What is Cosmic Education?
We know that Maria and Mario developed this style of education while in India on house arrest; we know that the child in the 6 – 12 age group has needs (that are quite different to the 3 – 6 year old). We also know that through cosmic education, certain educational goals can be achieved such as peach and empathy.
The term “cosmic” relates to the universe or out of space, being holistic or all encompassing and universal in nature. It relates everything to everything else and identifies the purpose of everything including life. This kind of education places our existence in relation to what is around us and emphasizes the interdependence of all things.
A Cosmic Education provides an umbrella under which everything fits and relates. Subjects are not necessarily meant to be studied independent of each other but closely related to each other.
A comprehensive, detailed and up-to-date description of Cosmic Education The authors offer a consistent pattern of of story, followed by study, then placement of parts within the whole.
Cosmic Education highlights the relationships between living things leading to the understanding of interconnection and interdependence among all. It also gives an idea about the purpose of all life. It encourages children to make connections and construct meaning by placing their knowledge and understanding in context. It promotes the broadening of a child’s knowledge base. It also adds an emotional component of existence where children can learn empathy.
Maria Montessori was an observer. She used this ‘scientific method’ to come to an understanding of the needs of children in this age group. Through her observations she found commonalities between and among children and their development. Some of these commonalities were to:
Acquire culture – traditions and community
Expand boundaries for social experience – go out, use body on a grander scale
Evolve from the sensorial to the abstract – ask why questions and experience cause and effect.
Orientate towards intellectual and moral side of life – fairness
In response to the those needs, the Montessori curriculum evolved. It is intended to:
Extend environment into the local community. This involves going on excursions – within the school and outside of the school.
Develop the children's moral awareness.
Support the progression from concrete materials to abstract thinking.
Foster social development and ability to work cooperatively.
Use the cultural subjects as a basis for the curriculum.
Offer the children the whole universe as their field of learning.
Enable the children to determine their own curriculum (with responsibility).
Develop the children's creative imagination.
Through these goals, a child develops the love of humanity, care of life, respect for the universe, formation of a better society starting with them and world peace.
As mentioned earlier the word cosmic relates to the universe or outer space, size –being all encompassing - something being very large or important.
““All things are part of the universe, and are connected with each other to form one whole unity. The idea helps the mind of the child to become focused, to stop wandering in an aimless quest for knowledge.””
To encompass these ideas Montessori became a storyteller. She inspired students by telling them grand stories that related to the universe and how it worked. She envisioned that for a child to understand, they needed a filing cabinet to fit information into – a little like a computer and the folders you make to file information so that you can retrieve it when you need it. She was about giving ‘big picture’ images for the children and then breaking the big picture into smaller bite size pieces for them to digest or inquire further into.
In this book, Dr. Michel Dorer illustrates how to tell good stories, providing 45 captivating, tried and true stories complete with illustrations and charts.
Maria’s grand stories are referred to as the Great Lessons – they were stories that gave a ‘big picture’ to the children. They can be told in different ways and they offer a skeleton for further learning and research. The lessons are intended to spark the children’s imagination and interest and need to search and discover more. The teacher’s role is to create a framework on which the children build layer upon layer of knowledge and skill until their inner drive to know more is satisfied.
These great stories help to explain the all-encompassing cosmos, life and it’s origin making room for an education that is wide ranging and incorporates explanations or understandings of our place in the universe.