The absorbent mind, a creative and yet unconscious mental state of the first plane child, is the essential tool utilized by the child in order to adapt to their environment. From birth to around six years of age, the child absorbs everything around them, from the language to the relationships between people, in order to understand their culture and become a part of it. The mind of a child is unlike the mind of an adult, it is capable of absorbing an unlimited amount of detail and complexity without apparent effort. Dr. Montessori compared the absorbent mind to a camera, giving this explanation:
“Let us compare a camera with an artist, a painter. If someone stands in front of the camera, someone has only to click the camera to get a picture of the person. If twenty people stand in front of the camera it takes the same amount of work, just clicking the camera brings everything into focus, no matter how complicated the view may be. It is quite different for a painter. It is not the same thing at all for him whether he paints one individual or twenty individuals, whether there are only a few things in the environment to be painted or a great many objects. The camera takes each picture with equal ease but it can mean a great deal of work for the painter” --(Maria Montessori, The 1946 London Lectures, 50-51).
Not only is the mind of a child able to capture and internalize the complex world around them with ease, it also is able to do so with exactness. Dr. Montessori goes on to say that if someone wants an exact replica of something, they will take a photograph of it instead of painting it. The child’s mind is that of the camera type, and the adult’s mind is that of a painter type. Learning as an adult is a labor-filled process, but learning as a child is energizing instead of exhausting. Dr. Montessori writes, “…this absorbent mind never feels fatigue. It is just like a camera: it clicks, and everything is there all of a sudden, whereas the painter may say, ‘Oh, my hand is tired’” (52).
Dr. Montessori was interested in the science behind a child’s development as well. During her time, research in embryology was just beginning and many parallels were drawn between it and her work. The connection was made between the germinal cell of the embryo, which multiplies, seemingly of its own accord, into uncountable variations in order to create a living being. This germinal cell holds an unseen power to construct the being and fulfill its potential. The child too, upon being born, is full of potential. Montessori writes, “He comes from nothing, in the sense that he has no psychic qualities, nor pre-established powers of movement, but he has in himself potentialities, which determine his development, and this will take its characteristics from the world about him. This ‘nothingness’ of the newborn babe is comparable with the apparent ‘nothingness’ of the germinal cell” (The Absorbent Mind, 50). Although the baby comes from essentially “nothing”, they immediately begin absorbing everything. Impressions of things, people, and the relationships between them imprint on their mind. The language of those around them is absorbed as well, no matter how complex or varied. Even the attitudes and prejudices of their caretakers are absorbed, a fact that we should constantly remind ourselves of. The understanding of the world taken in during this first plane of development remains for the rest of the child’s life and is difficult, if not impossible, to rewrite.
0-3 Years of Age – Unconscious Absorbent Mind
- The adult cannot exert much influence with their opinions/prejudices.
- Period of creation of mental faculties.
- Follows the inner teacher.
3-6 Years of Age – Conscious Absorbent Mind
- Development of what has already been created (memory, understanding, reasoning).
- Development of the will.
- Needs order and continuity, tries to organize life/routines.
- More susceptible to adult influence and tends to imitate their behavior (positive and negative).
The idea of the absorbent mind informs everything we do at Ryozan Park Preschool when interacting with children and setting up the best environment for their development. We constantly strive to allow children to follow their inner teacher and remove obstacles to their construction, such as too much influence from the adult. We maintain consistent schedules so children know what to expect and we encourage the development of their will by offering work and materials which are challenging, engaging, and give the child the sense of inner satisfaction that is so crucial to growing their own internal motivation. We hope if you come to our classroom, you will see these principles at work every day throughout the year.
WORKS CITED
Montessori, Maria. The 1946 London Lectures. Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Montessori-Pierson Publishing, 2012.
Montessori, Maria. The Absorbent Mind. Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Montessori-Pierson Publishing Company, 2007.
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