The Montessori elementary teacher is a storyteller. With solemnity and drama, the teacher presents the five “Great Lessons,” telling and retelling them each year. These stories create the over-arching framework for the curriculum and set the stage for multicultural studies.
The first two Great Lessons, the creation of the universe and the evolution of life on earth, present the grand patterns at work in creating and sustaining the environment. The third Great Lesson presents the coming of humans and the key concept of fundamental human needs.
The final Great Lessons focus on how humans’ special gifts of intelligence and imagination made possible the development of language and the concept of number. It is these two particular human creations, written language and mathematics, which have been so important to the growth of civilizations, contributing to an on-going story we call “his-story” (or “her-story”).
Using the tools of imagination and the reasoning mind, elementary children are able to move backward and forward in time, exploring civilizations of the past, examining contemporary cultures, and projecting societies of the future. As a result of their investigations, they begin to see cultures as unique patterns of interdependencies which function to satisfy the common human needs and tendencies.
The study of ancient civilizations from the various continents helps the children understand how to examine the complexity of contemporary cultures. People today continue to be affected by climate and geography. We are still concerned with issues of production and consumption, law and justice, trade and communication, art and worship. And these same basic concerns serve to promote changes in our communities and will continue to motivate the development of societies in the future.
The Montessori experience encourages children to celebrate diversity and to acknowledge differences as manifestations of the greater human story. Such an education promotes tolerance and appreciation as well as a sense of wonder at the unique and varied ways in which people both adapt to and create their own context. Furthermore, this multicultural exploration makes clearer for the child his/her own stance as beneficiary of the past and builder of the future.