Why do parents who send their kids to Montessori seem to think their kids are better educated?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
It sounds like you're just projecting your own insecurities onto others. The fact that someone said something that implied they are proud of their child was not an insult to you or a form of one upsmanship and they don't have an obligation to not say it around you to protect you from your own insecurities. The fact that their kid happened to go to a Montessori as opposed to play based or any other preschool that could have made kindergarten seem unchallenging by comparison is entirely immaterial and pretending that you've made a poignant observation about parents if Montessori children when really you've just failed to deal with your own issues is kind of sad.

Poignant? Is "Why do parents who sent their kids to Montessori believe that their kids already know everything they're supposed to learn in kindergarten?" supposed to make us feel sad and regretful?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Does "Montessori" have any minimal standard whatsoever? I don't think so. Anyone can claim to be Montessori.

There is accreditation. You can't stop someone from saying they are Montessori, but only accredited schools that follow the model and have trained teachers can claim to be accredited, which is a differentiator.

One of my kids went to play-based preschool and one did Montessori. They are both very bright and learned to read early, but no question the one in Montessori learned more, across many dimensions (math, geography, practical life, science).

Things my non-Montessori, play-based preschool attending son could do before K:

--Knew the capital of every state
--Knew the location of every state (i.e. hand him a blank map and say, "Where is New Hampshire?" and he could point to it)
--Knew the planets in order
--Knew how to add and subtract numbers 12 and less
--Could read fluently (like Frog and Toad type books)
--Wrote sentences himself (as in, he'd sit down and would write on his own, unprompted: "Pleas do not tch this diaree. It is min" for "Please do not touch this diary. It is mine."

And this is why I CANNOT STAND when parents mention Montessori preschool as being some end all/be all of education. Kids are different. I just sit there with my mouth shut smiling at you "sympathizing" about how unstimulated your "poor" kid is in kindergarten but I'm thinking: STFU. My kid isn't unstimulated and it is hard to envision yours is above mine as far as his/her learning.

Maybe your friends are assholes. Maybe they're really excited that they've found a preschool that works really well for their kid. Maybe you should take it less personally, or be friends with people who don't suggest that your kid is stupid.

You misunderstand...this is NOT from the preschool attending set that blabs like this - it is from the kindergarten set. MEANING: Their kids formerly were in a Montessori preschool, and are now in public elementary school, and talk to me like "Oh poor Sally who has to sit there all day bored to tears because the curriculum is so, so beneath her ability because she went to (past tense) Montessori." All the while I'm thinking, seriously...stop.

When DD started public preschool, there were a lot of people who complained about their child's experience of the transition - whether that was from daycare, from a nanny, from a stay at home parent, or whatever. Maybe the curriculum IS beneath their child. The point of kindergarten is still to acclimate children to being in school at all. It doesn't need to be academically rigorous, and kids who are already acclimated to being in school at all may very well be bored with that agenda. It doesn't mean your kid is stupid so chill out.

I'm not going to 'chill out' - MY point is that I don't think kids get bored unless parents put that idea in their heads. My child has never said he is bored and he is the one reading far above kindergarten level. (If he is one of a few kids out of 60 who is pulled out for enrichment and he isn't bored...why would yours be?)

It sounds like you're just projecting your own insecurities onto others. The fact that someone said something that implied they are proud of their child was not an insult to you or a form of one upsmanship and they don't have an obligation to not say it around you to protect you from your own insecurities. The fact that their kid happened to go to a Montessori as opposed to play based or any other preschool that could have made kindergarten seem unchallenging by comparison is entirely immaterial and pretending that you've made a poignant observation about parents if Montessori children when really you've just failed to deal with your own issues is kind of sad.

Your response is nonsensical. A mom complained her kid was bored yet also said she wasn't pulled for enrichment. She can't be that "bored" then, can she? This is not about my issues. It is about being tired of hearing too many parents bragging about their kids....most without a true basis for doing so. Seems like you may have been/are one of those moms...

I still don't understand why you would care so much. Insecurity in your own accomplishments?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Your response is nonsensical. A mom complained her kid was bored yet also said she wasn't pulled for enrichment. She can't be that "bored" then, can she? This is not about my issues. It is about being tired of hearing too many parents bragging about their kids....most without a true basis for doing so. Seems like you may have been/are one of those moms...

Yet you are the woman who wrote this:

Things my non-Montessori, play-based preschool attending son could do before K:

--Knew the capital of every state
--Knew the location of every state (i.e. hand him a blank map and say, "Where is New Hampshire?" and he could point to it)
--Knew the planets in order
--Knew how to add and subtract numbers 12 and less
--Could read fluently (like Frog and Toad type books)
--Wrote sentences himself (as in, he'd sit down and would write on his own, unprompted: "Pleas do not tch this diaree. It is min" for "Please do not touch this diary. It is mine."

And this is why I CANNOT STAND when parents mention Montessori preschool as being some end all/be all of education. Kids are different. I just sit there with my mouth shut smiling at you "sympathizing" about how unstimulated your "poor" kid is in kindergarten but I'm thinking: STFU. My kid isn't unstimulated and it is hard to envision yours is above mine as far as his/her learning.

You seem to think you have a basis for bragging, don't you? You have a hard time envisioning a child above yours as far as her learning?

You have one child that is barely above grade level, and you think you can speak with authority on the subject of boredom in school? (And, everything you have listed is about average for mid kindergarten-1st grade, hardly advanced.) FWIW the smartest kid I met in kindergarten was not reading or doing math. He was a storyteller and inventor. He struggled in a rigid environment. He was truly brilliant. Scary brilliant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Your response is nonsensical. A mom complained her kid was bored yet also said she wasn't pulled for enrichment. She can't be that "bored" then, can she? This is not about my issues. It is about being tired of hearing too many parents bragging about their kids....most without a true basis for doing so. Seems like you may have been/are one of those moms...

Yet you are the woman who wrote this:

Things my non-Montessori, play-based preschool attending son could do before K:

--Knew the capital of every state
--Knew the location of every state (i.e. hand him a blank map and say, "Where is New Hampshire?" and he could point to it)
--Knew the planets in order
--Knew how to add and subtract numbers 12 and less
--Could read fluently (like Frog and Toad type books)
--Wrote sentences himself (as in, he'd sit down and would write on his own, unprompted: "Pleas do not tch this diaree. It is min" for "Please do not touch this diary. It is mine."

And this is why I CANNOT STAND when parents mention Montessori preschool as being some end all/be all of education. Kids are different. I just sit there with my mouth shut smiling at you "sympathizing" about how unstimulated your "poor" kid is in kindergarten but I'm thinking: STFU. My kid isn't unstimulated and it is hard to envision yours is above mine as far as his/her learning.

You seem to think you have a basis for bragging, don't you? You have a hard time envisioning a child above yours as far as her learning?

You have one child that is barely above grade level, and you think you can speak with authority on the subject of boredom in school? (And, everything you have listed is about average for mid kindergarten-1st grade, hardly advanced.) FWIW the smartest kid I met in kindergarten was not reading or doing math. He was a storyteller and inventor. He struggled in a rigid environment. He was truly brilliant. Scary brilliant.

No, I'm not bragging whatsoever. I'm simply saying that if my kid isn't bored, yours shouldn't be (on the basis of already knowing the material being taught). If your kid isn't being pulled out, then your kid doesn't know the material as the top tier in the grade does, and your kid shouldn't be 'bored' based on the reasoning that the material is a rehashing of what is already known. You're clearly one of "those moms" who I'm complaining about...

[Anonymous]

We're now having a discussion about the motivations of the parent who posted a question about the motivations of parents.

This is not meta enough for me. So: PP at 10:02, why do you care so much about why the OP cares so much?

[Anonymous]

What makes ANY parent think another parent wants to hear someone brag about his/her kid? It is SO obnoxious when parents do that: "Sasha is reading Harry Potter in kindergarten." "James is doing math 2 grades ahead." UGH!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What makes ANY parent think another parent wants to hear someone brag about his/her kid? It is SO obnoxious when parents do that: "Sasha is reading Harry Potter in kindergarten." "James is doing math 2 grades ahead." UGH!

Seriously. My kid is average. On track as far as reading. But after hearing other parents - I sometimes start to think she is behind. I need to stop listening!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe because it's true.

And pigs fly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe because it's true.

And pigs fly.

When other parents told me what their kids can do, I believe them. Why would they lie? For what purposes? Some kids are ahead. Some adults are smarter. Some people are richer and better looking.

[Anonymous]

Because its true. I have seen both.

[Anonymous]

My friend is a teacher at Montessori and she's a fucking idiot, bless her heart. Can't spell and barely write a coherent sentence at all, really. She's in her late twenties. She absolutely ADORES her kids but I'll tell you what, they aren't learning from the sharpest tools in the shed.

You are paying for ALL hype as far as I am concerned.

[Anonymous]

Ability to teach themselves.

They master "how to learn" as a life-long skill.

As long as they have the motivation, otherwise not the right environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Your response is nonsensical. A mom complained her kid was bored yet also said she wasn't pulled for enrichment. She can't be that "bored" then, can she? This is not about my issues. It is about being tired of hearing too many parents bragging about their kids....most without a true basis for doing so. Seems like you may have been/are one of those moms...

Yet you are the woman who wrote this:

Things my non-Montessori, play-based preschool attending son could do before K:

--Knew the capital of every state
--Knew the location of every state (i.e. hand him a blank map and say, "Where is New Hampshire?" and he could point to it)
--Knew the planets in order
--Knew how to add and subtract numbers 12 and less
--Could read fluently (like Frog and Toad type books)
--Wrote sentences himself (as in, he'd sit down and would write on his own, unprompted: "Pleas do not tch this diaree. It is min" for "Please do not touch this diary. It is mine."

And this is why I CANNOT STAND when parents mention Montessori preschool as being some end all/be all of education. Kids are different. I just sit there with my mouth shut smiling at you "sympathizing" about how unstimulated your "poor" kid is in kindergarten but I'm thinking: STFU. My kid isn't unstimulated and it is hard to envision yours is above mine as far as his/her learning.

You seem to think you have a basis for bragging, don't you? You have a hard time envisioning a child above yours as far as her learning?

You have one child that is barely above grade level, and you think you can speak with authority on the subject of boredom in school? (And, everything you have listed is about average for mid kindergarten-1st grade, hardly advanced.) FWIW the smartest kid I met in kindergarten was not reading or doing math. He was a storyteller and inventor. He struggled in a rigid environment. He was truly brilliant. Scary brilliant.

No, I'm not bragging whatsoever. I'm simply saying that if my kid isn't bored, yours shouldn't be (on the basis of already knowing the material being taught). If your kid isn't being pulled out, then your kid doesn't know the material as the top tier in the grade does, and your kid shouldn't be 'bored' based on the reasoning that the material is a rehashing of what is already known. You're clearly one of "those moms" who I'm complaining about...

My kids did not go to a montessori preschool, nor do I talk to anyone about their academics. It does not come up. It is weird that it comes up so much in your life. And, it looked a lot like bragging. You see it in others, but not yourself.

[Anonymous]

And this is why I CANNOT STAND when parents mention Montessori preschool as being some end all/be all of education. Kids are different. I just sit there with my mouth shut smiling at you "sympathizing" about how unstimulated your "poor" kid is in kindergarten but I'm thinking: STFU. My kid isn't unstimulated and it is hard to envision yours is above mine as far as his/her learning.

Hmmm...are you the MCPS staffer who helped create the horrible 2.0 curriculum from the other Maryland threads? Their kids are unstimulated because you created a HORRIBLE curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

And this is why I CANNOT STAND when parents mention Montessori preschool as being some end all/be all of education. Kids are different. I just sit there with my mouth shut smiling at you "sympathizing" about how unstimulated your "poor" kid is in kindergarten but I'm thinking: STFU. My kid isn't unstimulated and it is hard to envision yours is above mine as far as his/her learning.

Hmmm...are you the MCPS staffer who helped create the horrible 2.0 curriculum from the other Maryland threads? Their kids are unstimulated because you created a HORRIBLE curriculum.

Are you one of the parents with a child in MCPS who insists that your child did not learn one single atom of new anything in kindergarten, because 2.0? And that anybody who says on DCUM that they like 2.0 must be an MCPS plant, because everybody you know hates 2.0?