Responsibility means the things we have a duty or job to deal with. Whether talking about our leaders and their responsibility to govern fairly and within the bounds of their defined power or of ourselves and our responsibility to accept the consequences of our actions and reactions, this concept separates adults from children and commoners from despots. But the thing is, there is no switch that flips. It isn’t as if we reach a magic age and all of a sudden we are well formed, responsible adults. There are aged people that never seem to master it and there are teens that step outside the bounds of their perception and facticity and exemplify it. As educators and parents it is critical for us to demonstrate responsibility so that the next generation has a reference to draw upon.

Responsibility and Montessori go hand in hand. As Montessori educators, we provide a prepared environment that facilitates the child taking responsibility for their learning while also ensuring a high likelihood of success as they explore. We also have an expectation that each child is responsible for the maintenance of their environment as well as the care of the work they are currently engaged with. These aspects combine in the Montessori environment to provide a sense of accomplishment and self-esteem for each child who masters work as well as those that care for their environment. The child feels good about themselves because they are able to succeed at taking responsibility. How cool is that?

For the child, having the tools necessary to succeed is a critical part of taking responsibility. Wanting to “help” and “do big kid things” are in our nature. But a child who wants to use the broom they see us use can quickly tire from awkwardly handling an object that is twice their size. By providing them with child sized, but fully functional tools, the child can do as the adult does without help. In our environment, children serve themselves food and drink at the family table and then clean up their dishes prior to returning to class. Here again proper tools come into play. Shatterproof dishes and glasses that look and feel like adult tableware are key components of success.

We actively encourage parents to explore and reinforce these things at home. For those who attended our June coffee klatch you know well our love of the step stool. The tools we use in the school are available to the public and are a non-intuitive success builder when it comes to reinforcing responsibility. As parents though the number one thing we can do is to let our children see us handle our responsibilities. This includes simple things such as chores. Reinforcing that doing them provides a sense of satisfaction as well as a means of survival is wonderful. Inviting participation where possible is also good (step stools are great when help is needed with dishes, counter cleaning and more). But there is another aspect to modeling responsibility that – as parents of grown children – we think pays huge dividends. That is letting our children see us taking responsibility when we fail. And that includes when we fail in a way that affects them. This requires a great deal of humility on our part. It is worth it. Parents are heroes and being a real-world role model just maintains that status for a longer time. Children notice and as they grow they will appreciate our actions and our words and will come to emulate them.