I'm a DC Montessorian. AMA.
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Anonymous
At least their rooms are large. The ones near us are 26 kids and two teachers in a room half the size of the ones at Franklin. And a poorer playground besides. |
Anonymous
| Thoughts on Auguste Montessori in upper NW? |
Anonymous
| OP here- been out of town! Will post some replies tonight. |
Anonymous
Haven't observed, worked, or met anyone from there. Their AMI status is a good sign, though. |
Anonymous
I thought about doing my training there some time ago and turned it down in favor of AMI. Gorgeous campus and a pretty diverse student body. High standards for their classrooms, and very beautiful spaces. I didn't feel like I clicked with the staff, but that's a personal thing that doesn't have any basis in the classrooms themselves. |
Anonymous
|
OP here, as well as the two previous posts.
Folks, keep in mind that 25-30 is a good number, IF and ONLY IF the space is available. Cramming kids in is bad news bears, but that high number in a large classroom is perfect! |
Anonymous
Can one lead teacher with able bodied, but perhaps not Montessori certified assistants, handle a class that size? |
Anonymous
Please explain why 25-30 kids is necessary for Montessori to work. I am genuinely curious. I am the PP with a child at Franklin. I am not convinced that you need that many kids in a classroom at all. |
Anonymous
| What is your opinion of Montessori schools who turn down children older than 3 if they do not have 'previous Montessori experience'? Is the Montessori method really something that can't be taught to a new child? |
Anonymous
OP: I'm going to post an excellent take on the subject but I just don't understand parents who send their kids to Montessori schools without researching some of THE most basic fundamentals. I hope this doesn't come across as snarky, but I just cannot wrap my head around it. "Parents and traditional early childhood educators always begin by questioning our large group sizes and Montessori's tradition of working with three different age groups in the same class. Traditional pre-schools strive for very small group sizes, and boast of ratios as low as five children to one adult. Naturally, with all this emphasis on small class size and low teacher/child ratios, parents often wonder why Montessori classes are so much larger. The answer stems from a fundamental difference in our perception of how children can be best helped to learn. Traditionally, parents and educators have assumed that the classroom teacher is the source of instruction. By this reasoning, the lower the pupil/teacher ratio, the more time an individual child can receive and the better the educational experience. The facts as shown by a number of studies is that, except where ratios fall as low as four to one or when they climb to more than forty students in a room, research has not been able to find that class size in itself is the link with effective teaching. As any parent who has worked with five to ten children will attest, each individual child is a real person with a demanding set of expectations, opinions, interests, and needs. In a traditional classroom, whether teachers work with ten children or thirty, they spend most of their time either talks to the entire class or working with one or two children at a time while the other child listen, daydream, or sleep. Teacher time is a very limited resource. The most effective teachers succeed not because their classes are smaller, but because they have found teaching strategies that really work. They allow excellent teachers, not matter what setting they teach in, to individualize instruction and facilitate learning for the entire class while they focus their attention on a few children at a time. Parents and teachers sometimes fantasize about classes that are essentially one-on-one tutorial situations. But the best teacher of a three-year-old is often another child who is just a little bit older and has mastered a skill. This process is good for both the tutor and the younger child. In this situation, the teacher is not the primary focus. The larger group size in the Montessori class puts the focus less on the adult and encourages children to learn from each other. By having enough children in each age group, all students will find others at their developmental level." |
Anonymous
OP: Oh, it's a load of crap. Sure, it can be mildly more difficult depending on the child, but it's just another classic example of picky picky private Montessori. We get six year olds who integrate just fine. In case you can't tell, I'm a bit critical of private Montessori schools. |
Anonymous
OP: Both teachers need serious training. Believe me, having untrained assistants is bad news. |
Anonymous
| OP: Just a sidenote, people, MAKE SURE YOUR LEADS ARE ACTUALLY TRAINED. Lots of "Monte-something" small private schools put their teachers in an online crash course program that is completely useless, and will tell parents that they are more qualified then they really are. |
Anonymous
Not OP, but I can tell you it isn't necessary. All the schools that have a better reputation and happier teachers have more help and less children. Unless at least one assistant is very good it can be a nightmare to have over 25 children. The amount of teaching that goes on from older to younger children in large classrooms is very small. For the most part, children the same age are learning from one another on the same activity. Also just time wise it's impossible for one teacher to get to all the children in a day in a class that large. I do think 30 children with 2 good assistants who actually help teach the 3 and 4 year olds and a floater teacher as well is a great classroom especially if there are close to 10 kindergarteners, but that rarely happens. Franklin does have a lot of additional staff giving the lead teacher breaks, so I think their rooms of 30 might work pretty well with a strong teacher and assistant. |
Anonymous
| I believe that 25-30 preschoolers in any room is a terrible idea. Children thrive with the facilitation of loving, trained teachers and assistants. They also learn from each other but the guidance and co-learning that comes in a good play based school is the best, in my opinion. |