Any cons to Montessori schools/Montessori method?

[nikkid]

For various reasons, I'm considering sending my dd8 to a Montessori school by our house next year. (It's goes up to 8th grade, and we may qualify for a scholarship, so distance and money issues aside please.) It seems so perfect for her learning style. It makes me wonder...is it too good to be true?

*Anyone had any bad experiences with a Montessori school?

*Are there downsides to Montessori?

*Does too much student-control over pace of learning and what they want to do lead to spoiling when they get asked to do something they don't want to do at home? (We have homeschooled for 2 years now, and have not used Montessori, but more of an eclectic mix with classical ideas.)

 

I have a preschooler too that I may send as well. If he goes there for a year or two will it set him up to not enjoy anything else if we are not able to continue with Montessori for elementary years? (...we may be moving in a couple years. I guess the same concern could apply to my older too.)

 

Thanks so much for any advice.

Nikki

[jjins]

I am a trained teacher and have taught in many Montessori schools. I have to tell you the biggest downside is that Montessori method is not something that LOOKS or IS the same in every school. Maria Montessori did not want it like that, she wanted it to be flexible with the child.

 

I taught in a school recently where one of my children had a terrible classroom experience and my other child had a fantastic teacher and a great group of students.

 

I do not plan to teach again for several years (after mine are graduated), but when I do move schools I always interview the school as much as I am interviewed. ANY school can say they are a Montessori school. Any teacher can teach, even with Montessori training can either be an asset to the learning experience or a hindrance on the child.

 

All that aside. Montessori did a great job studying children and designing lessons that engage students, increases the already present joy for learning, students learn to appreciate our world as well as their place in it. In a good classroom students drive to be the best they can be, working to learn more and improve their own skills, not working for an A or working to be better than 'Johnny'.

 

It is not possible to put a Montessori classroom my home with only two children, because the community part of the classroom experience is HUGE. The three year age span and having a chance to be the youngest, middle, the oldest before going back to being the youngest cannot be simulated either. However, I am trained through 12 yrs old and do use Montessori philosophy and materials inspired by Montessori to educate my children (as well as other materials that work for our family).

 

I believe that Montessori education and classrooms are the best classrooms we can offer our children. You will have to visit and see how it feels for you and yours. Your children should be welcome to visit for long stretches of the day. You should be welcome to observe the classroom (do not expect it to be the same if you were not there - no on can do that, everyone is affected by the presence of a guest), but you should be able to see some foundations.

 

I would most certainly check out the Montessori options. The good schools are more than good, they are fantastic. Montessori educated children are very successful adults.

[PrincessMommy]

Well... I've been happy with the Montessori education my son (10) is getting. One downside I can think of is if you want a rigorous, classical education you will not be satisfied with Montessori. Sometimes I fret about that.

 

The other possible downside is that they do not have parents participate in class volunteering. I was rather bummed about that. I wanted to help out and see what school looked like, but it's just not how things are done in Montessori.

[Rbsmrter]

We started out with Montessori at home, but my kids have never actually been to a Montessori preschool (so take whatever I say with a grain of salt :001_smile:). With my daughter I found that, while it was student paced, it didnt progress rapidly enough. There are some things that you are discouraged from introducing before a certain age, even if the child expresses interest. Depending on how closely the school aligns with the philosophy, there might be some things your child isn't prevented from doing, but is discouraged from doing if they are not in the sensitive period for that particular area. For example, my daughter was ready to start reading well before I was supposed to actually be introducing the sandpaper letters and moveable alphabet. She also seemed to do better with more structured work. She might pick the knobless cylinders and play with them for a few minutes, but if I gave her extension activities for them and asked her to complete x amount, she was more focused and worked longer. She was just the type of learner that needed more structure. We eventually transitioned to workboxes, which still include Montessori work, but in a much more structured way. I have a friend with a daughter the same age and she had a similar approach, but last year she sent her to a Montessori school. After the school year was finished she decided to keep her home. She had a VERY difficult time transitioning her to a different school style at home. DD was very used to being able to select her own work and didn't like being told what work she had to complete. She tended to have a shorter attention span because she was used to being able to move along to the next activity, rather than be asking to do it for a certain amount of time or complete a certain amount of work. Of course none of those reasons would be enough of a justification not to send a child to a Montessori school. I really do love their approach, I just think it's tailored for a certain type of learner. I also think that it should be considered a long term solution. The Montessori style of teaching is very different from a lot of the other methods out there, so its difficult for a child to bounce back and forth between the two. I think the best results are achieved when you plan to keep a child in that time of environment for a long period of time. All of the work builds upon itself, so once they create that foundation in the primary years they can really flourish in the later elementary years.

[Shifra]

While I have never sent my children to a Montessori school, I have read many books on the Montessori method. One book, The Montessori Controversy by John Chattin-McNichols, states that studies show that children who have gone to Montessori schools tend to score lower on tests of creativity. And this book was written by a Montessori advocate! On all other measures, Montessori students are superior.

[Laura Corin]

Does your daughter learn through her hands? Calvin went to a Montessori school for a couple of years, but his teachers were mystified by him. He's an entirely hands-off learner (learns by reading/listening only). He diligently used the equipment but it made no connection in his brain (especially in maths).

 

Laura

[Chris in VA]

Ds went to a wonderful Monti school for 1st and 3rd. (And he repeated 3rd there, also.) They did not know how to handle his Aspie-tendencies. He did not learn well by inference, and sometimes needed more explicit guidance than was offered. He was not as self-scheduling or motivated. Monti philosophy attributes this to a poor prior environment. Ouch.

I felt the processes were not efficient, either--and had a couple other criticisms,

 

BUT--

 

He loved school. He felt comfortable in the peaceful, non-chaotic classroom, and really was so relieved when we put him back in after trying public school 2nd grade. I LOVED his teacher, the classroom (incredibly inviting, warm, beautiful, interesting) and his schoolmates. We once invited them all to a bowling party for his birthday, and they were cheering each other on, genuinely happy for each other's successes, and wow, you just don't see that very often. It is a noncompetitive environment, and no one really cares what level you are on in the 3-level classroom.

 

The academics were really fine, imo, and he did learn to read where other methods had failed miserably. (They use phonics.) I remember him taking home a Bob Book, the first he read, and actually taking it to bed with him. It was FANTASTIC.

 

If I could have lived in Texas longer, dd would have gone there. I wish I had sent my second son there. It was truly the best school experience we've had, hands-down.

 

ETA: I feel I should mention the school by name--St. James Montessori in Dallas. His teacher is now the Head, and a more wonderful woman I've never met.

Edited February 2, 2012 by Chris in VA

[nikkid]

Thanks all. We did our 1 hour tour this week and my dd8 is going in for 3 full days of observation next week. She is a hands-on learner, picks up on things quickly, and likes being in a multi age environment so I think it might really work for her. Especially removing the element of competition will reduce her slight anxiety. There are mirrors in each classroom where I can observe but they won't know I'm there so I plan to do some of that. I love how much respect and trust they show for the students.

Thanks for the advice.

Nikki

[rieshy]

Does your daughter learn through her hands? Calvin went to a Montessori school for a couple of years, but his teachers were mystified by him. He's an entirely hands-off learner (learns by reading/listening only). He diligently used the equipment but it made no connection in his brain (especially in maths).

 

Laura

 

My eldest was in a Montessori school for a couple of years too. He learns by reading, and discussing. Especially discussing. The math manipulatives made absolutely no sense to him. However, he was both highly creative and well behaved and could spend his math time quietly on his mat going through the motions while in his head the beads were spaceships and he was imagining an entirely non-math scenario.

 

For that reason alone Montessori was both enjoyable but not good for him.

 

His younger sister thrived in her Montessori classroom... It could have been the different teachers but I think it was mostly their different learning styles.

[MistyMountain]

It doesn't work for every kid and my dd is one of them. She went to 2 montessori preschools and it didn't work for her. It didn't encourage independence or a love a learning. She just clammed up and didn't even learn anything at her preschools. She never fully opened up and her teachers thought she was only speaking in short sentences and not able to do two step directions things she was doing years earlier. She felt put on the spot a lot with the method.

 

DD does much better with routine and she does not do good when she directs things even with engaging teachers and an environment set up for learning. She is doing much better in her class this year also does really well with homeschooling. Her teachers say she isn't a chatter box but she is holding full conversations and the kids like her. She does well with me too and I think she would do well with homeschooling and if I did send her to school with a school with a lot of structure and discipline.

 

We have montessori charter schools and open optional charters which is similar to montesorri in how they are set up and they are child directed. They score well and parents really like them but I don't think it would be a good fit for dd who needs structure and routine in a different way than montessori. She also more of an audio learner. I wish classical education was more popular here than the child directed stuff like montessori and open optional. DS would probably have done better with montessori than dd because he is a different kid and more kinestetic. He needs routine too but in a different way than dd. I know it was just preschool but I know the elementary schools are not the best fit for her either. If I sent my kids to school they almost might be better off in different schools.

Edited February 3, 2012 by MistyMountain

[Guest Student97]

As someone who has only ever attended a Montessori school, I can personally say it has many pros and cons. I am currently a sophomore at a Montessori high school and I hate it, Montessori simply is not suited for levels above the fifth grade. In my experience any higher and it is ineffectual. Montessori is great for younger children, but I have found it to limit my ability to learn, recently had the pleasure of meeting a potential student who chose a different school because the principal would not provide advanced placement for the high achieving members of our school. From what I have seen at a high school level the teachers will often bring the rest of a class down so that everyone is at the same pace as the least productive/intelligent student, hampering the ability of other students to learn. I would recommend Montessori for elementary so long as you have a helpful and enthusiastic teacher.

[awisha.]

Holy resurrected thread Batman!!!

[Mom0012]

We started out with Montessori at home, but my kids have never actually been to a Montessori preschool (so take whatever I say with a grain of salt :001_smile:). With my daughter I found that, while it was student paced, it didnt progress rapidly enough. There are some things that you are discouraged from introducing before a certain age, even if the child expresses interest. Depending on how closely the school aligns with the philosophy, there might be some things your child isn't prevented from doing, but is discouraged from doing if they are not in the sensitive period for that particular area. For example, my daughter was ready to start reading well before I was supposed to actually be introducing the sandpaper letters and moveable alphabet. She also seemed to do better with more structured work. She might pick the knobless cylinders and play with them for a few minutes, but if I gave her extension activities for them and asked her to complete x amount, she was more focused and worked longer. She was just the type of learner that needed more structure. We eventually transitioned to workboxes, which still include Montessori work, but in a much more structured way. I have a friend with a daughter the same age and she had a similar approach, but last year she sent her to a Montessori school. After the school year was finished she decided to keep her home. She had a VERY difficult time transitioning her to a different school style at home. DD was very used to being able to select her own work and didn't like being told what work she had to complete. She tended to have a shorter attention span because she was used to being able to move along to the next activity, rather than be asking to do it for a certain amount of time or complete a certain amount of work. Of course none of those reasons would be enough of a justification not to send a child to a Montessori school. I really do love their approach, I just think it's tailored for a certain type of learner. I also think that it should be considered a long term solution. The Montessori style of teaching is very different from a lot of the other methods out there, so its difficult for a child to bounce back and forth between the two. I think the best results are achieved when you plan to keep a child in that time of environment for a long period of time. All of the work builds upon itself, so once they create that foundation in the primary years they can really flourish in the later elementary years.

 

My sister is a public school teacher and she has had a lot of trouble with a little girl who was In a Montessori program last year. The girl is used to doing what she wants to when she wants to and now refuses to move with the class at public school. I would think this could be a temperament issue as well, though. As much as my dd might not like the structure of a classroom, I can't see her refusing to do as the teacher asked.

[almondbutterandjelly]

Old thread.