A Community of Care

By Wendy Shenk-Evans, CFMS Director

Recently, during recess, a sixth grade boy came into the Upper elementary classroom where several staff were eating lunch.  He brought with him a Lower elementary boy who had fallen and hit his nose during recess, resulting in a slight nose bleed. The sixth grader could have simply turned to one of the many adults in the room and told us that the younger child was hurt and gone back out to recess.  Instead, he sprang into action.  First, he grabbed a paper towel and said, “Here. Hold this on your nose and put some pressure to stop the bleeding.” He then walked over to the freezer and pulled out an ice pack.  He wrapped the ice pack in a few layers of paper towels. The boys determined that the bleeding had stopped, and he instructed the younger boy to wash his hands off.  He then gave him the ice pack and told him to hold it on his nose, and together, they walked back out to recess.  

There were four adults in the room, and we just observed.  We could have jumped in and helped, advised, or taken over. But we saw that the older child knew what to do, and the younger child was confident that he was being well cared for. It’s easy to let anxieties or preconceptions guide how quickly we intervene to assist children. Part of the art of the Montessori approach involves stepping back and allowing children to lead, problem solve, and navigate the world themselves. When we do step back it allows both the adult and the child to realize just how capable they are.  

Making space for independence works in combination with the mixed age groupings in Montessori classrooms, allowing older children to adopt the roles of teacher, caregiver, and leader. These are roles that a child grows into over a period of several years spent in the same classroom community. And as children get older, their sense of community broadens beyond the walls of their classroom to the larger school community and then beyond the walls of the school to the rest of the world.

Our mission statement proclaims that children will be prepared to meet the academic, social, and moral challenges ahead of them, and moments like the one described above confirm that our students are not only learning academics, but are becoming leaders, caregivers, and good community members.