All language subtitles for Let.The.Child.Be.The.Guide.2017.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC5.1-[YTS.MX]

♪

When my daughter was born,

struck with such sudden love,

I spent hours watching her

and trying to unlock
the mystery of this new life.

♪

I also wondered
how to respond

to this extraordinary
inner energy.

[baby squeals]

By observing her,

I found the toys
that captivated her most.

♪

I thought up
the most rewarding activities.

♪

But at six months,

she refused to listen to me.

She pursued
her own interests.

♪

That was my first lesson.

Instead of guiding her,

I respected
her spontaneity.

♪

And it worked.

At just one year old,

with no help whatsoever,

she managed
to stand on her own.

♪

How great
to be independent.

Then, she managed to walk--
well, almost.

♪

She set off
to conquer the world.

♪

Exploring it
at her own pace

and with her own goals.

♪

I discovered
how seriously

she took these activities.

♪

She made a tireless effort

to tackle
mysterious challenges.

The hardest,
most ambitious projects

seem to motivate her most.

♪

This was one experiment
too many.

My family screamed
at this scene

and said I was crazy.

[birdsong]

Get down?

Is that what she wants?

[Ana vocalizes]

This scene really
disturbed me.

Is the danger for a child

to let them do things
themselves

or to think in their stead?

♪

I found these
simple questions

were central
to a revolutionary

educational method,

that of Maria Montessori.

It all began in 1907

in a slum district of Rome,

when she opened
a children's house

for 50 girls and boys
age 3 to 6.

♪

With the eye
of a psychiatrist

and anthropologist,

she observed the children's
spontaneous activity.

Astonished by what she saw,

she devised
an educational program,

then worked tirelessly
to improve and promote it.

One hundred years
after her pioneering work,

her vision of education
is as inspirational,

and schools upholding
her approach

open every day
all over the world.

Which discoveries
astonished her?

How does she see children?

What is her message for
we parents and educators?

♪

♪

[indistinct chatter of children]

I spent a year
visiting Montessori schools

all over France.

My daughter started
at our local village school,

and I set up my camera

in the northern French
town of Roubaix,

in Christian Maréchal's
kindergarten class,

a class I chose
for its faithfulness

to the great woman's method.

[indistinct chatter]

My first impression
is one of constant activity,

real freedom of movement,

yet also a calm
in the classroom.

My observations are based
on Montessori's humanism

and voice.

"The child's way
of doing things

has been for us
an inexhaustible

fountain of revelations.

We're faced with a being
we should not consider

a powerless being anymore.

Their dignity will
arise before our eyes

as we consider them
as the constructor

of their own intelligence,

the being who,
guided by the inner teacher,

works tirelessly
and joyfully

on constructing that marvel,
a human being."

"Children observe the things
around them passionately

but are particularly
attracted

by the actions of adults.

They want to understand
and imitate them.

In this way,
as they grow up,

they become
not just an adult

but an adult
of their environment."

Seeing the children
exert themselves,

make big movements,

repeat the same gestures
over and over,

I think of
her main warning:

Beware. A child is not
a miniature adult.

"When an adult knows
how to do something,

they always try to do it
with a minimum of effort,

to save time,

to get someone
to replace them.

The opposite is true
of the child.

They act to develop
their capabilities."

"The developing child
must constantly be on the move,

acting, looking,
thinking, reasoning.

They must be active
all the time."

"The child has a natural
irresistible tendency

towards work.

When I observed
this phenomenon,

I was surprised
and incredulous,

and it led me to think,
to doubt,

and to ponder
for a long time

until I was convinced."

"The tendency to work
is tied up

with the child's nature

and therefore
with human nature."

"We've learned
another intriguing fact.

Children find it
very hard to concentrate

on spoken words,

but they have no difficulty
concentrating

on objects they handle.

A beautiful toy,
an attractive picture,

a wonderful story

can without doubt
rouse the child's interest.

But if the child
may simply look or listen,

their interest will be
superficial and fleeting."

"The skill of a human's hand
is bound up

with the development
of their mind,

and in the light of history,

with the development
of civilization."

"The human hand
expresses our thoughts,

and we have left
traces of our handiwork

almost since
we appeared on earth."

Some children,

like four-year-old Géraud,

spend time every day
exploring the classroom,

for the joy of strolling,

but also to learn
by watching the others.

"Envy is unknown
to little children.

They're not abashed
by an older child

knowing more than they do,

because they sense
that their turn will come

when they are bigger.

There is love and admiration,

a true comradeship."

In this class of 28
2 1/2- to 6-year-olds,

I gradually discover
each child's personality.

Every day, I see
touching little scenes,

a multitude of beneficial
socialization experiences.

I understand
why Maria Montessori

continually defended
the principle

of large, mixed-age groups.

"The higher levels
of perfection of a class

come through social life.

The charm of social life
is in the number

of different types
that one meets."

"If we watch children
without interfering,

we see something
apparently very strange.

They do not help one another
as we do.

They give help
only when it is necessary.

This is very illuminating,

because it means
they intuitively respect

their essential need
not to be helped unnecessarily."

I see on a daily basis
how hard it is

for us adults
to not stand in for children,

not advise them,

and not help them do things
more quickly or better,

because our intentions
are often good.

[bells tinkle]

"The child cares little
about what others know.

They want to learn
on their own,

experience the world
themselves,

and perceive it
by their own efforts.

We must let them do this,

because their life
will depend on their ability

to act independently."

By reading
Maria Montessori

and observing these children
for days on end,

I find answers
to my questions.

If we want to respect a child,

it now seems obvious to me
we must encourage independence.

Otherwise, we delay
their development

and sap their confidence.

We create dependence.

Is that our wish as adults?

Letting them experiment
and discover their ability

is proof of our
confidence and love.

I'm always surprised
by the reaction of children

to difficulties.

They're determined to succeed
at all costs.

Not only do they
accept challenges,

but they redouble their efforts.

They are capable of
apparently difficult things.

I can see
that most of the time,

we underestimate them.

"Rhythm is an
intrinsic characteristic

of an individual,
like the shape of their body."

"The individual
can't change it

without suffering."

Louis,
who is three and a half,

is fascinated
by these letters.

Like all children
around age four,

he is going
through a period

of sensitivity
to written language.

It means he can learn
effortlessly

and with determination.

So it is a sensitive period
for learning to read.

If he learns later,

without this
natural enthusiasm,

it will be harder.

"The child does not
learn to speak as we do

a foreign language.

The adult has no choice
but to learn its grammar

by heart

and never fully masters it."

"Whereas the child,
until the age of seven,

spontaneously absorbs
the logical construction

of language

and the tiny differences
in intonation."

"There exists
in the small child

an unconscious mental state
of a creative nature,

which we've called
the absorbent mind.

This absorbent mind
does not construct

with a voluntary effort

but does so
according to the guidance

of inner sensitivities,

which we call
sensitive periods,

as the sensitivity
is transient,

lasting only until
nature has done its work."

I gradually
came to understand

the importance
of these sensitive periods.

They are essential.

They invite us to change
education paradigms,

to start with
a child's reality

and not a program
to be completed.

I observe
that some children,

after months of passivity,

start working all of a sudden
and learn very quickly.

We must have faith
in every child,

whatever their pace
of development.

Géraud has ample time
to choose his work.

Which will excite him most?

"The acts arousing
in the child

not only interest
but even enthusiasm

are those which require of them
the greatest exactness.

The harder it is,

the more enthusiastic they are."

"No teacher could procure
such phenomena of attention

by any artifices.

They evidently have
an internal origin.

The power of concentration
shown by little children

from three to four years old

is only found
in people of genius."

By observing and thinking about
spontaneous concentration,

Maria Montessori
laid the foundations

of her educational method.

"Movement is the key to
keeping the child's attention.

It cannot focus
on one thing,

as there are so many,

or on words,

but rather on movement,
which engages them

and their whole personality."

Maria Montessori saw
in the ability to concentrate,

a century before
neuroscientists proved it,

the cornerstone
of all learning,

and more generally,
of self-realization.

Through her observations
and experiments,

she discovered that

to arouse and develop
concentration,

children must be given the
freedom to choose activities,

and to repeat them
as many times as they wish.

"Knowledge attained
is a point of departure

for the child.

They then begin to enjoy
the repetition of the exercise,

and they repeat
what they've learned

an indefinite number of times,

with obvious satisfaction."

"Just as to quench thirst

it's not sufficient
to sip water

but to drink one's fill,

the child must be able
to fully satisfy

their inner needs."

"So it's regrettable
what is done

in many schools today

when the teacher
says to a pupil,

'No, not you,
you know this already.'"

For a child,
concentration is a conquest.

When I was filming,

I tried not to disturb it.

I failed.

Géraud, who will not
be put off by a child,

by an adult,
or by playtime,

spends 20 minutes cutting out,

thus satisfying
his natural need of perfection.

Will Charlie,

who is intensively
motivated by her work,

manage to stay focused?

Disturbing a child
during their conquest

of concentration

can often cause them
to abandon their task.

"My particular method
creates the conditions

favorable to the emergence
in the child

of spontaneous phenomena."

Whereas most often
we try to provoke in them

phenomena desired
by the adult,

we have concentrated
our efforts

on the study of these
conditions.

[chatter]

Judging by my observations,

these children are happy.

And in this climate
of freedom,

they learn a lot.

As for me, I wonder
about the adults' place

in this self-learning process.

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

The first step
in the integral resolution

of the problem of education
must not be made by the child,

but by the adult educator.

♪

She must divest herself
of preconceptions

and change
her moral attitudes.

Not impose her activity,
but stimulate that of the child.

Know how to be passive
so the child is active.

♪

Instead of
the proud dignity

of one who claims
to be infallible,

she must assume
the vesture of humility.

Another step
follows this one.

We must prepare an environment
adapted to the child's life,

one that is free of obstacles.

♪

We've called this environment
the Children's House.

They must be beautiful
and pleasant in every detail,

for beauty invites activity
as well as work.

♪

It contains not only didactic
materials specially designed

for the intellectual development
of the child,

but also
everything necessary

for the life
of this miniature family.

♪

Every object invites
activity and work

on real life tasks
with a real goal.

♪

The material
is limited and tidy

because to stimulate interest
and concentration,

there should be nothing
distracting or superfluous.

♪

[chatter]

[chatter]

How delightful to see,

after all Christian's
daily preparation,

the children set
about their tasks.

[chatter]

Without it being necessary
to promise rewards

or threaten punishment.

Maria Montessori often
stressed this point.

Subject to
the delusion

of the most absurd procedures
of ordinary education,

I'd believe that
to foster in the child

a spirt of work and peace,

it was necessary to flatter
their basest sentiments,

such as gluttony,
vanity, or self-love,

by means of some
exterior reward.

So I was astonished
when I learned

that the child who is allowed
to educate themselves

loses these lower instincts.

In our system,
the educator truly becomes

what a mother should be,

the guardian and protector
of emerging life.

She's always ready to answer
and assist when necessary.

She lets the life develop freely
within the limits of the good.

Her task is to give the child
the chance to develop

their inner forces and become
master of themselves.

♪

♪

[chatter]

The educator
must distinguish

useful, productive activities
from those that waste energy.

[hushing]

It's often said that
the child must submit

to the adult's will in order
to develop their own.

But by making them submissive
and demanding obedience,

we hinder the development
of their will.

Our aim is to cultivate
the will and not to break it.

[chatter]

The educator's main task
is to ensure the child

can stabilize the wandering,
passing attention

by which they seem
to belong less to themselves

than to the objects
they're drawn to.

So the difficulty does not lie
in finding material

that can rouse
their attention,

but material
that can maintain it.

Only then
can they progress

and reveal
the astounding results

that we've obtained.

The Montessori Method
revolves around

this essential point,

the conquest
of concentration.

[bell chimes]

The lesson
is a call to attention.

It presents the use
of an object which,

if it meets the inner needs
of the child

and is something
that will satisfy them,

will rouse the child
to prolonged activity

and they will want
to repeat it.

[bell chimes]

[bell chimes]

[bell chimes]

[bell chimes]

For the child striving
to become an adult,

what is really interesting
and exciting

is overcoming a difficulty,

achieving a victory.

The use of materials
must lead to the satisfaction

of having made progress.

[bells chiming]

The development
of human potential

must be the aim
of education.

When children learn
by watching their peers,

or an older child
teaches a younger child,

the educator must refrain
from interfering,

satisfied and certain
that her discretion

is the key to greater success.

The exact
and intimate lesson

given to each child
separately

is the teacher's offering to
the depths of the child's soul.

To help the soul
which is coming to life

and will live by virtue
of its own ethos.

[chatter]

The need to be the center
of our attention, of our love,

is in the soul
of the child.

When we bring something new
to a child,

we must devote ourselves
exclusively to them.

They know that
for these few minutes

that they alone exist
and nobody else.

Once they've been shown
an exercise properly,

the child needs no further
lessons or instructions.

They continue their work
according to their judgment,

adapting it from time to time
to circumstances,

just as we adults do.

The real signs
of children's activities

are not easy to find.

Ssss.

We must believe in the good
that lies hidden in the child

and prepare ourselves
to recognize it

with loving concern.

Only in this fashion will
we assess the child correctly.

Christian and I have thought
a lot about the materials

that stimulate children,

and more generally about
their spontaneous acts.

It has become for me, too,

a continual source
of amazement and wonder.

[child singing]

Charlie is at real ease
in her Children's House.

She's very active
and sometimes takes material

she doesn't know
how to use.

Where is Charlie
looking for the answer?

She needs more time
to understand that here

she's not working to give
the educator the right answer,

but for herself
to develop her own potential.

If the lesson is not understood
by the child,

the educator should not let them
know they've made a mistake.

This might arrest
for a long time

this mysterious impulse
to act,

which constitutes
the whole basis for progress.

[energetic playing]

♪

It's obvious that
for an activity to arise,

there must be material,

and material
that awakens interest.

♪

For example,
there are frames

to help the child learn
how to button, lace, and knot.

♪

A sink in which
they can wash their hands.

All of these exercises
which are graded by difficulty

are practical
life exercises.

They help the child
to develop motor coordination

and promote concentration.

♪

Our sensorial material
provides a kind of guide,

for it classifies
the impressions

that each sense
can receive.

♪

Colors, notes, noises,
forms, and sizes,

weights, odors.

This material helps the mind
organize itself.

This would happen anyway,

but with less precision.

[children shouting]

♪

The practical life
and sensorial exercises

are preparation
for the basics:

writing, reading,
and maths.

♪

Every exercise in our method
has an aim in itself,

as well as an indirect aim
to hone the child's abilities

as preparation
for the future.

♪

All these interlinked materials
give our method cohesion.

♪

Everything we use
in our schools

is the result
of experience,

not in one country
but around the world,

and the choices were made
by the children themselves.

♪

In the traditional school,

the correction of mistakes

is often humiliating
and discouraging.

Copying is not allowed

and helping a weaker peer
is considered wrong.

[chatter]

The pupil who helps a friend
is considered guilty,

as is the friend
who accepts their help.

This does not aid
human cohesion.

It leads instead to a decline
in moral values.

The important thing
is not that the child

should handle
the material well

but that the material
has attracted their attention.

They correct themselves
by repeating the exercise

or through the control of error
inherent to our material.

If the teacher interferes
to correct

or even congratulate them,

the child's interest ends

and the enchantment
of correcting themselves

is broken.

The material replaces
the educator's verbal teaching.

It reveals the errors
to the child using it

and so provides
self-directed learning.

By using this material daily,
the child gains self-confidence.

They became aware
of their potential.

They could say,
"I'm not perfect,

I'm not strong,
but I can do this.

I know my strengths.

I also know I can make mistakes
and correct myself,

so I know my path."

In this series
of sensorial objects

designed to train the eye
to perceive dimensions,

the control of error
is not mechanical

like the stacking,
but mental.

The child detects the error
and all the more easily

as the single-color objects are
only distinguishable by size.

[wood clacks]

With this material,
the child learns

to work alone
on their development.

The adult becomes aware
of new, mysterious sensations

within themselves
and stands on the sidelines.

They acquire a kind of humility
when they notice,

"This child can do so much
without my assistance,

without my urging them."

What else can they do
but observe them?

For the child to grow,

the adult's authority
must diminish.

Observation must be
the point of departure

and what drives
the educator's reflection.

Christian believes observation
is an excellent way

to stand back and think
about his automatic reflexes,

and he uses it mainly
as a precious tool

to monitor
each child's development.

Only through observation
can Christian detect

the children's
sensitive periods.

Seeing Géraud's newfound
interest in language activities,

Christian knows he must quickly
respond to his enthusiasm

and present him
suitable activities.

By grasping this impetus,

in just two months' time,

Géraud will be ready
to start reading.

[pronouncing letter]

♪

♪

[match striking]

♪

♪

[blowing]

♪

What's the greatest sign
of success for an educator?

To be able to say,

"The children are now working
as if I don't exist.

I felt the opposite before.

I felt I was the one teaching,

the one delivering the program."

But with these manifestations
of their spirit,

the greatest merit
of the educator's contribution

is that she has helped the life
to achieve its creation,

and that is real satisfaction.

The teacher of children
up to six years

knows she has helped humanity

in an essential period
of development.

[speaking foreign language]

[pleased exclamation]

♪

♪

[laughing]

[shouting]

[shouting]

[cheering and applause]

♪

♪

A year has gone by.

Another has begun.

Camera in hand,
I'm just as enthralled.

I'm delighted to see old faces.

I'm touched by these newcomers

as they discover the school
where they'll spend many years.

[child crying]

[sobbing]

[crying]

The work of the child
in their formative years

is like that of an immigrant
arriving in a new country

they know nothing about,
not even the language.

They must make
a huge effort to adapt

to become actively involved
in this country's life.

No one can do the job
of adapting for them.

They have to observe,
understand, remember,

make judgments,
and learn the language

through laborious exercises
and lengthy experience.

[exhaling]

[clapping]

[laughter]

What about the child,
this immigrant who arrives

still weak, whose organism
is not yet fully developed

in a very complex world

in which they must adapt
in no time at all?

Whether born in the Stone Age,
the Middle Ages,

or the modern
technological world,

the process is the same.

They will always absorb
what their environment provides.

They will accept
everything easily,

otherwise no civilization
would ever advance.

[children shouting]

Nothing is as important
for the child

as feeding
their hungry intelligence

and opening vast fields
of knowledge

to their eager exploration.

[rattling]

[rattling]

If we set about this task
without any method,

we're bound to fail.

But the child has revealed
a secret to us

by which the problem
can be resolved.

The child must learn by
their own individual activity,

being given a freedom
to take what they need

and not be questioned
in their choice.

[low-pitched ring]

[high-pitched ring]

Nature determined the needs
of man in course of development.

The child indicates them

by their spontaneous
manifestations,

by their progress,

by their tranquility
and happiness,

by the intensity
of their efforts,

and the constancy
of their free choices.

[ringing]

[Christian whispering]

Alix spent her first morning
standing by the window

watching her mother walk away.

No one disturbed her.

Like Robin, Pierre,
Adèle, and Antoine,

she started working
at her own pace.

I see emerging in each child
what fascinated me last year,

this tension,
this enthusiasm for their tasks,

this joy in doing and observing,

this inner freedom,

the most precious asset
for the future.

It's important today
that preconceived ideas

about education be abandoned
and replaced

with the scientific recognition
of the child's nature

and the social proclamation
of his rights.

Each error made
in their education

is not only harmful
to the child,

it has far-reaching
repercussions on society

and civilization's progress.

There is no Montessori Method,

the great educator said,

or technique to be applied.

The classroom is a laboratory

where one should merely observe

and try hard not to interfere,

break concentration,

or put up obstacles,

where nothing should hinder
the incredible momentum

in a child's self-construction.

The child,
in the joy of reasoning,

following their instincts,
exploring,

works on their own
enthusiastically

in unfettered concentration,

without fear of disturbance
or criticism.

This is how they construct
their personality.

There are other people
besides me today

who say that the most important
part of life is not university

but the first period,

the period that extends
from birth to six years.

This period where
not only intelligence is formed,

the great instrument of man,

but also all
the psychic faculties.

[bells ringing in a scale]

[bell rings]

When children are accustomed
from earliest childhood

to considering those around them
as a source of help

in exploring the world,

they're not tempted to adopt
a wary or hostile attitude

towards people of different
races or different religions.

Later on,
children raised this way

will be of great help
in the construction

of a peaceful society.

During these years
of fatherhood and filming,

I've grown up
as much as my daughter.

I've seen the incredible
strength and possibilities

of children
when they're not hindered.

I have learned to control
my desire to interfere

and to just trust.

But this path
is a daily challenge.

I invite everyone
to rise to it.

Around me, I see violence
toward children,

inequality and conflict
between people,

the excesses of modern life,

and the destruction
of our planet.

Maria Montessori clearly saw,

in the bloody chaos of the first
half of the 20th century,

the revolutionary scope
of the educational gesture.

I believe her message
is more relevant

and necessary than ever.

The work for this film
confirmed my intuition.

I should not ignore
the questions raised

by a ladder or swing scene.

The prejudice concealed
an unknown continent

and essential revelations
for my daughter's development

and my future struggles.

Maria Montessori always said
that the child can do

a great deal more for us
than we can do for them.

I saw before me
the figure of the child.

I didn't see
a helpless little creature

lying with folded arms
and outstretched body

in their weakness,

but the child
who stands before us

with their arms held open,
beckoning humanity to follow.

And I made a promise,
a vow even,

to become a follower
of the child as my guide.

♪

[ringing]

♪

♪

[bubbles blowing]

♪

♪

[bell ringing]

♪

[shouting]

♪

♪