Anonymous wrote:If you've paid attention to the performance of the schools that were recently up for charter renewal and allowed to continue to operate, you would know that SSMA is not at risk for being shut down. Not that it's not a sucky school, but because "public funds" and "accountability" are not in DCPCSB's vocabulary.

Anonymous wrote:Good grief. You all can debate until you are blue in the face. So much “expertise” amongst us. Who is going to step out from behind their computer and create a program where the children perfect the test, love it while doing so, and are fresh entrepreneurs (because my parent told me to be!) by age 18.

Jesus. I am so sad for so many of our growing children.

Good luck to truth! May they stay “true” to their mission of providing authentic Montessori education to children who so desperately need a break from their overbearing parents funneling them into a non-thinking but high scoring individual.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So is everyone just going to give up any hope of attending Walls, Banneker, McKinley Tech, if their kids have terrible PARCC scores? Or does "Truth" have a plan to improve test scores?

Montessori schools are traditionally designed for hands on learning, applied, learn to think, experiences. They are kind of the anti fill in the bubble memorize information testing.
I imagine the hands on self paced learning middle will work really well for kids that are below grade level if they have enough staff. That strikes me as the issue really. It would take a lot of time, class room management and extra staff to help older kids/teens adjust and learn how to function well in a Montessori environment. After all it was designed for preschool kid how are generally wired to be curious and learn. Teen are not necessarily wired that way, especially after years of miss matched or negative learning experiences.

It's not that teen's aren't "wired" to learn like preschoolers - it's that the learning is fundamentally different. By mid-late elementary, kids actually need curriculum and teachers to lead the instruction. They're not 3 year olds that can get what they need by pouring beads between cups, or whatever. Some direct instruction is needed; and for kids who are behind, even more direct instruction. And yes, that does mean you have to memorize some information.

I agree. It’s rare for a teen to be self directed. A generalization but even more rare for a teen who does not do well in school. Montessori sounds like a disaster for low performing teens.

It’s not about being self-directed. It’s that as learning gets more sophisticated, the ideas actually have to be taught by a knowledgeable person.

You can’t apply ideas if you don’t have a knowledge or content base to start with. Most of these kids lack that. It’s not a good approach for poor performing kids.

What has been proven to work in these kids is actually structure, direction, and direct instruction like the KIPP model.

that’s what all kids serious about learning content need - not just “those” kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So is everyone just going to give up any hope of attending Walls, Banneker, McKinley Tech, if their kids have terrible PARCC scores? Or does "Truth" have a plan to improve test scores?

Montessori schools are traditionally designed for hands on learning, applied, learn to think, experiences. They are kind of the anti fill in the bubble memorize information testing.
I imagine the hands on self paced learning middle will work really well for kids that are below grade level if they have enough staff. That strikes me as the issue really. It would take a lot of time, class room management and extra staff to help older kids/teens adjust and learn how to function well in a Montessori environment. After all it was designed for preschool kid how are generally wired to be curious and learn. Teen are not necessarily wired that way, especially after years of miss matched or negative learning experiences.

It's not that teen's aren't "wired" to learn like preschoolers - it's that the learning is fundamentally different. By mid-late elementary, kids actually need curriculum and teachers to lead the instruction. They're not 3 year olds that can get what they need by pouring beads between cups, or whatever. Some direct instruction is needed; and for kids who are behind, even more direct instruction. And yes, that does mean you have to memorize some information.

I agree. It’s rare for a teen to be self directed. A generalization but even more rare for a teen who does not do well in school. Montessori sounds like a disaster for low performing teens.

It’s not about being self-directed. It’s that as learning gets more sophisticated, the ideas actually have to be taught by a knowledgeable person.

You can’t apply ideas if you don’t have a knowledge or content base to start with. Most of these kids lack that. It’s not a good approach for poor performing kids.

What has been proven to work in these kids is actually structure, direction, and direct instruction like the KIPP model.

How are they going to self-directedly learn actual middle school level content if they're several years behind in reading and math? Because that's what a lot of the feeder school kids are, and a lot of the new kids will be too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So is everyone just going to give up any hope of attending Walls, Banneker, McKinley Tech, if their kids have terrible PARCC scores? Or does "Truth" have a plan to improve test scores?

Montessori schools are traditionally designed for hands on learning, applied, learn to think, experiences. They are kind of the anti fill in the bubble memorize information testing.
I imagine the hands on self paced learning middle will work really well for kids that are below grade level if they have enough staff. That strikes me as the issue really. It would take a lot of time, class room management and extra staff to help older kids/teens adjust and learn how to function well in a Montessori environment. After all it was designed for preschool kid how are generally wired to be curious and learn. Teen are not necessarily wired that way, especially after years of miss matched or negative learning experiences.

It's not that teen's aren't "wired" to learn like preschoolers - it's that the learning is fundamentally different. By mid-late elementary, kids actually need curriculum and teachers to lead the instruction. They're not 3 year olds that can get what they need by pouring beads between cups, or whatever. Some direct instruction is needed; and for kids who are behind, even more direct instruction. And yes, that does mean you have to memorize some information.

I agree. It’s rare for a teen to be self directed. A generalization but even more rare for a teen who does not do well in school. Montessori sounds like a disaster for low performing teens.

It’s not about being self-directed. It’s that as learning gets more sophisticated, the ideas actually have to be taught by a knowledgeable person.

You can’t apply ideas if you don’t have a knowledge or content base to start with. Most of these kids lack that. It’s not a good approach for poor performing kids.

What has been proven to work in these kids is actually structure, direction, and direct instruction like the KIPP model.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So is everyone just going to give up any hope of attending Walls, Banneker, McKinley Tech, if their kids have terrible PARCC scores? Or does "Truth" have a plan to improve test scores?

Montessori schools are traditionally designed for hands on learning, applied, learn to think, experiences. They are kind of the anti fill in the bubble memorize information testing.
I imagine the hands on self paced learning middle will work really well for kids that are below grade level if they have enough staff. That strikes me as the issue really. It would take a lot of time, class room management and extra staff to help older kids/teens adjust and learn how to function well in a Montessori environment. After all it was designed for preschool kid how are generally wired to be curious and learn. Teen are not necessarily wired that way, especially after years of miss matched or negative learning experiences.

It's not that teen's aren't "wired" to learn like preschoolers - it's that the learning is fundamentally different. By mid-late elementary, kids actually need curriculum and teachers to lead the instruction. They're not 3 year olds that can get what they need by pouring beads between cups, or whatever. Some direct instruction is needed; and for kids who are behind, even more direct instruction. And yes, that does mean you have to memorize some information.

I agree. It’s rare for a teen to be self directed. A generalization but even more rare for a teen who does not do well in school. Montessori sounds like a disaster for low performing teens.

It’s not about being self-directed. It’s that as learning gets more sophisticated, the ideas actually have to be taught by a knowledgeable person.

You can’t apply ideas if you don’t have a knowledge or content base to start with. Most of these kids lack that. It’s not a good approach for poor performing kids.

What has been proven to work in these kids is actually structure, direction, and direct instruction like the KIPP model.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So is everyone just going to give up any hope of attending Walls, Banneker, McKinley Tech, if their kids have terrible PARCC scores? Or does "Truth" have a plan to improve test scores?

Montessori schools are traditionally designed for hands on learning, applied, learn to think, experiences. They are kind of the anti fill in the bubble memorize information testing.
I imagine the hands on self paced learning middle will work really well for kids that are below grade level if they have enough staff. That strikes me as the issue really. It would take a lot of time, class room management and extra staff to help older kids/teens adjust and learn how to function well in a Montessori environment. After all it was designed for preschool kid how are generally wired to be curious and learn. Teen are not necessarily wired that way, especially after years of miss matched or negative learning experiences.

It's not that teen's aren't "wired" to learn like preschoolers - it's that the learning is fundamentally different. By mid-late elementary, kids actually need curriculum and teachers to lead the instruction. They're not 3 year olds that can get what they need by pouring beads between cups, or whatever. Some direct instruction is needed; and for kids who are behind, even more direct instruction. And yes, that does mean you have to memorize some information.

I agree. It’s rare for a teen to be self directed. A generalization but even more rare for a teen who does not do well in school. Montessori sounds like a disaster for low performing teens.

It’s not about being self-directed. It’s that as learning gets more sophisticated, the ideas actually have to be taught by a knowledgeable person.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So is everyone just going to give up any hope of attending Walls, Banneker, McKinley Tech, if their kids have terrible PARCC scores? Or does "Truth" have a plan to improve test scores?

Montessori schools are traditionally designed for hands on learning, applied, learn to think, experiences. They are kind of the anti fill in the bubble memorize information testing.
I imagine the hands on self paced learning middle will work really well for kids that are below grade level if they have enough staff. That strikes me as the issue really. It would take a lot of time, class room management and extra staff to help older kids/teens adjust and learn how to function well in a Montessori environment. After all it was designed for preschool kid how are generally wired to be curious and learn. Teen are not necessarily wired that way, especially after years of miss matched or negative learning experiences.

It's not that teen's aren't "wired" to learn like preschoolers - it's that the learning is fundamentally different. By mid-late elementary, kids actually need curriculum and teachers to lead the instruction. They're not 3 year olds that can get what they need by pouring beads between cups, or whatever. Some direct instruction is needed; and for kids who are behind, even more direct instruction. And yes, that does mean you have to memorize some information.

I agree. It’s rare for a teen to be self directed. A generalization but even more rare for a teen who does not do well in school. Montessori sounds like a disaster for low performing teens.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So is everyone just going to give up any hope of attending Walls, Banneker, McKinley Tech, if their kids have terrible PARCC scores? Or does "Truth" have a plan to improve test scores?

Montessori schools are traditionally designed for hands on learning, applied, learn to think, experiences. They are kind of the anti fill in the bubble memorize information testing.
I imagine the hands on self paced learning middle will work really well for kids that are below grade level if they have enough staff. That strikes me as the issue really. It would take a lot of time, class room management and extra staff to help older kids/teens adjust and learn how to function well in a Montessori environment. After all it was designed for preschool kid how are generally wired to be curious and learn. Teen are not necessarily wired that way, especially after years of miss matched or negative learning experiences.

It's not that teen's aren't "wired" to learn like preschoolers - it's that the learning is fundamentally different. By mid-late elementary, kids actually need curriculum and teachers to lead the instruction. They're not 3 year olds that can get what they need by pouring beads between cups, or whatever. Some direct instruction is needed; and for kids who are behind, even more direct instruction. And yes, that does mean you have to memorize some information.