As technological innovation has become more and more a part of our lives, it has provided us with amazing capabilities. Yet it also seems to have separated us from the daily contact with nature and the natural world that has been part of the human experience from the beginning. It is as if the natural world has become a place to visit rather than an integral part of daily life.
We are the stewards, not the owners, of planet earth. It is vital that we pass this idea down from generation to generation. Humans exist in a balance with other living things on our planet–the plants and the animals. Finding a way to guide children to this realization is an important goal of the biology work in the Montessori Elementary class.
In the biology lessons the child studies not only the characteristics of plants and animals in isolation but also the contexts of interrelationships, plant to plant, animal to animal, plant to animal and all living organisms on the earth that sustain them.
Through this type of study we hope to inspire in the child a sense of responsibility towards plants and animals and a desire to care for their needs. The goal is to lead the child to realize that the balance among living things is so delicate that humans must act to preserve it.
Through the study of biology children are led to explore the place of the human being in the universe, the cosmic task of the species and of each individual. Humans have the power to destroy the delicate balances in nature but also have the ability to uphold, understand, and appreciate the dynamic harmony in nature. It is through this understanding, compassion, and moral awareness that the spiritual needs of humans are fed in the study of biology.
Being “in the class” and studying the world of nature is only supplemental to the learning of the child. We must take the child out (or rather in) to nature. It is on the hike by the river, during the exploration of the beach, seeing the view from the mountains, taking the walk through the forest and witnessing the stars in the night sky that allows the child to experience the amazing harmony and balance of the natural world. It is to this end that the Montessori Elementary environment actually has a dual nature, that which is contained within the walls of the classroom and that which cannot be contained in any classroom.
It is this awareness that sends our Northwoods Elementary classes out to explore by the river, to wade in the saltwater along the Atlantic coast, to hike in the mountains, to listen to the running water of a stream, to sleep under the stars, and even just out into our own backyard looking for a flower to dissect, a leaf to classify, or an insect to identify.