“Let’s begin by finding out the meaning of work. Work to an adult is the expenditure of energy to obtain money, an outcome, a result or change in the environment they live in. It is seldom a process of exploration to acquire knowledge, perhaps experience but only base on a defined need or a desired outcome.

The concept of outcome, result or change to the environment is absent in a child. The child’s ability to conceptualise these can only incarnate in his mind during the conscious and subconscious periods. The child’s knowledge that an activity (including sleeping) has a start and an end comes to him like day and night; it is transitory not permanent.

We introduce the word work when we say to the child, “Daddy is going to work love. He’ll be back to join us for dinner tonight.” Yet, we do not refer to the tasks we do at home like laundry, sweeping, wiping, cliening, vacuuming, dusting, watching television or even walking as work. It is most common to say to the child, “Mummy is sewing the button on dad’s shirt.” “Dad is trying to fix the car.” “Your elder sister is cleaning her school shoes,” or “Daddy, would you like me to pour milk in your tea?”

By studying the verbs we use like sew, fix, clean and pour, we are well aware that we use it often in front of children yet seldom do we actually emphasise to the absorbent mind of the child that these are work in motion. That is simply because to us, work means expenditure of energy in the direction of a desired outcome or result in return for monetary gains or specified goals and objectives.”

This has been an extract of a course work, Modern Montessori Method of Education.

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