Reply to Anyone ever give up LAMB for Inspired Teaching?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]LAMB is neither AMI nor AMS certified, and has no plans to be.  In fact, some of the parents and admin I encountered have no idea what the difference is between the two and seemed confused when I asked quest .about this.  They use the term "Montessori" but loosely apply the principles.  If you are not a Montessori purist, this may not matter to you.  I visited LAMB and am not at all impressed.  IMO, if I am going Montessori, I would go all the way where there is evidence that the curriculum  is great and works--see Lee & Shining Stars (despite their drama) for ex.[/quote]LAMB parent here. LAMB is about as Montessori as a public charter can be. Once you're in you'll be put in the loop with how difficult the DC bureaucracy makes it for schools to function in accordance with their mission statement. It's false that charters are left to their own devices. There's lots of interfering oversight to "keep it accountable", which is a lot of hullaballoo. When the DC government decided to was time to start testing pre-Kers with standardized test, which is totally inappropriate according to every childhood ed. worth a damn, LAMB tried to fight it. It's anti-child and certainly anti-Montessori. In fact, the children had to be taught how to fill in bubble Scantrons because they'd never seen that before (a non-starter in Montessori). Alas, LAMB was forced to take away from precious education time and focus on this DC requirement. Nonetheless, they still manage to do a fantastic job. Their instructors go to Montessori training in Latin America during summer and they try to make improvements wherever they can (and the conundrum of DC politics will let them). Maybe it's Montessori-lite, but I'll take it. I'd pay $20G on average if it were private. Funny how "Montessori purist" can try to discredit a free bilingual program serving arguably the most diverse pop. in DC- racially and socio-economically. Shameful, really. Or maybe just ignorant. At any rate, it's Tier 1, bilingual, and so much more.[/quote]

I have a problem with a school calling itself something it isnt. That is what is shameful and it does a disservice to Montessori. Clearly you, like a lot of LAMB parents are ignorant regarding the Montessori method, thereby proving my point. Both Lee and Shining Stars and to some extent CHML have done better than LAMB at Montessori. LAMB just needs to change its name and say it is Montessori inspired.

And Montessori pure doesn't mean there is no flexibility for children that learn differently or don't develop quickly in certain areas like reading, by the way. [/quote]

What is shameful is that PP makes these incorrect claims on every post.  LAMB regularly receives Montessori interns from AMS centers in Maryland and Monterrey, Mexico who receive their Montessori certificates THROUGH interning and working at LAMB under LAMB admin and master teachers.  If LAMB is not a real Montessori, why is AMS - who does supervisory visits to the school - allowing teacher to earn certification by working at LAMB? LAMB has a strong and good relationship with the Montessori advocacy groups and has not been shunned by the Montessori community. It has refused to pay the thousands of dollars to receive "accreditation" from AMI and AMS, however these continued public attacks on its reputation may force them to make the choice to seek AMS membership.  Would that make you happy, PP, or would you rather LAMB spend your tax dollars in the classroom?

[/quote]

Not who you are responding to, but I'm the poster who posted this upthread:

[quote]My child is at a traditional Montessori.

Some of the things they do at LAMB that are not strictly Montessori include things like not having a "controlled environment" for the kids. When I visited we saw a lot of work on the walls, for example (which Montessori claims is distracting). Also, parents are welcomed into the classroom (in pure Montessori it's the children's space and opportunities for parents to be part of the classroom are very minimal to non-existant). They also appear to do some work together as the entire classroom, rather than individual. And they use technology in the classroom which is not an accepted Montessori practice.

To be honest, in those areas I like the flexibility that LAMB has, rather than the rigidity of a traditional Montessori.

However, overall I wasn't impressed with our visit. The open house was chaotic and not very welcoming. The commute would also be tough for us. We didn't even apply for PK4.[/quote]

If anything I've said is incorrect please can you correct me.  That was my impression and if it's not the case, or if I can given incorrect information I'd like to know.  To me being a "Montessori purist" isnt' that important, but it looked pretty clear that LAMB is not "real" Montessori to the extent that my child's school is, for example, for the reasons I outlined above.  Am I wrong?  Is the classroom a controlled environment with everything clearly set out (one item of everything), no parents or other adults permitted and no distracting art work on the walls?  Is there no technology in the classroom?  How do they handle group work?  Do kids learn to write before they learn to read?  Do they work on cursive?  Are all the materials in the primary classroom Montessori materials?  Do the guides give lessons to individual students only?[/quote]

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