Silence is something many adults yearn for, especially in times in which the environment is getting increasingly louder. It is something precious as it benefits our body, spirit, and soul. A big problem at home, in kindergarten, and at school, however, are noisy, disruptive, aggressive, and unfocused children who cannot come to rest and find themselves any more. These children cannot sit still for five minutes, let alone concentrate on something for a longer period of time. To react with a loud scream, “Silence – damn it!”, is certainly not the right way. Relaxation and concentration programs for children are popular like never before. But in addition to that, maybe the children themselves yearn for silence and it is not that difficult to get them on the right track.
I would first like to take a look at the pedagogical theory by Maria Montessori followed by introducing my own ideas and experiences with Tibetan Singing Bowls. The practical exercises were developed in the music workshop in Bad Bergzabern in collaboration with Uta Karen Mempel; there are hardly any publications available with regard to this topic. In this music workshop I worked with small groups of five children and larger groups of up to 25 children. The age of the children was between four and 15 years.
I. Introduction
Silence is something many adults yearn for, especially in times in which the environment is getting increasingly louder. It is something precious as it benefits our body, spirit, and soul. A big problem at home, in kindergarten, and at school, however, are noisy, disruptive, aggressive, and unfocused children who cannot come to rest and find themselves any more. These children cannot sit still for five minutes, let alone concentrate on something for a longer period of time. To react with a loud scream, “Silence – damn it!”, is certainly not the right way. Relaxation and concentration programs for children are popular like never before. But in addition to that, maybe the children themselves yearn for silence and it is not that difficult to get them on the right track. I would first like to take a look at the pedagogical theory by Maria Montessori followed by introducing my own ideas and experiences with Tibetan Singing Bowls. The practical exercises were developed in the music workshop in Bad Bergzabern in collaboration with Uta Karen Mempel; there are hardly any publications available with regard to this topic. In this music workshop I worked with small groups of five children and larger groups of up to 25 children. The age of the children was between four and 15 years.
II Theoretical Part
The Significance of Silence According to Maria Montessori Silence plays an important part in Montessori’s teachings. For her, experiencing silence is simply a part of education. “A good atmosphere which benefits education cannot be achieved without silence.”[1] Silence is the foundation of learning, whereas noise leads to overstimulation and inhibits learning by strongly diverting the attention outward thus preventing reflection. “Devotion to a task stems from concentration and silence.”[2]
Silence has a very high value in Montessori’s teachings: “Nevertheless, one knows from the educational point of view that, above all, silence has a very high inner value and that human beings who strive to perfect themselves or who wish to achieve a higher level of intelligence, artists and poets, must have this silence. It is a necessity; this silence is an absolute necessity …” [3]
She learned from her observations that children, by all means, desire silence and do not create noise naturally. In 1938, Montessori gave a lecture in Holland about ‘the lesson on silence’: “I had also noticed that very small children of three and four years of age and later small children of two years of age have an extraordinary love of silence.” [4]
Silence in the Montessori School
In Montessori schools, every visitor immediately notices the extraordinary silence. “Silence is not be equated with the non-existence of noise or sound but it is rather something positive and not simply created by children being quiet and sitting still.”[5]
Montessori attributes the following significance to the silence in this school: “The silence is a measure of success; it works as a control of error.”[6] In other institutions, however, one notices many noisy children who are constantly reprimanded by the teacher to be quiet. “In regular schools, silence means the cessation of noise, the halting of a reaction, the suppression of bad behavior and unruliness.”[7]
Silence exercises must never be used as disciplinary measures, the children must have the willingness for it: “… that this lesson of silence requires everyone’s consent, every single individual’s, …”[8]
Active and Passive Silence
“There are two different types of silence: passive and active silence. Both are contrary to one another with regard to their personal references. While one is experienced as constraint and restriction, the other one is characterized as a delightful experience in heightened attentiveness.”[9] Passive silence as it is practiced in many homes or institutions through rules and orders is forced. Montessori rejects this type of silence. The heteronomy of the child creates fear and is contrary to one’s own initiative.
“… that we cannot achieve silence and concentration through forced silence and concentration. Both grow from the child’s actions and activities. Harmonious collaboration is essential which will lead to natural discipline which, in turn, is based upon freedom.”[10] Therefore, silence must be desired by the child. This desired silence is an active one based on becoming silent and absorbing silence. A prerequisite, however, is also controlling one’s body. One can only walk through a room silently by making controlled movements. A state of rest is solely achieved by becoming conscious of one’s own body.
“It was later found how much a movement exercise such as this, in which any error is immediately detected by the noise it caused, leads to perfecting the capabilities of the children. Repeating this exercise will ultimately lead to such fine mastery of action that could never be achieved through purely external education.”[11]
Polarization of Attention
The path to silence requires a polarization of attention by the child meaning a concentration of attention on one activity or one object. During the creation of concentration during an activity with a certain material, Montessori observed three phases:
1. Preparation phase: The child choses a work station and a material.
2. Actual work phase: The child works in a concentrated and highly motivated manner with the material.
3. Phase of internalization, joy, happiness: The child achieves inner satisfaction through the joy in its activity.
This creates a silence originating from within the child.
“The exercises with the special Montessori material result in (…), an overall educational advancement of the child who will find a quiet existence.”[12]
A silence exercise without any movement during which the children are to remain motionless requires a concentration point namely the movement itself. “Now, in order to have silence, one must simply not move. And in order to not move, one must think of everything that could move.”[13]
Sensitization of Hearing
During silence one is much more sensitive to the slightest noises, one’s hearing perceives much more. “The more frequently children are silent, experience silence and concentration, the more sensitive they become and the more they alert us to the slightest noises which we almost do not hear any more.”[14]
Hearing can detect the following:
- Silence
- The human voice
- Noises
- Music
Sensorial teaching according to Montessori with sound boxes or bells, for instance, results in refined perception and stimuli through repeated exercises. The sensorial material contributes to the children becoming more relaxed. “If we want to lead children to concentration and silence, hearing and perception play a central part.”[15]
On the other hand, silence is a great basis to even be able to perceive noises. “Training one’s hearing originates in ‘silence’ if it is based on ‘immobility’ in order to achieve perception of noises or sounds caused by movements.”[16]
Die Role of the Teacher
(Hereinafter I will use teacher in lieu of teacher/female teacher and educator/female educator).
As previously mentioned, a silence exercise must not be used as a disciplinary measure. The teacher has an important task, namely: “It is necessary to teach the children silence.”[17] Hereby one must be certain that the children are ready for the silence, they must consent to the silence. A good teacher will find the right point in time for silence exercises, namely when the children have their own inner need to want to be quiet. Despite all that it requires practice in order for the silence exercises to work. “Silence is therefore a positive conquest which should be achieved through perception and exercise.”[18]
Teachers and educators also function as role models. They must have gathered their own experiences and built a relationship with silence. It is important that the introductory words are spoken quietly and sparingly and that the movements are executed in a gentle and calm manner. “Now I had come to the understanding that this matter must be granted a certain solemness, that one must not simply approach and say: Silence! Let’s be silent! We must remain motionless!”[19]
Furthermore, it is the teacher’s task to prepare the surroundings for the silence exercises.
Prepared Surroundings
For the silence exercises, undisturbed surroundings are essential. “All children must pick up and put away the material so that there is nothing left on their desk. This is necessary preparation because the entire class must have this will to be silent which always requires a consensus in order for it to happen. One must be prepared. Any solemn occasion must be prepared.”[20]
In order to achieve silence it is important that there be order in the room and that nothing is lying around that could distract the children. Furthermore, the work place should be limited. Merely a very few objects may be used as concentration points such as quite music, objects for fixation or to hold on to.
Creating Silence Exercises
Maria Montessori developed her first silence exercise based on an observation. In the school yard, she took a four-month old child from its mother into her arms and brought the baby into the class room. The baby’s silence was impressive.
“ “He does not make any noise at all,” I said and added jokingly: “None of you could be this quiet.” I noticed in amazement how the children around me tensed tremendously. It was as if they were hanging on my lips and felt very deeply what I said. “He is breathing very quietly,” I continued. “None of you could breathe this quietly.” Astounded and motionless, the children held their breath. In that moment, an impressive silence spread. All of a sudden, one could hear the ticking of the clock which could never be heard otherwise. It seemed as if the baby had brought an atmosphere of silence into the room like it never exists in everyday life.”[21] Later Montessori repeated this exercise and the children accepted it gratefully. This is how the first silence exercise was created.
Silence Exercises by Maria Montessori
Silence exercises are among the everyday exercises that belong in the movement category. These exercises teach the children how to control their movements and understand activity structures. Before silence exercises are possible “… the children learn through exercises of everyday life how to come to order.”[22] As already mentioned, the exercises must take place in prepared surroundings.
There are individual as well as group exercises whereby all children must consent to the silence.
The teacher herself should come to order as well as she serves as a role model. The exercise is carried out nonverbally, if possible, or with very few words. As preparation she recommends: “One should take a seat so comfortable as to feel very comfortable so to speak, …”[23]
The exercise Walking the Line is a group exercise which can be performed with children three years and up. A large ellipse is drawn on or glued to the floor. Furthermore, small bells, candles, glasses with water, small sand bags, cloths, or balls, for instance, are needed. In the background, soft meditative music can be played. The children walk along the ellipse and carry the objects carefully in front of them. The foot should be placed all the way on the line, in fact in small steps. The gaze moves away from the line.
The goal here is stabilizing balance, controlling movement, gaining body consciousness as well as social consideration of the group members. Any noises caused or water spilled serve as control of error. Montessori combines further exercises under Silence Exercises. Here all surroundings can be included without requiring any special material. Intended as group exercise, the teacher whispers the children’s name. The child she called will go to her and should not make any noise. “Our children learned to move among many obstacles without touching them, to walk lightly and quietly and they became very attentive and agile in doing so. They enjoyed perfecting their abilities and were actively interested in exploring and exercising their own possibilities.”[24]
The goal of the exercise is experiencing silence, controlling movement impulses, perceiving soft noises, as well as experiencing community. Any noise caused by the children serves as control of error.
Furthermore, the teacher can whisper small commands to the children. She can also give them listening tasks during which the children should listen for certain noises (clock, birds, heartbeat, breath, wind, rain, etc.)
II Practical Part
Tibetan Singing Bowls
General Information about Singing Bowls
In recent years, singing bowls have become increasingly popular in our culture. They are being used in music, in art, in music therapy, in the wellness field, or as meditation tool. Unfortunately, they have been discredited among religious representatives as an expression of the esoteric theory. I simply use the singing bowls as a tool which exudes a wonderful sound whose vibrations can be felt on one’s body. Furthermore, they offer a variety of creative uses.
Singing bowls are superbly suited for silence exercises. They distinguish themselves through aesthetics, suitability for children, and, naturally, their wonderful sound. They are precious and demand the appreciation of any user. If they are dropped on a hard surface they can become deformed or even tear. The sound quality will suffer at any rate.
The country of origin is considered to be Tibet where they were used by Buddhist monks during religious ceremonies. After the invasion of Tibet by Communist Chinese in 1949, the manufacture and use of singing bowls as religious expression was prohibited. Today, most bowls are manufactured in Nepal and India and solely carry the brand name “Tibet”.
Manufacture
The manufacture is largely a manual process. Singing bowls consist of brass alloy containing a mixture of between five and 12 metals such as lead, tin, iron, copper, mercury, silver, and gold. During the manufacturing process, the metal mixture is melted and poured into molds in small quantities. After the flat round metal discs have cooled off, they are shaped (hammered) by hand over heat and finally polished. Therefore, every bowl is unique and has its own sound as it is virtually impossible to manufacture a fine-tuned bowl. There are other types of bowls as well, for instance cast singing bowls. I, however, only use Tibetan bowls because they have the best sound, in my opinion.
[...]
[1] [“Gute Atmosphaere, die zur Bildung hilft, bildet sich nicht ohne Stille.“] (Montessori in Helming 1977, page 71)
[2] [Hingabe an ein Tun erfolgt aus Sammlung und Stille] (ibid., 1977, page 71).
[3] [„Trotzdem weiß man, vor allen Dingen, von der erzieherischen Seite her, dass die Stille einen sehr hohen inneren Wert hat, und dass die Menschen, die sich zu vervollkommnen suchen oder die mit ihrer Intelligenz auf ein sehr hohes Niveau gelangen wollen, Künstler oder Dichter, diese Stille haben müssen. Das ist eine Notwendigkeit, ist die Stille wahrhaft eine Notwendigkeit...“] (Montessori, 1994, page 132, following)
[4] [„Ich hatte also bemerkt, dass die ganz kleinen Kinder von drei und vier Jahren, und später, dass auch die Kinder von zwei Jahren auf außerordentliche Weise das Schweigen lieben.“] (Montessori, 1998, page 82)
[5] [„Stille ist nicht gleichzusetzen mit einem Nichtvorhandensein von Lärm oder Geräusch, sie ist etwas Positives und entsteht nicht schon dadurch, dass Kinder schweigen und stillsitzen.“] (Montessori in Helming 1977, page 69)
[6] [„Man kann an der Stille messen, ob sie in Ordnung ist, sie wirkt wie eine Fehlerkontrolle.“] (ibid. 1977, page 69)
[7] [„Stille bedeutet in den gewöhnlichen Schulen das Aufhören des Lärms, das Anhalten einer Reaktion, das Unterdrücken von Unarten und Unordnung.“] (Montessori, 1998, page 91)
[8] [: „...dass diese Lektion der Stille die Zustimmung eines jeden erfordert, jedes einzelnen, ...“ (Montessori, 1994, page 137)
[9] [„Es gibt zwei Arten von Stille: passive und aktive Stille. Beide sind in der Art ihres Personenbezugs einander konträr. Wird die eine als Zwang und Beengung erfahren, ist die andere geprägt von lustvollem Erleben in angespannter Aufmerksamkeit“] (Herz, 1993, page 72)
[10] [„...dass wir Stille und Konzentration nicht durch Schweige- und Konzentrationspflicht erreichen können. Beide erwachsen aus dem Kind bei seinem Tun und Handeln. Harmonisches Zusammenarbeiten ist wichtig und dieses führt auch zu natürlicher Disziplin, die wiederum auf Freiheit basiert.“] (Montessori, 1998, page 53)
[11] [„Später ergab sich dann, wie sehr eine Bewegungsübung wie diese, bei der jeder Fehler sogleich durch das hierbei verursachte Geräusch festgestellt wird, dazu beiträgt, die Fähigkeiten, der Kinder zu vollkommnen. Die Wiederholung dieser Übung führt schließlich zu einer so feinen Beherrschung der Handlungen, wie sie durch rein äußerlichen Unterricht niemals erreicht werden könnte.“] (Montessori, 1985, page 129, following)
[12] [„Die Übungen mit dem besonderen Montessori-Material haben als Folge,(...), eine gesamterzieherische Förderung des Kindes, das sich zu ruhiger Existenz hinfindet.“] (Montessori in Helming 1977, page 72)
[13] [„Nun, um die Stille zu haben, darf man sich einfach nicht bewegen. Und um sich nicht zu bewegen, muss man alles denken, was sich bewegen könnte.“] (Montessori, 1994, page 135)
[14] [„Je häufiger Kinder schweigen, Stille und Konzentration erleben, desto sensibler werden sie und machen uns oft auf kleinste Geräusche aufmerksam, die wir fast gar nicht hören.“] (Montessori, 1998, page 91)
[15] [„Wenn wir Kinder zu Konzentration und Stille führen wollen, dann spielen dabei das Hören und Wahrnehmen eine zentrale Rolle.“] (Montessori, 1998, page 128)
[16] [„Eine Ausbildung des Gehörs hat ihren Ausgangspunkt in der 'Stille', wenn sie von der 'Unbeweglichkeit' ausgeht, um zur Wahrnehmung der durch Bewegungen verursachten Geräusche oder Klänge zu kommen.“] (Montessori, 1998, page 129)
[17] [„Es ist erforderlich, die Kinder Stille zu lehren.“] (Montessori, 1998, page 92)
[18] [„Die Stille ist also eine positive Eroberung, die durch Erkenntnis und Übung erreicht werden soll.“] (Montessori, 1969, page 195)
[19] [„Nun ich hatte begriffen, dass man dieser Sache eine gewisse Feierlichkeit geben muss und nicht kommen darf und einfach sagen: Stille! Machen wir Stille! Wir wollen ohne Bewegung verharren!] (Montessori, 1998, page 84)
[20] [„Alle Kinder müssen das Material nehmen und fortlegen, so dass sie nichts mehr auf ihrem Tische haben. Das ist eine notwendige Vorbereitung, weil die ganze Klasse diesen Willen zum Schweigen haben muss, und eben die erfordert immer die Übereinstimmung, damit es geschehen kann. Man muss sich vorbereiten. Jede feierliche Sache muss vorbereitet werden.“] (Montessori, 1994, page 135)
[21] [„ „Es macht gar keinen Lärm“, sagte ich, und scherzend fügte ich hinzu: „Niemand von euch könnte ebenso stille sein.“ Verblüfft beobachtete ich, wie sich der Kinder rings umher eine intensive Spannung bemächtigte. Es war, als hingen sie an meinen Lippen und fühlten aufs tiefste, was ich sagte. „Sein Atem geht ganz leise“, fuhr ich fort. „Niemand von euch könnte so leise atmen.“ Erstaunt und regungslos hielten die Kinder den Atem an. Eine eindrucksvolle Stille verbreitete sich in diesem Augenblick. Man hörte plötzlich das Ticktack der Uhr, das sonst nie vernehmbar war. Es schien, als hätte der Säugling eine Atmosphäre von Stille in dieses Zimmer gebracht, wie sie im gewöhnlichen Leben sonst nie besteht.“] (Montessori, 1985, Page 128, following)
[22] [...kommen die Kinder durch die Übungen des praktischen Lebens dazu, sich zu ordnen.“] (Montessori, 1977, Page 72)
[23] [„Man muss einen so bequemen Platz einnehmen, dass man sich sozusagen ganz wohl fühlt, ...“] (Montessori, 1994, page 136)
[24] [„Unsere Kinder lernten, sich zwischen einer Menge von Gegenständen zu bewegen, ohne anzustoßen, leicht und geräuschlos zu laufen, und sie wurden dabei achtsam und geschickt. Sie genossen die Vervollkommenheit ihrer Leistungen, waren lebhaft daran interessiert, ihre eigenen Möglichkeiten zu entdecken und zu üben.“] (Montessori, 1985, page 130)
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