All growth must be from voluntary actions of the child themselves.
All growth must come from voluntary actions of the children themselves.
To encourage this voluntary action, the child spends their morning or afternoon in a non-competitive situation, stimulated by other children, older and younger, guided individually by the Directress and proceeding to each aspect of the programme of their own pace. The Children work either together, alone or in small groups on mats on the floor or at Chowkies (small tables), and may move about the room freely as long as they respect the activities of others.
This is because she aims to guide the children into constructive work and to direct them into acquiring both love for learning and self-motivation. Especially trained to observe to respond to the needs of each child and to direct the whole group, they do not teach in the traditional sense, but rather guide each child forward.
The Directress is not a powerful figure, but compliments the children’s environment by preparing it and helping them to care for it. She ensures that each member of the school community is respected, and shows individual children how to use the educational material most appropriate to their stage of development.