Another title in the "brief Montessori Introductions" series created for busy parents and other educators interested in the many aspects of authentic Montessori practice at home and in school. TOPICS:
Music and the stages of life, including: Prenatal, Birth to three years, Three to six years (including music as individual activities), Formal music instruction, Six to twelve years, Twelve to fifteen years, Twelve to eighteen years and adults, The elderly. (a quote from "the conclusion" of the book):
There is always a part of us searching for balance and wholeness. Backed up by neurscience today, especially the work of Adele Diamond on exectutive functions, it is now clear that music, in all aspects, has a lot to offer education, intelligence, and happiness. These words express the wisdom of Montessori teacher trainer and medical doctor Silvana Montanaro:
"In western education we tend to separate body and brain because many of the things the right hemisphere (intuitive) is able to do are not highly valued. So, from a very young age, children do not learn to express themselves and leave that hemisphere underused, because they haven't been encouraged to give much importance to body movement in dancing, singing, and drawing, all of the arts.
In eastern civilizations, however, greater importance tends to be given to the intuitive part of the brain; the logical hemisphere is considered irrelevant in solving the real problems of our existence.
A new form of education will not appear until we give serious consideration to the fact that we have a "double mind". Children at any age must be offered a balanced experience of verbal and intuitive thinking to help develop the great potential of the human mind.
The results will not only include better functioning of the brain, but also greater happiness in personal and social life. The better the two hemispheres work together, the richer everything we do will be.
-Silvana Montanaro, MD