The Montessori system of education, developed by Maria Montessori, is a method of teaching children based on their capacity to imbibe knowledge. Dr. Montessori used theories developed by Piaget, Vygotsky and Gardner to develop this system. My mother, who is a Montessori teacher, once told me about how she used this system to understand and teach her students. “You ask them about their weekend, but make sure you’re not prompting them when they speak. That way, you’ll avoid potential biases in responses” she said. She could pick a child brought up by busy parents from a diverse group of children with this “psychological test”.

The Montessori system makes me think of therapy sessions — the only difference is that the children are in a classroom and the teacher takes the place of a psychologist or a therapist. A therapist works from scratch, diagnoses problem one by evaluating the symptoms, delivers the best possible solution to problem one, and then moves on to the next problem. Montessori teachers use the same mechanism; they work on scaffolding the child by understanding the child’s psyche and home environment. If the child has a problem that prevents the child from studying more efficiently, the teacher tries to identify the problem and works on solving it. If the problem is unapproachable or unavoidable, the teacher merely attempts to work around it.

The Montessori system of education thus, is a continuous psychological assessment that is used to develop and enhance a child’s abilities in an academic setting. This system of education, though not mainstream, is still considered far more superior in terms of developmental outcomes compared to ordinary school systems (Lillard and Else-Quest., 2006). Is the Montessori teacher capable of replacing a simple, non clinical psychological evaluation?