quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Does anyone here have any experience with this particular school? My wife and I are in the process of looking at schools for our daughter (pre-K, pre-school right now), and the Montessori School in our area has a reputation of being one of the more distinguished.

Their method of teaching though, how shall I say...gives me pause. I was hoping some members here might have some first hand knowledge with this school and their practices and philosophy of learning.

I welcome any comments on the matter.

My wife and I went through this process with our daughter within the past few years (she's in 1st grade now). I was initially in your boat....the methods gave me pause (that's putting it mildly). Things like not having to share (i.e. - designating a toy), and not being required to participate in certain activities (like math or reading) if the child doesn't feel like it. The whole thing rubbed me the wrong way. After taking a tour of both of the local Montessori schools.....my fears were confirmed. No way in blue hell my daughter will ever darken the door of that liberal nonsense school.

We found a very good Lutheran preschool (that also teaches kindergarten), and sent her there. She is in the local private Catholic school now, and we are extremely pleased with the education she is receiving. Worth every dime. As with all things, YMMV. As I understand it, there is no real overriding authority of Montessori schools, as each one is basically left to interpret what they think the Montessori method means.

I think if you're worried about "liberalism" in the montessori school, then public school may not be your bag either. It could also be a reflection of your geography. we live in a very conservative area, and the teachers at my daughter's school were more like us. Now she is in public school in kindergarten, I cringe at some of the books she has brought home. I told her she didn't need to read the book with the gay couple in it. I don't think a 5 year old really needs to know about gay couples. I don't care if anyone is gay- have been to a gay wedding etc, but don't think it is necessary to educate a 5 year old on the subject.

My wife has worked at a Montessori school for the past twenty years. Her class has 2&1/2 to 4 years old. I am amazed at what they are teaching kids of this age. I can assure you there is no time for "hippie nonsense" in their classroom. That being said, there are 4 or 5 Montessori schools within driving distance and they are all very different. Check out the school and then decide if it is right for your child. I fully believe that the right Montessori school will give your child a big jump on learning.
Best of luck to you and your child.
Rod
PS. Nothing like what akcopnfbks stated above takes place at the Montessori school my wife works at. As I said, there is a big difference in Montessori schools.

quote:

Originally posted by akcopnfbks:
As I understand it, there is no real overriding authority of Montessori schools, as each one is basically left to interpret what they think the Montessori method means.

This is basically true. There are two organizations, Association Montessori Internationale and American Montessori Society, that provide training and curricula and will accredit schools as complying with their respective standards, but Montessori schools don't have to have anything to do with either group if they don't want to. I'm also not sure how stringent the actual accreditation process is.

I think the basic principles work really well for most little kids, but as with anything else, good ideas can be executed poorly.

Part of the Montessori program at my kids school is that they have "work periods" instead of individual classes for each subject. The teacher does some lessons, although a lot of it is one-on-one. The kids have work that they need to do for the week, and then a lot off it is self guided as far as what they do when. There is some avoidance of the stuff they don't want to do, but both of mine learned quickly that they have to get it all done. My 7 year old had actually brought work home to do that he didn't think he'd have time for at school (they have very little homework). They're definitely learning life lessons along with the math and English.

Both my kids spent time in a Montessori school and benefited from it. They are both in public school now and are ahead of most of their peers. Now, much of that is probably due to their natural abilities, but the Montessori school my kids went to didn't turn them into feckless hippies. In fact, they have been exposed to far more idiotic teaching methods and propaganda in public school than they were in Montessori.

They really are big on letting kids learn at their own pace. This can be good or bad, depending on your kid. The idea is basically this: if the kid is enjoying a subject and making progress in learning it, they aren't going to make them stop and switch to a different subject. In general, the kid will run out of new stuff and get bored or just be your average fickle little kid and pick a different subject to work on without being forced to. It doesn't mean there aren't rules, just that, if the kid is learning, they don't really care if they spend all day doing math and don't do any reading or life skills or whatever. They do try to guide them to different activities, but ultimately they don't force the kids to do any particular lesson on any particular day.

All that said, I feel that the Montessori system works well for YOUNG kids. However, I don't think it makes as much sense once you get past about 2nd grade. The kids get too smart and will eventually stop voluntarily switching subjects. Ok, they MIGHT keep doing well, but the older they get, the more likely it seems to be that they find ways to abuse the freedom they are offered.

Ultimately both of my kids transitioned into public school in either first or second grade because they reached a point where they needed the structure. However, they were plenty well prepared and are doing great.

Full disclosure, I went to a Montessori school when I was little as well. I didn't turn out to be a hippie, but I do like Granola bars...as long as they have chocolate chips in them. I don't recall any liberal indoctrination from my time there, but that was a really long time ago so I honestly don't remember much at all. Mostly, I remember some kid tricked me into eating one of my boogers. It tasted terrible so I bit him in retribution. Of course, I was the one who got in trouble for it. My mom drove down, took me out to the car, whooped my ass, and sent me back in. Good times...good times.

- Bret