The Montessori method cultivates a child's developing independence. Nothing is more powerful than this independence. "I can do it" fosters confidence. Yet, an environment fostering independence in young children eludes most. It requires an environment with tremendous external order, what Montessorians deem a "prepared environment." An external order provides the control of error needed to make manageable, for the children and adults, those bumps along the way to independence in day to day living and in learning. Order begets concentration. Concentration begets independence. Practice in independence begets coordination, which leads to greater order in the environment and makes possible greater concentration.
A truly prepared environment requires rigorous teacher training. The environment is filled with opportunities for learning at every individual level. It is also filled with controls of error so as to make the environment manipulable by the child. A teacher gently guides the child, supporting the child's journey "invisibly" with the teacher's wealth of knowledge. Among early childhood methods, only Montessori requires such teacher training.
