Is Montessori really "for every child?"

[Anonymous]

Please, no snark. I've visited a couple of Montessoris, and I really want to like the model. But I just don't see how my son would fit, despite being told a million times that this model can work for any child. I live near two decent Montessori schools and would like to put them on my lottery list, but I'm just not yet sold that this would work for every child. My son is not the most outgoing or confident child and has a bit of a speech delay. So please, honest question - does Montessori really work for every child? Have any of you seen or been in a situation where it simply wasn't a good fit, and why? And if there are traits that you think would make a child more or less successful, please share! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I think you should follow your gut. You know your child better than anyone and if you don't think its a good fit it probably isn't. While I have had only good experience with the method I do have experience with being unhappy with DCs school and the stress of having to change schools mid year. If you can avoid it, especially with your child being shy, I would.

[Anonymous]

Compare to the traditional classroom which also is not for every child. Individualized pace of Montessori means that children can learn at thier own pace. Traditional classrooms teach to the middle not the individual.

[Anonymous]

I think those issues would need to be carefully considered no matter what type of school you go to. Maybe meet with the principal and teachers for the first few years and get a sense of their approach?

[Anonymous]

Just my experience, bu I have two children with completely opposite personalities, strengths, learning styles, etc and I have seen Montessori work well for both of them.

My older son who is very quiet and independent thrives, especially now that he is older and modelling for younger children.

Our outgoing son is the one more likely to need affirmation from the group, so Montessori worked well, especially in the PK3 year as the older students helped.

The older one is a great control for comparison and despite their different personalities, the younger is learning at close to the same pace and timetable as his older brother did.

[Anonymous]

Our son is (or definitely was, at 3 - he's come out of his shell a bit now and some of his speech delays have been addressed) a lot like you describe your son. We felt the Montessori's we visited near our house were not a good fit at all for him. He went to a play/reggio preschool and has loved it. The emphasis on social interaction and giving children lots of opportunities to participate, lead, and contribute within the group, emphasis on collaboration, and small class sizes have benefitted him a lot. All Montessori's apply their principles a little differently, so some might have some of these more play-based features incorporated in to their program. The ones we looked at may have been good at instilling confidence in the sense of "look, I can accomplish this puzzle/work/reading" but my son actually did have that kind of internal confidence -- he was just shy and unsure of himself when he was around larger groups of kids and needed lots of opportunities to interact socially in an environment he felt safe in. And good, experienced teachers talented at getting kids to come of their shells and engage fully are probably the key no matter what type of program. I agree w/ PP that you should trust your gut - you know your kid best.

[Anonymous]

OP here - 15:55, your child sounds EXACTLY like mine. Would you be willing to share your child's school?

[Anonymous]

I think the child most likely to struggle with Montessori will also struggle with a regular classroom that has a lot of independent work too. The child who has difficulty choosing, starting, working independently, following through and finishing, and blocking out what others are doing, may struggle. But these are also the very things that Montessori tries to instill, so while a struggle, it may be the very struggle the child needs to develop these skills.

[Anonymous]

DS1-- active, competitive, social and joyful. He did not do well with the quieter times in the Montessori classroom. After a year of having his (wonderful!) teachers calm him down and redirect daily, he still wasn't getting closer to becoming an independent worker, so we did not begin the second year. They promised that things would change if we stayed, once he was one of the older learners...but it felt like we were trying to force him to be a different kind of kid.

[Anonymous]

I also have 2 kids with very different personalities both in Montessori, and both have thrived academically and socially. I've also watched many of their classmates grown up with a wide variety of personalities, learning disabilities, etc and seen many of these kids thrive too. So I think it can work for lots of kids.

However, while a perfect implementation of the Montessori method can work for almost any child, I believe, no school, classroom, or teacher is going to be perfect. Everyone implements slightly differently, due to philosophical differences (AMI vs. AMS, etc), operating differences (private vs. public school), as well as differences in administrators' and teachers' training, skill, and raw talent.

So you need to visit each specific school you are considering and observe the classroom, talk to the kids, the teachers, the administrators, and see how you feel it would work for your kid. The Montessori label is no guarantee of anything, good or bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the child most likely to struggle with Montessori will also struggle with a regular classroom that has a lot of independent work too. The child who has difficulty choosing, starting, working independently, following through and finishing, and blocking out what others are doing, may struggle. But these are also the very things that Montessori tries to instill, so while a struggle, it may be the very struggle the child needs to develop these skills.

Yes, I feel like my child needs Montessori because he "has difficulty choosing, starting, working independently, following through and finishing, and blocking out what others are doing." I do think he's struggle in a traditional classroom too, but it might be missed for a while because he is good at sitting in a circle, listening and watching and will happily play mostly alone during free play.

[Anonymous]

This was my biggest challenge when choosing schools last year. I had one twin whom I then believed was "Montessori material" and one who is high-energy, unfocused, spirited. I spent a great deal of time talking with the school leadership and their student support specialist, who sold me on the Montessori is for every child model. 8 months later, my kids are thriving and I'm not a believer.

I think Lee and Logan both have staff dedicated to kids who need pull-outs or more hands on attention in addition to other special needs, but I'd leave that to someone else to confirm. (Not sure about SSMA)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the child most likely to struggle with Montessori will also struggle with a regular classroom that has a lot of independent work too. The child who has difficulty choosing, starting, working independently, following through and finishing, and blocking out what others are doing, may struggle. But these are also the very things that Montessori tries to instill, so while a struggle, it may be the very struggle the child needs to develop these skills.

Not true, my speech delayed child does great with a structured traditional classroom because it is consistent and he understands the routines.

[Anonymous]

No, Montessori is not for every child. I was a Montessori "reject" - it works for many, many children but not every child.

[Anonymous]

I am a Montessori teacher.
Each Montessori school and teacher are different.
OP, it is a question of finding the RIGHT school and teacher, regardless of the philosophy...,