An educational model anchored in Islam that engages a widely embraced, secular infrastructure for the transmission of religion, distinguishes the work of the American Islamic Montessori Association (AIMA®) and it categorically differentiates our work from any other form of Education available in the United States today – public or private. These underpinnings – Islam and Montessori – inform some of the AIMA’s most fundamental beliefs about children, their education, and about motivation and the learning process. The work of the AIMA is based in part, on the following fundamental tenets:
The Child
- Children are predisposed to live up to, or manifest, that which is expected of them.
- The mind of the young child is highly sensitive and it is intensely absorbent by nature.
- We hold an abiding belief in the dignity, integrity (holistic nature), and individuality of every child.
- Children possess a natural motivation to learn, based on an innate desire to be effective in the world.
- Children experience enhanced proficiency for specific learning at specific periods in their development.
- Without conscious effort, children are engaged in the intrinsic and continuous process of self-construction.
The Environment
- There is no environment that is absent of influence upon the child.
- The optimal learning environment supports freedom with accountability.
- The optimal learning environment responds specifically to the needs and capabilities of the child.
- Environment is of supreme importance to the development of the child and to the construction of self.
Education and Learning
- The capacity for critical thought is an educational imperative.
- The exercise and development of critical thinking skills is the primary objective of Education.
- True learning occurs through the child’s experience of engagement with the environment/world.
Role of the Educator
- The Educator will expand the child’s opportunities for learning and exploration.
- The Educator will prepare, actively curate and enrich the child’s learning environment.
- The Educator will remove obstacles to learning and minimize influences that interfere with the learning process.
- The Educator will engage in continuous scientific observation of the child operating within the learning environment.
- The Educator will engage in ongoing evaluation and assessment of the learning environment and adapt it over time, in accordance with the child’s evolving needs.
Dr. Jaime Dodd specializes in the research and application of Montessori theory and practice in early childhood educational settings. She is a member of the executive leadership team for a nonprofit, educational and research institution in St. Louis, Missouri where she has invested the greater part of her professional career. Dr. Dodd serves on the board of various St. Louis area non-profit entities, focused primarily on educational, humanitarian and/or healthcare concerns. Dr. Dodd’s passion is manifest in her work with the American Islamic Montessori Association (AIMA), a professional membership organization to advance Islamic Montessori Education (IME) as a bridge to foster understanding, promote education and expand peace across the U.S. and around the globe.