The Birth of Individuality
November 7, 2019
Jesse McCarthy
The following story from the first American Montessori teacher, Miss Anne George, was described by Dr. Maria Montessori as an example of ‘the birth of individuality.’
There were two sisters, one of three years old, the other of five. The child of three could hardly be said to exist as an individual, so minutely did she imitate her elder sister; for example, the elder child had a blue pencil and the little one was not happy till she too had a blue pencil; when the elder sister ate bread and butter, whatever the little one had of a different kind, she would touch nothing but bread and butter, and so on. This child took no interest in anything in the school, but merely followed her sister, imitating everything she did. One day the little one became interested in the pink cubes, built up the tower with the liveliest interest, repeated the exercise several times, and completely forgot her sister. The older girl was so astonished at this, that she called her little sister and said to her: "How is it that while I am filling in a circle you are building the tower?" From that day the younger child became a personality; she began to develop independently, and was no longer merely the shadow or reflection of her sister.
Miss George, from Dr. Montessori’s Spontaneous Activity in Education
Although this story is about the beautiful growth of a 3-year-old, it is never too late for a child — or an adult — to come out from under the “shadow” of another.
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