CAE Essay Sample 2016

Submitted by Helena GR

Number of words: 240

Maria Tecla Artemesia Montessori, an Italian physician and educator, once said, “The greatest sign of success for a teacher …is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.’”

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion? Give reasons for your answer and include examples from your own knowledge and experience. Write 200 – 250 words.

Essay on the Montessori education

The Italian professor Maria Montessori once stattet that any teacher should be proud of their work if their pupils were able to work without them. I suppose it is a great idea as that means that the children are able to learn with autonomy, take care of themselves and interact peacefully with each other.

To anyone who is not familiar with the extraordinary work of Maria Montessori, she was a revolutionary teacher who considered that the existing system of education of her time needed revising. In the past, education was very strict and a teacher typically stood at the front of the class, repeated lessons like sermons, and forced children to seat still and just listen.

She proposed a new approach to teaching. She believed in teachers letting kids solve problems by themselves, giving them the possibility to develop their curiosity and self-sufficiency. In my opinion, the school is a mini real society, where pupils should learn to be responsible, determined and independent. Thanks to that, children acquire the confident that they will need as adults. The teacher becomes a guide, someone to help them develop their own inner potential.

In conclusion, I would like to say that the teacher’s role in a modern school should be primarily in guiding, organizing material and establishing a general classroom culture. If pupils can do their tasks by themselves, then the teacher has made its job the right way.