The Best of Suzuki and Montessori For Your Baby

Suzuki and Montessori For Your Baby

Shinichi Suzuki and Maria Montessori both had the best interest of babies and children in their hearts. They were two people way ahead of their time in Early Childhood Education.

Both believed that every child can learn. They believed in the great potential of children.

Suzuki and Montessori also believed that very young children and even babies absorbed and learned much more than anyone thought.

Let’s learn about Shinichi Suzuki first.

Shinichi Suzuki

Shinichi Suzuki was a violinist and educator born in Nagoya, Japan on October 17, 1898. His family happened to own the first violin factory in Japan.

Growing up, Suzuki had only thought of the violin as a kind of toy. But, after hearing a recording of violinist, Mischa Elman, playing Schubert’s Ave Maria, he was inspired to learn to play the violin.

He took a violin from his father’s factory and taught himself to play it. Suzuki worked very hard and tried to imitate what he heard on that recording. Next, he studied violin in Tokyo and, later in Berlin.

He finally returned to Japan. Suzuki had always loved children and decided to teach violin. At that point, he realized that children could learn to play an instrument the same way they learned to speak.

He developed the Suzuki Method of musical instruction based on how children learn their native language. He called it the Mother-Tongue Method of Education.

Suzuki understood that children can learn very complicated languages easily because they hear it from birth. So, he began teaching a young 2-year boy to play the violin with this educational approach. It was successful.

Talent Education

Babies learn to speak one word at a time. They continue to repeat the words as they add new ones to their vocabulary.

Suzuki applied these same idea of mastering each step to learning to play the violin. He believed it was possible to teach talent.

Suzuki Early Childhood Education (SECE) Baby Class curriculum also uses these same ideas to work with babies and parents.

Suzuki began to call his method Talent Education. In the 1930’s, this was a new concept. At the time, people believed that one was either born with or without talent.

Worse yet, they believed there was nothing you could do to change it if you weren’t born with that talent.

Suzuki demonstrated otherwise with his very young students. These children could learn and play very difficult pieces of music.

Suzuki believed that all children have the potential to learn and develop their abilities. But, they must have loving parents and teachers to guide them.

The students repeatedly listened to a recording of the music they were learning. Once they learned that piece, they continued to review it even as they progressed to a new piece of music.

He also selected music or wrote his own compositions. Then, he organized that music into a set of repertoire.

Each piece builds on the techniques learned in the previous piece. Each new piece adds new skills . So, consistent practice and repetition develops the child’s ability.

Children easily memorize their music using the Suzuki Method. Hence, they have a very large number of pieces that they can perform at any time.

The Suzuki Method Spreads Worldwide

The children could play so well and so beautifully. They completely amazed audiences.

Suzuki believed that children should listen to and play great music. By doing so, they would develop noble and peaceful hearts.

The Suzuki Early Childhood Education (SECE) curriculum uses Suzuki’s teaching ideas in a setting for babies, toddlers, and parents. The songs and activities have the same goals as the instrumental instruction for preschool+ age children.

Shinichi Suzuki died January 26, 1998. He would have been 100 years old that coming October.

He spent most of his long life advocating for the education of children. Through his efforts and the teachers he trained, the Suzuki Method has spread all over the world.

Next, we will consider Maria Montessori.

Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori was an Italian physician and educator. She is best known for her research and development of an educational method that builds on the way children learn naturally.

Montessori was born in Chiaravalle, Italy on August 31, 1870. As Maria began her higher education, she broke many of the barriers that women faced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

At age 13, she attended and all-boys technical institute to work toward becoming an engineer. But, she eventually changed her mind and became a medical doctor.

In fact, she was one of the first women doctors in Italy. Montessori began her practice in psychiatry. She also studied educational theories and teaching methods.

Maria Montessori combined these two disciplines. She studied and observed intellectually- and developmentally-challenged children.

Montessori found that the educational methods used were not adequate for these children. So she took a scientific approach and began with careful observation of how the children learned.

She experimented with various teaching methods and found the ones that worked best. Consequently, her program was successful. Many of the challenged children improved in knowledge and skills.

These children learned to prepare meals and do similar domestic activities. They worked puzzles with great interest. Maria also designed learning materials for the children to use.

Montessori’s classroom environment was based on the child’s natural desire to learn. They were able to absorb knowledge at their own pace with those materials provided. The teacher only interacted with the child when it was necessary.

The Montessori classroom displayed learning materials on low, organized shelves. The children could then choose materials of interest on their own. They had the freedom to explore and learn with the materials and activities.

The Casa dei Bambini or Children’s House

The first Montessori school opened in Rome, Italy on January 6, 1907. The schools were called the Casa dei Bambini or Children’s House.

Maria Montessori then began to travel worldwide and wrote about about her educational method. She began to apply her ideas to teaching children without disabilities. Consequently, many educators adopted her teaching approach.

By 1910, there were Montessori schools all over Western Europe. The next year, the first one in the United States opened in Tarrytown, NY in 1911.

Montessori continued her work with children even through the destruction of World War II and political upheaval. She had traveled to India in 1940.

Maria had to remain there for the duration of the war. But, she took that opportunity to introduce the Montessori Method and train Indian teachers.

In 1949, Montessori established the first teacher training course for birth to three year old children.

Maria Montessori went on to spend the rest of her life lecturing, writing articles and books, and developing teacher training programs for the Montessori Method.

These experiences led her to include peace education in the Montessori curriculum. It is much the same as Dr. Suzuki’s quest to bring peaceful hearts to children through music.

Maria Montessori died on May 6, 1952 at the age of 81. However, the Montessori Method is now recognized as a reliable educational approach all over the world.

Finally, we will explore the similarities of Suzuki and Montessori’s educational methods.

The Best Goals in Mind for Children

Philosophies

Suzuki and Montessori both had the best goals for babies and children. They wanted to educate children, not just instruct them. They also wanted to instill peace and beauty in their hearts.

Montessori observed that from birth to age 6 was a period of incredible mental activity for a child. They are able to “absorb” learning from their environment almost without effort.

Suzuki had observed the same with how babies and children learned to speak. It was usually quite effortless. Thus, he adopted his Mother-Tongue Method.

Both of these philosophies require the parent to be involved, understand the approach, and do their part to help the child.

Suzuki and Montessori had deep respect for the child. They taught from where the child is, not where the adult thinks the child should be.

Their educational methods teach with leading by example. Teachers and parents must provide the most excellent example for children to copy.

Environments

Both approaches have orderliness, everything in its place, and every task has a sequence. Each approach relies on repetition to self-correct and master a task.

The Montessori Method specifically uses materials that are designed to teach. They are displayed in the classroom in an organized way.

The children are able to get the materials. Then they work with them at their own pace with minimal adult supervision.

The Suzuki Method provides a set repertoire which all students learn. Suzuki teachers are trained to break down every step of playing the instrument so that the student is able to master each step.

The SECE curriculum is set up in the same manner. The activities are broken down into manageable steps as well.

The babies are allowed to participate and use the instruments. They also learn at their own pace and master each step.

SECE and Montessori activities encourage large- and fine-motor skills. The child repeats and develops these skills. Eventually, the child learns to finish a task on their own.

Character and Ability

Both methods encourage a stimulating environment that will nurture the character of the child. Suzuki and Montessori also urged teachers to help babies and children think in terms of the world and their place in it.

Montessori teaches children to have a “vision of the universe”. They are to take what they learn and see how it is all connected. Furthermore, they must understand their unique role and responsibility in the world. It is their “cosmic task”.

Suzuki had the desire that all the children of the world would be educated in a way that would encourage and develop their individual abilities.

He desired that all children would be “nurtured by love” through music. He also urged Suzuki teachers to teach for the “happiness of the world’s children”.

Social Skills

Suzuki and Montessori both emphasize building social skills even with babies. Children are encouraged to use appropriate behavior while working.

The children are instructed in courtesy. Saying “please” and “thank you” are skills that will serve them their entire lives. Politeness should never go out of style. That should begin at the top with adults leading by example.

Children are to use materials and do activities respectfully. Suzuki students learn to treat their instruments with care. Even in the SECE Baby Class, the adult model the appropriate use of the instruments.

Montessori students are expected to treat the materials respectfully. They are not to harm the materials, themselves, or others.

Another hallmark of the Suzuki and Montessori teaching methods is the mixed-age grouping. The younger children learn from the older children. The older children reinforce their learning by showing the younger ones how to do an activity.

In an SECE Baby Class, the babies are observing when the older toddlers or their parents are doing a particular activity. Through this observation, the younger babies are more likely to attempt a new challenge.

In both methods, older children develop leadership skills and and serve as role models. There is also a spirit of cooperation rather than competition.

The children learn that this is how the real world works. All their lives they will work and spend time with people of all ages.

Through the process, the children will also learn to concentrate, work independently, and be better prepared for advanced learning.

Suzuki’s 1 point lesson and Montessori’s 3-period lesson

Dr. Suzuki taught his teachers to focus on only one point during a child’s lesson. It might be a technique or musical idea.

Then the child is to focus on that one point in all of his/her practicing that coming week. Repetition and consistent practicing will help the child master that one point.

Montessori taught her teachers to use a 3-period lesson technique to present information to the child.

Firstly, the teacher uses the introduction or naming period. The phrase “This is a tree” is an example the teacher might use and will point to a picture of a tree.

The second period is the association or recognition period. The teacher asks the child to show what they have just identified. She will say, “Show me the tree”.

The third period is known as the recall period. The teacher will point to the object and ask the child to name the object. In this case, the child will reply that it is a tree.

Montessori teachers use these steps to introduce information. Those steps allow teachers to present information in a consistent way. Consequently, the children have a reliable way of learning the concepts they need to know.

Suzuki and Montessori Become Mainstream

Maria Montessori had brought the Montessori Method to the United States. By 1916, there were 100 Montessori schools in the U.S.

But it died out due to World War I travel limitations, language barriers, and anti-immigrant attitudes. The method also suffered from huge criticism from educators who wielded much influence at the time.

However, a young teacher named Nancy McCormick Rambusch came across the writings of Maria Montessori. She attended the Montessori Congress in Paris in 1953.

She returned to the U.S. and began promoting the Montessori Method of education. This time it took off and has grown and spread ever since then.

By the early 1960’s, Western teachers had begun to travel to Japan to visit Suzuki. They wanted to see his students and study with him.

In 1964, the first Japanese Suzuki tour group played for music educators in the U.S. The rest is history. Interest in the Suzuki Method was over-whelming.

Today, there are more than 8000 trained Suzuki Teachers and almost 250,000 Suzuki students all over the world.

The Best of Suzuki and Montessori for Your Baby

I hope you will take the time to read further about the Suzuki Method. I also would like you to consider finding a Suzuki Early Childhood Education Baby Class for your baby. Most SECE teachers offer a trial class to help you find out more about the Baby Class program. There are several websites on the Resource page.

There are many Montessori Method websites. I suggest that you begin with the American Montessori Society page and continue from there. This site has an abundance of information.

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