In this essay I will define the terms discipline and obedience both from a general and Montessori perspective and describe how they are fostered through the favourable environment. I will also describe in detail the three levels of obedience and how discipline, the development of the will and obedience are interlinked.
Discipline is a word that conjures up ideas of control and denial of freedom. Something that can be imposed externally on a person in order to gain their obedience. But Dr Montessori believed discipline to be an internal process, something which grows within the individual. She states that “..Inner discipline is something to come and not something already present. Our task is to show the way to discipline” (Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, 1988, p 240). In the Montessori environment therefore, discipline is not something which is inflicted on the child, nor is the child controlled through rewards and punishments. It is something which is self-taught. The focus is on fostering the child's inner self-control so they are able to behave in a way that is right for them and their community. Montessori discovered that it was through liberty, which was such an integral part of her classrooms, that the children were the means to reveal their inner or self-discipline. Respect for authority was deepened not diminished by this independence. One of the things that interested her most was that order and discipline seemed to be so closely intertwined that they resulted in freedom. “Discipline is therefore attained indirectly, that is, by developing activity in spontaneous work.” (Montessori, The Discovery of the Child, 1988, P305). Obedience is described by Montessori as a “normal human characteristic” (Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, 1988, p234) and that this natural desire for obedience is a prerequisite for social life. Montessori's idea of obedience is not to be demanded from the child but obtained through a gradual maturation. This obedience cannot occur the child has already developed his will. Montessori believed that obedience, discipline and the child's will are intrinsically linked. A child requires a will to be able to obey and therefore be disciplined. As both discipline and obedience are formed within the child they will evolve naturally through exercise when the child is left to follow his own path. When the child is given the chance to act spontaneously and freely within a environment his natural drive for independence is nurtured and he is able to adopt a behaviour that is beneficial both to himself and others. The Montessori classroom offers the child many opportunities to develop his will and inner discipline. The apparatus are all freely available for the child to choose from. This enables the child to fulfil their inner desire to carry out a certain activity; one which they feel is interesting to them and will be helpful to them on their path of development. With this freedom to explore comes responsibility. The success of the Montessori classroom depends on freedom set within the limits of very clear ground rules. These ground rules are not there to limit the behaviour of the child but to give him freedom within those limits. Consistency is needed in these rules for the child to know what is expected of him and to facilitate a sense of respect for everyone and everything. Montessori states that “A child's liberty should have as its limits the interests of the group to which he belongs.....we should therefore prevent a child from doing anything which may offend or hurt others.” (Montessori, The Discovery of the Child, 1988, p.49-50). A key component within the favourable environment is the role of the teacher, because she is able to determine, through careful observation, which lessons to present to each child at the right time for the child. The materials all contain what is called a control of error. This allows a child the freedom to correct his own mistakes without the need for the teacher's intervention. The child can then repeat the activity for as long as he wants without interruption. Through this repetition the child becomes aware of his actions and in turn these actions are performed with a consciousness and can no longer be considered a product of inner desire. The child's concentration on an activity is the starting point for his inner discipline. Montessori writes that “The first essential for the child's development is concentration. It lays the whole basis for his character and social behaviour.” (Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, 1988, p202). When the environment provides stimulating work, consistency and nurturing adults, the child can go about his most important work, creating the adult he will become. Montessori writes "Even after 3, the little child, must have developed certain qualities before he is able to obey. He cannot, all of a sudden, act in conformity with another person's will, nor can he grasp, from one day to the next, the reason for doing what we require of him." (Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, 1988, p.236). At this stage the child has impulsive traits. It is a time in which obedience and disobedience are combined. The child is sometimes able to obey but only because the adult's direction matches his own desires and natural urges. For example in observing a child and his parent in the park, when it is time to leave the child begins crying. The parent tells the child again that they need to leave and this results in a tantrum. The parent has to pick up the child to leave as the child has not learnt at this stage to regulate his feelings. No explanation of the situation would help. The second level of obedience is reached when a child will always, blindly, obey without question. This is observed again with the child in the park. When it is time to leave the child begins to cry but the parent tells him they can visit again soon. The child stops themselves from crying and they go home. The child is able to understand another persons wishes and express these wishes in their own behaviour but they are still acting from an external force rather than an internal one. The child is simply satisfying someone else's wishes, rather than his own. Adults may believe at this point that they have reached their goal because the child is obeying their every command. But from a Montessorian point of view the goal is that the child needs to achieve inner joy in obedience for them to ultimately be fully disciplined. It is during the third level of obedience, which Montessori called “joyful obedience”, that the child develops his own self-discipline and respect for himself and others. It is no longer blind obedience but an inner choice he has made. The child at the park is told it is time to leave and the child says, “Okay. Can I carry the bag back to the car?” He has become fully 'normalised' and will now show a love of work and order and be able to work alone or in a group with profound concentration and obedience. Discipline, will and obedience are all characteristics of a period of development called the Socio Embryonic Stage which takes place between the ages of 3 to 6.