We all know that young children's concentration is short-lived. They have infinite curiosity, but they cannot concentrate their attention and always quickly shift from one object to another. How to keep children focused is a major issue in education, because focus is often a trait of great people who possess high levels of focus, such as scientists who often discover scientific principles by focusing on contemplation.
The most commonly used method for cultivating children's concentration is to use the authority and skills of teachers, but the results obtained are not satisfactory. However, in the children's homes founded by Montessori, an astonishing phenomenon can be found where children can focus very much on a task, ten or even dozens of times, completely ignoring external interference. How did these children's attention become so focused when there were no teachers lecturing incessantly?
Children's concentration comes from their inner selves
Children possess this level of concentration, which stems from their own inner impulses and is a spiritual need. Just as some people are interested in music and some are interested in painting, children's inner selves will make choices based on the information provided by the external world. So, Montessori always emphasized respecting children's inner impulses and providing them with a free space to meet their spiritual needs.
Children's concentration relies on the objects they are interested in to maintain
Merely having a child's inner impulse is not enough to sustain their focus. Only when an object that sparks their interest appears can they fully immerse themselves. In other words, when something that interests him appears, there is a force within him that allows him to fully immerse himself in it, just like a thirsty person who desperately needs water to quench his thirst until he is no longer thirsty.
Internal strength combined with external stimuli can form concentration
Some people compare the effects of a child's inner strength and external stimulation to the process of opening a door: knocking on the door with external stimulation, and opening the door with internal strength. If a child does not have this inner strength, no matter how strong the external stimulation is, the door cannot be opened; Similarly, when a child is mentally prepared but no one knocks on the door, they will not open it. The art of education is to capture children's attention and provide them with the stimulation to knock on the door when they are ready to do so.
