes the work and ideas of Maria Montessori and their application in the educational system of today (the book is written in 1970s). The author tried to convey Montessori’s ideas in Montessori’s own words by including many citations from the original works.
The book is poorly structured. It appears the author was trying to write a book in the style of a scientific paper: it is littered with citations and references. However, as a result it has shortcomings of both: the flow of the narration suffers due to all the references and thus it does not read easily as a book; yet the chapters are very long and there are no sections and sub-headings, so it does not present ideas in a well-defined structure like a good scientific paper would.
I was able to grasp some basic ideas of Montessori education: providing a child with a wide variety of materials to explore and giving them freedom to pick whatever projects they want; gently introducing new materials without forcing the child to work with them; providing ways for the child to learn letters by touch and master hand-eye coordination thus effectively allowing them to learn how to write before being able to read. The system also assists in development of different senses (touch, sight, etc.) separately. I would have probably learned and retained more if the information was arranged in a more logical way.
I would not recommend this book to those who is interested in getting a basic understanding of Montessori education.