Montessori - expensive and high student:teacher ratios

[Anonymous]

Ballet PP here.

The perception that kids in Montessori classrooms are unhappy or "weird" is one I've heard before. I think it's often based on the relative quiet of the classroom and the expressions on kids' faces, which often reflect concentration and/or exertion of effort (physical or mental). Interpreting these alone as unhappiness is usually just a projection by the adults.

When I watch my 2 year old, who is currently in an amazing play-based daycare, build something with magnatiles at home, he also works very quietly, stares intensely, and his expression ranges from neutral to confused to furrowed brow to outright frown. He grins periodically when he admires his building or completes it, but the amount of time spent smiling is a tiny fraction of the time spent looking serious. He is not at all unhappy, but I can see why it might look that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montessori philosophy is based on outdated pedagogy which teaches that children must learn “life skills” in ther early years, like doing dishes and sweeping. This was needed in the days of Maria Montessori, but not now. Many of their materials can only be used the “ right way@ which stifles creativity. Play based preschool is the way to go for today’s children.

Right, my 3 year old mastering group sing alongs of the ABC song and the Itsy Bitsy Spider during daily circle time at play school is 100% the modern early childhood education we need for the 21st century.

I'm actually quite pleased with my 4 year old learning to help clean up after himself, be independent, and develop fine and gross motor skills in his Montessori class.

My kid is in a play-based preschool and is learning to clean up after herself, be independent, and develop fine and gross motor skills. She also isn't being told that there's only one way to use a patented Montessori learning tool. She's allowed to engage in pretend play.

My guess is you've never been in a play-based preschool. In contrast, I toured Montessori schools before deciding it wasn't for us.

Actually, we enrolled our oldest child in a play-based school and only came to Montessori after having a horrible experience at that highly-regarded play school, in which child was miserable and teacher suggested another program might be better-suited (please don't let door hit you on the way out). So, no...unlike you, we didn't base our opinions on a couple 30 minute walkthroughs.

Montessori may not be the best fit for every child nor every family, but it is perfect for ours.

[Anonymous]

Maria Montessori, a doctor, pioneered the scientific method approach to education, and first made her observations on children with special needs and low-income children.

The materials, when used in the right way, allow for self-correction, which is the basis of critical thinking. It is the bedrock of the Montessori method. As a scientist myself, I see how important this is to children's development.

Teachers need training in this method, and command higher salaries than other preschool teachers. Beware of "Montessori" schools that do not follow the method. The name is not protected.

I appreciate what my children's Montessori preschool taught my kids. My son has special needs, and made giant developmental leaps there and is taking AP and Honors classes in high school. My daughter and half of her Montessori Kindergarten class ended up in our county's gifted program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Don’t buy into the farce that the Kindergarteners teach the younger kids - they do not at all.

Ballet PP here. Want to respond to this point. In my experience, the kindergarteners are not in any way tasked with teaching younger kids complicated things like math or reading. When my children have described giving a lesson to a younger child, it is always something from practical life, like sponge squeezing, laundry folding, food prep, color mixing, and so on. Most kindergarteners are capable of teaching these types of tasks to younger children, and it's a really positive experience for both when managed well.

The only other example where I've seen kindergarteners do a teaching-like thing is reading aloud to younger kids. But that is not really teaching.

When it comes to fundamental pre-academic building blocks like counting, phonemic awareness, and so on, it is teachers giving the lessons and guiding the kids. Although of course 2 or 3 kids may work together on a work.

Our school is not AMI or AMS certified, so I don't know if their practices are standard.

OP here and this thread has gotten derailed by Montessori vs. play-based. At this point I am neutral - I want to go with whichever is the best fit for my child, which includes an adult spending a reasonable amount of time with said child. And in the two preschools I am considering, the ratios are 24:2, so I don’t see how the teachers will have much time to teach counting, phonemic awareness, etc. one-on-one with the kids. Don’t see how it justifies the $15k tuition, and yet people are definitely signing up...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Don’t buy into the farce that the Kindergarteners teach the younger kids - they do not at all.

Ballet PP here. Want to respond to this point. In my experience, the kindergarteners are not in any way tasked with teaching younger kids complicated things like math or reading. When my children have described giving a lesson to a younger child, it is always something from practical life, like sponge squeezing, laundry folding, food prep, color mixing, and so on. Most kindergarteners are capable of teaching these types of tasks to younger children, and it's a really positive experience for both when managed well.

The only other example where I've seen kindergarteners do a teaching-like thing is reading aloud to younger kids. But that is not really teaching.

When it comes to fundamental pre-academic building blocks like counting, phonemic awareness, and so on, it is teachers giving the lessons and guiding the kids. Although of course 2 or 3 kids may work together on a work.

Our school is not AMI or AMS certified, so I don't know if their practices are standard.

OP here and this thread has gotten derailed by Montessori vs. play-based. At this point I am neutral - I want to go with whichever is the best fit for my child, which includes an adult spending a reasonable amount of time with said child. And in the two preschools I am considering, the ratios are 24:2, so I don’t see how the teachers will have much time to teach counting, phonemic awareness, etc. one-on-one with the kids. Don’t see how it justifies the $15k tuition, and yet people are definitely signing up...

Not all Montessoris are good, so you choose the school you like best, OP. Talk to the teachers, visit the classrooms, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Don’t buy into the farce that the Kindergarteners teach the younger kids - they do not at all.

Ballet PP here. Want to respond to this point. In my experience, the kindergarteners are not in any way tasked with teaching younger kids complicated things like math or reading. When my children have described giving a lesson to a younger child, it is always something from practical life, like sponge squeezing, laundry folding, food prep, color mixing, and so on. Most kindergarteners are capable of teaching these types of tasks to younger children, and it's a really positive experience for both when managed well.

The only other example where I've seen kindergarteners do a teaching-like thing is reading aloud to younger kids. But that is not really teaching.

When it comes to fundamental pre-academic building blocks like counting, phonemic awareness, and so on, it is teachers giving the lessons and guiding the kids. Although of course 2 or 3 kids may work together on a work.

Our school is not AMI or AMS certified, so I don't know if their practices are standard.

OP here and this thread has gotten derailed by Montessori vs. play-based. At this point I am neutral - I want to go with whichever is the best fit for my child, which includes an adult spending a reasonable amount of time with said child. And in the two preschools I am considering, the ratios are 24:2, so I don’t see how the teachers will have much time to teach counting, phonemic awareness, etc. one-on-one with the kids. Don’t see how it justifies the $15k tuition, and yet people are definitely signing up...

If you name the schools you will get more specific feedback.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looking for PK3 options and I am trying to figure out why the two Montessori preschools near me cost 3x the play-based preschools. And the Montessori’s have a 24:2 ratio, while the play-based options have a 12:2 ratio. Is it all due to the Montessori materials and teacher training? I have no preference as to teaching style, but it so happens that all the play-based bear us are either religious or have unpleasant facilities. I might suck it up and pay for Montessori if they at least had lower ratios, but it doesn’t seem right to shell out that much money for such crowded rooms.

Best check out who owns the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We drank the Montessori kool aid for three years (including Kindergarten) at an AMS school and it was a huge waste of money. My child is so much happier and learning more in his current school than he ever was in Montessori. There are very few Montessori schools that do it right the rest are raking in the money by setting them up as Montessori schools. Don’t buy into the farce that the Kindergarteners teach the younger kids - they do not at all. Seriously save your money. I wish we had.

We toured Aidan Montessori and expected to be impressed, since so many DC families fight for spots there. We came away really unimpressed. The facility is old and worn. Our kid's suburban preschool has a much better facility and playgrounds (multiple -- Aidan has one small one).

But the bigger issue was just that the kids seemed either unhappy or weirdly brainwashed. Also, the parent who led the tour reprimanded a kid for wanting to come up and show us his artwork. She said in a stern tone, "go back and work."

It was just a weird, sort of cold, environment.

Agree. That was my least favorite of the Montessori schools we toured. I do not get the hype on that one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Montessori philosophy is based on outdated pedagogy which teaches that children must learn “life skills” in ther early years, like doing dishes and sweeping. This was needed in the days of Maria Montessori, but not now. Many of their materials can only be used the “ right way@ which stifles creativity. Play based preschool is the way to go for today’s children.

LOL. This is the most uniformed and stupidest thing I've read in awhile. Maria Montessori was not training kids as domestic servants. She was a doctor, a scientist and a teacher. The Montessori Method is based on human development. I'm not saying you have to like it, but at least know what you are talking about PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montessori philosophy is based on outdated pedagogy which teaches that children must learn “life skills” in ther early years, like doing dishes and sweeping. This was needed in the days of Maria Montessori, but not now. Many of their materials can only be used the “ right way@ which stifles creativity. Play based preschool is the way to go for today’s children.

LOL. This is the most uniformed and stupidest thing I've read in awhile. Maria Montessori was not training kids as domestic servants. She was a doctor, a scientist and a teacher. The Montessori Method is based on human development. I'm not saying you have to like it, but at least know what you are talking about PP.

I agree about Maria Montessori but schools have gone so far astray of her ideals. Adopting the Montessori structure is incredibly lucrative which is why Montessori schools are all over the place now. Maria Montessori would probably be horrified that her name is being used on glorified daycares charging outrageous tuition. I think AMI schools are the only schools anywhere close to what was intended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Don’t buy into the farce that the Kindergarteners teach the younger kids - they do not at all.

Ballet PP here. Want to respond to this point. In my experience, the kindergarteners are not in any way tasked with teaching younger kids complicated things like math or reading. When my children have described giving a lesson to a younger child, it is always something from practical life, like sponge squeezing, laundry folding, food prep, color mixing, and so on. Most kindergarteners are capable of teaching these types of tasks to younger children, and it's a really positive experience for both when managed well.

The only other example where I've seen kindergarteners do a teaching-like thing is reading aloud to younger kids. But that is not really teaching.

When it comes to fundamental pre-academic building blocks like counting, phonemic awareness, and so on, it is teachers giving the lessons and guiding the kids. Although of course 2 or 3 kids may work together on a work.

Our school is not AMI or AMS certified, so I don't know if their practices are standard.

OP here and this thread has gotten derailed by Montessori vs. play-based. At this point I am neutral - I want to go with whichever is the best fit for my child, which includes an adult spending a reasonable amount of time with said child. And in the two preschools I am considering, the ratios are 24:2, so I don’t see how the teachers will have much time to teach counting, phonemic awareness, etc. one-on-one with the kids. Don’t see how it justifies the $15k tuition, and yet people are definitely signing up...

Not all Montessoris are good, so you choose the school you like best, OP. Talk to the teachers, visit the classrooms, etc.

The teachers seem good, but again, with the high ratios, how much time will they really be spending with my child? I am wondering if it’s worth $15k tuition for that.

[Anonymous]

I’m our Montessori school kids “work” by learning how to read care tags on Patagonia jackets . The maid does the sweeping in our house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Don’t buy into the farce that the Kindergarteners teach the younger kids - they do not at all.

Ballet PP here. Want to respond to this point. In my experience, the kindergarteners are not in any way tasked with teaching younger kids complicated things like math or reading. When my children have described giving a lesson to a younger child, it is always something from practical life, like sponge squeezing, laundry folding, food prep, color mixing, and so on. Most kindergarteners are capable of teaching these types of tasks to younger children, and it's a really positive experience for both when managed well.

The only other example where I've seen kindergarteners do a teaching-like thing is reading aloud to younger kids. But that is not really teaching.

When it comes to fundamental pre-academic building blocks like counting, phonemic awareness, and so on, it is teachers giving the lessons and guiding the kids. Although of course 2 or 3 kids may work together on a work.

Our school is not AMI or AMS certified, so I don't know if their practices are standard.

OP here and this thread has gotten derailed by Montessori vs. play-based. At this point I am neutral - I want to go with whichever is the best fit for my child, which includes an adult spending a reasonable amount of time with said child. And in the two preschools I am considering, the ratios are 24:2, so I don’t see how the teachers will have much time to teach counting, phonemic awareness, etc. one-on-one with the kids. Don’t see how it justifies the $15k tuition, and yet people are definitely signing up...

Not all Montessoris are good, so you choose the school you like best, OP. Talk to the teachers, visit the classrooms, etc.

The teachers seem good, but again, with the high ratios, how much time will they really be spending with my child? I am wondering if it’s worth $15k tuition for that.

If you want one on one instruction and attention for a child, hire a tutor or keep kid at home with a nanny.


Our experience has been that Montessori teachers have no problem guiding each child sufficiently. Part of the beauty of the materials is that a child can explore them on their own after an initial introduction. The teacher may spend a few minutes one on one or in a small group with the child initially, then on to another student. Teacher is not running around doling out pipe cleaners and making sure each kid stamps their fingerprint snowman in the right spot one right after another for the duration of a 30 minute project. We've always found the classrooms to be much more peaceful than a 12 kid play class.

[Anonymous]

We've always found the classrooms to be much more peaceful than a 12 kid play class.

It’s more peaceful because the children are required to work independently as they use the materials in the way they have been instructed. This results in a very quiet classroom. A happy classroom contains children who are socializing with friends as well as with the teachers.

[Anonymous]

Bump - OP here - we plan to do half-day, so she’ll come home to eat lunch and nap and play. Afternoon will be completely free play. Given that, should we do Montessori in the morning so that she’s doing two different things each day?