The Toddler's Sense of Justice

A new study out of the University of Manchester shows how 3-year olds react to injustice, and it’s not in the way you may think. The study used puppets to play out certain scenarios where one puppet took toys or cookies from another puppet. What they found was that 3-year olds were very concerned with making the victim whole again, helping to retrieve the items, but did not seek punishment for the perpetrator. This shows that a sense of justice centered on harm caused to victims emerges early in childhood.

Read more about the study in this New York Times article or read the text of the study here.

Does a Montessori Education allow children to gain the traits of all birth orders?

Research shows that there are personality traits that tend to pertain to people based on their birth order. The traits most observed based on birth order include:

Oldest:

• Higher academic achievements and ambition
• Stronger sense of responsibility and maturity
•  Better leadership skills

Middles:

• Cooperative
• Flexible in a social setting
• Able to make and maintain friendships easily

Youngest:

• Charming and likeable
• Creative
• Strong sense of security and confidence

I have often wondered though if children who attend Montessori schools with three-year age groupings get the benefit of developing all of these traits. They are able to be the youngest, the middle, and finally the oldest in a social group setting that is similar in many ways to the home.

What do you think? Do Montessori children learn to be more well-rounded individuals with all of the above traits?