Pros and Cons of Montessori education?

[Anonymous]

sounds like a dismal hit rate. good luck shopping around the various "montessori" schools.

any comparison of Apple M Bethesda, Manor M Bethesda? and Spring Vally M Bethesda (which is opening a hybrid program).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The person you quote d was trying to say some parents don't like even a most well run Montessori school.

Of course that's true!
But isn't that true of any program?
Some parents don't like a well run public school
Some parents don't like a well run traditional prep school
Some parents don't like a well run Sudbury school
Some parents don't like a well run Catholic school

Etc, etc, etc.

But for some reason some of the parents that don't like a well run montessori school feel the need to proclaim it bad for all people, instead of saying it wasn't right for them. And I just don't understand why they would do that.

(And yup - I also realize that there are
Parents who make sweeping statements about public/prep/catholic as well. I find them just as intolerable.)

[Anonymous]

That is because every time someone didn't find a Montesorri school a good fit, someone will always come out with the "are you sure that is a true Montessori?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes is typical: If someone doesn't like a Montessori program or method it must have been due to an encounter with a bad teacher or a not strict enough Montessori program.

.

But isn't that true of any program? Surely you can visit two public school classrooms, both with a fully-implemented common core curriculum, and one can be amazing, creative, happy, and awesome, and the other can be rows of silent "drill and kill" automatons.
A great teacher can make any program fantastic and a bad teacher can make any program terrible.

I think Montessori parents get very frustrated when people observe and instead of saying "it's not the right fit for my family" or "we didn't like this particular school", they instead say "we visited a place for half an hour and now know for sure that the whole philosophy is rubish"

We love our kids' Montessori school because we like the philosophy AND the teachers AND the administration AND the facility. We took all of that into account when chosing the school, just as I would hope parents would do when chosing any school, regardless of public or private, traditional or not.

Actually, it's simpler than that.
Regardless of the teaching philosophy, teachers, director, and facility, if the program is making your child unhappy, introverted, and worse off you pull that kid out of that environment. He can work by himself at a little table for 2-3 hours when he's in 4th grade.

[Anonymous]

My daughter is 22 months old and we have been looking at schools for the past few months. I have done extensive research on Montessori verse Traditional. We have also visited both types of school. The pressure on the decision is so immense it makes my head to ache. We first visited the Montessori and I was happy with the educational tools available for her to learn from as those were all the things she likes playing with. Then I became sad thinking what about her fun time playing crazy with other kids. So we visited the Traditional schools. We were happy with that also because she gets to be a child. But there was not too many educational tools available for her.

At the end we decided Montessori based on my daughters personality.

She loves doing her household chores.
Eating independently with her spoon and fork.
She loves her books yet she can't speak or read yet.
She loves her number board blocks.
She loves learning new things.
She already points to all her body parts when asked.
She knows how to do things like apply body lotion when asked. Brush her hair. Brush her teeth.
She loves to pour water and wipe.

These are all the kinds of things she loves doing.
She hates playing on the jungle gym.

Although I know she is presently not the best fit for a Montessori because she is loud and jumps a lot and she screams, I do however believe based on her personality she will adapt to the quite environment quickly because of all the tools in the Montessori that will keep her occupied and build her educationally to meet her full potential.

So with all that said her personality has chosen her school.

[Anonymous]

Maria Montessori studied and founded the Montessori teaching system. I am always impressed with it and love it. But one thing I think it does not work for every child. Some children need more structured environment. It works like a miracle for independent children, and who tend to follow direction at a young age. Mostly because the children are teaching themselves through play and practical life. It always amazes me how it works because you don't see it while they are actually learning but somehow they just learn a lot through what they do and will amaze you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is 22 months old and we have been looking at schools for the past few months. I have done extensive research on Montessori verse Traditional. We have also visited both types of school. The pressure on the decision is so immense it makes my head to ache. We first visited the Montessori and I was happy with the educational tools available for her to learn from as those were all the things she likes playing with. Then I became sad thinking what about her fun time playing crazy with other kids. So we visited the Traditional schools. We were happy with that also because she gets to be a child. But there was not too many educational tools available for her.

At the end we decided Montessori based on my daughters personality.

She loves doing her household chores.
Eating independently with her spoon and fork.
She loves her books yet she can't speak or read yet.
She loves her number board blocks.
She loves learning new things.
She already points to all her body parts when asked.
She knows how to do things like apply body lotion when asked. Brush her hair. Brush her teeth.
She loves to pour water and wipe.

These are all the kinds of things she loves doing.
She hates playing on the jungle gym.

Although I know she is presently not the best fit for a Montessori because she is loud and jumps a lot and she screams, I do however believe based on her personality she will adapt to the quite environment quickly because of all the tools in the Montessori that will keep her occupied and build her educationally to meet her full potential.

So with all that said her personality has chosen her school.

Yes those characters are the right fit for Montessori except the screaming and jumping but
even that might get better as she will get to be more interested in the work .

[Anonymous]

I find there are many differences among the schools that call themselves Montessori. As a T-k teacher and previous aide in Kinder I found children coming from a Motessori school had a harder time adjusting to public school kindergarten and/or private school T-k and kinder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The person you quote d was trying to say some parents don't like even a most well run Montessori school.

Of course that's true!
But isn't that true of any program?
Some parents don't like a well run public school
Some parents don't like a well run traditional prep school
Some parents don't like a well run Sudbury school
Some parents don't like a well run Catholic school

Etc, etc, etc.

But for some reason some of the parents that don't like a well run montessori school feel the need to proclaim it bad for all people, instead of saying it wasn't right for them. And I just don't understand why they would do that.

(And yup - I also realize that there are
Parents who make sweeping statements about public/prep/catholic as well. I find them just as intolerable.)

This thread was about pros and cons of Montessori. People should be able to post cons of the program to them, even cons of well run Montessori programs, without being told their program wasn't authentic. Just the same as someone posting about pros and cons of public school should be able to post a con of many public school as a generalization without being told it was just a problem at their school. My kids have been to 5 different Montessori schools and I've toured 20 more. There are some similarities which I find to be "cons".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes is typical: If someone doesn't like a Montessori program or method it must have been due to an encounter with a bad teacher or a not strict enough Montessori program.

Just do a tour, count how many smiles you see in each classroom. My spouse and I counted zero in the room with 2s and zero in the primary room.
Oh, but sitting by yourself with some beads is "joy."
We also left wondering how these people define success in life.

One quote from Maria Montessori I remember is this "One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child." There seem to be a lot of Montessori schools that don't believe smiling is a sign of happiness. Why aren't they changing things if they see so many kids looking so serious?

[Anonymous]

Montessori is not for everyone. I actually think if you have a child that is already independent, type a and has big imagination then Montessori is not for them. They need a more structured school. Also unlike traditional schools Montessori does not evolve overtime so it's hard for me to accept that Maria Montessori theory of years ago still works. That being said if you have a dependent child who follows orders well putting them in this setting early on is probably good to make self steam. I would move them out though when they get to grade school. Just from my own research and watching my daughter at Montessori and traditional school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Montessori is not for everyone. I actually think if you have a child that is already independent, type a and has big imagination then Montessori is not for them. They need a more structured school. Also unlike traditional schools Montessori does not evolve overtime so it's hard for me to accept that Maria Montessori theory of years ago still works. That being said if you have a dependent child who follows orders well putting them in this setting early on is probably good to make self steam. I would move them out though when they get to grade school. Just from my own research and watching my daughter at Montessori and traditional school.

I disagree with PP above. DD was independent and creative and had a great imagination - wouldn't say she was type A though. She thrived in Montessori.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Montessori is not for everyone. I actually think if you have a child that is already independent, type a and has big imagination then Montessori is not for them. They need a more structured school. Also unlike traditional schools Montessori does not evolve overtime so it's hard for me to accept that Maria Montessori theory of years ago still works. That being said if you have a dependent child who follows orders well putting them in this setting early on is probably good to make self steam. I would move them out though when they get to grade school. Just from my own research and watching my daughter at Montessori and traditional school.

I agree that Montessori does not work for everyone but for those it works, it is an amazing learning environment. It brings the best out of the child and help them grow their thinking at a higher level .

But I find some of what you said to be completely different from my experience. I believe Montessori works for independent and highly imaginative kids.

[Anonymous]

I'm at an ami school with great teachers. Kid is in K. I will say that it is a bad fit. Kid is not engrossed in materials (finds them boring, gets distracted very easily) or learning much and is acting up in a joyful but disruptive way. The child has a hard time choosing work.

BUT loves school and I have faith that in the elementary classroom we will reap the benefits we aren't seeing yet. Honestly, I think my child would be distracted and disruptive in a traditional classroom too unless it was completely play based ( ala Wardolf), and not many Ks are. Best schooling for child would be a small group instruction and projects based on interest - and we'll get that in Montessori elementary.

[Anonymous]

You are a nut. It is sad that anyone can print anything they want on the Internet. Montessori is fantastic