I didn't feel comfortable with Montessori or play-based philosophies. I'm so glad my DD squeaked through the academic-based system in PS one year before they switched to play-based. I have nothing against any of it, just didn't feel it was a good fit for DD.

Hey OP - if you don't like Montessori based on your tours alone (because you clearly haven't done any research or reading about the pedagogy), that's cool - leave the spot for a family who has done their homework about the method.

Enjoy your glorified daycare-oops, I meant play-based school.

I am confused - the article you linked to does not even mention Montessori. The article talks about the importance of sensory-based learning experiences as opposed to more "academic" learning experiences in early childhood education. There is a whole section of the curriculum in Montessori for sensorial experiences.

I think a popular misconception is that there is no "fun" in Montessori because when people take tours, the classrooms are relatively quiet in comparison to loud, screaming chaos. But it's relatively peaceful because the kids are "in the zone" -- they're often so absorbed and interested in what they are doing that they are totally focused on their activity. They select their activities or work based on their interest, fostering self-confidence and independent thought - the work is not foisted on them because everyone has to do the same thing in the class at the same time. The last time I was in a Montessori elementary classroom a few of the kids were writing a play together, one kid was doing research about Presidents because she was currently obsessed with Presidents, a few more were in a group working on some art project about the Pleistocene era, and a couple of kids came up to the teacher and asked if they could put an insect they had found under a microscope and examine it. Hardly mindless robots.

Also, I hate to trot this out because it's old hat by this point, but the founders of Google were Montessori kids and have cited their Montessori education as part of what helped shape their way of thinking, particularly the focus on fostering independence and choosing your own work.

I don't read anything by Washington Post's Valerie Strauss.

Anonymous wrote:Did you go to a play-based college?

Did you pre-schooler start taking the SATs?

OP, don't worry about it. Not everyone is able to/want to send their kids to Montessori schools. There are more play-based and traditional church-based preschools around, and they are almost always full, so it's balanced out.

Anonymous wrote:Only thing I am not wild about with our Montessori is the shortish (25 minutes?) recess time. It is only a half day program though so I suppose this is typical. All day kids go out in the afternoon again.

My youngest is in a Montessori program that also has a primary school, and the big kids have an hour of outside time a day, WAY more than my older child is getting in a public school. The littles get two half-hour recess periods, but also have access to a smaller outdoor fenced space where they can do their work on a nice day.

Your use of disparaging terms makes it plain you are looking for a fight rather than an intelligent discussion on the subject. Shame on you, OP.

Both of my children are highly creative and imaginative, and thrived in their traditional Montessori preschool. None of the students there were/are silent robots.

Montessori does not stifle anything, it channels. Maria Montessori was a scientist, and as a scientist myself, I appreciate the way critical thinking is fostered in her curriculum. Children are free to explore solutions and test them with the Montessori materials. We need people who think rationally in all walks of life, and Montessori creates the right environment for that. Reason and method are not the opposites of creativity. Indeed, they go together. No scientist could discover any wonder of nature if he or she hadn't imagined it first.

I'm not sure what the point of this post is...

The article doesn't say anything about Montessori. And sensory and social activities are explicitly part of the Montessori curriculum.

Did you go to a play-based college?

Um, then don't send your kid to a Montessori school? problem solved.

Gamut, not gambit.

Only thing I am not wild about with our Montessori is the shortish (25 minutes?) recess time. It is only a half day program though so I suppose this is typical. All day kids go out in the afternoon again.

Hi anti Montessori poster!

We went through the gambit of pre-schools for both our kids. We even went to some of the most expensive and highly rated Montessori schools in the area. In the end we felt that Montessori definitely put a stifle on free play and it was as if they were forced to go about their day like mindless silent robots. This article basically hit it on the head and hopefully parent's will give play based a stronger look.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/09/01/the-decline-of-play-in-preschoolers-and-the-rise-in-sensory-issues/?tid=pm_local_pop_b