Montessori?

[Kathleen.]

My 8yo has the chance to attend third grade at a Montessori charter school that's opening in the Fall in our area. The class will be 1st grade-3rd grade with a total of 30 kids (10 of each).

 

I know that it will be very different. I'm trying to imagine what the day would be like and am only picturing the stereotypes of kids freely moving about working at their own pace doing self elected activities. How do you present lessons to three different ages? Can someone fill in the blanks of what actually goes on in a typical day from start to finish? Your thoughts are very much appreciated.

[fourisenough]

My daughter attended a brand new Montessori charter school that opened in our area two years ago (she was in 4th grade). I had such high hopes: it was a beautiful facility, there was a motivated staff, and it was equipped with fantastic, shiny new Montessori materials. Unfortunately, it was a disappointment all the way around. Most of the kids were new to the Montessori philosophy, so there was a very long learning curve. Until they could be trusted with all the freedom and responsibility of a M. classroom, it was pretty much public school-light. So many of the kids didn't have the self-discipline to manage the independence that there was a lot of disruptive behavior, which naturally drew the teacher's attention away from teaching and forced her to devote her energy to discipline. We stuck it out until spring break, but pulled her to homeschool at that point.

 

If I had it to do over again, I'd never enroll during the initial year of a charter school; there were just too many kinks to work out and no chance to visit a functioning classroom to get a good feel for it before taking the plunge.

 

That was our experience, but yours may be very different. Good luck with the decision.

[Kathleen.]

Thanks for the insight. This charter school is by lottery. I never really intended to send her there, but her number was picked and now it might be a possibility. She currently attends a private school with only ten kids in her class and we feel it's way too small (there are other reasons too). Our choices are an established Catholic school that has all the latest technology and a good feel to it or the new Montessori charter school that I'm hoping is a more relaxed atmosphere. But it's hard to decide.

[HappyCamper]

We also tried a new charter school a few years ago that promised Montessori components (which I loved). Our experience was very similar to the prior poster except we did not have nice facilities or materials due to budget issues.

[Guest Sonja Johnson]

A complaint that I heard from a Montessori trainer is that the rigor just isn't there for the children when they reach higher levels. She has worked hard at the University level to try to implement changes in that area to no avail. She chose to educate her children non-Montessori. That made a huge impression on me.

[wapiti]

There is no "quality control" when it comes to Montessori - any school can call itself that, and adhere more or less strictly to Montessori principles.

I'd be wary of a brand new charter. Montessori takes a lot of commitment and experience. It's not easy to find great Montessori teachers - there are many gems that can hold down the fort, but that doesn't do much good if your child is stuck in the classroom with the weak teacher.

Edited March 9, 2014 by wapiti

[nd293]

30 kids with 1 teacher would be high for a Montessori set-up. Are there any assistants? The two Grade 5-7 classes in dd11's school have around 15 kids each - the younger classes have around 20 children, but I think they have an assistant, at least part-time.

 

Montessori in the Classroom by Paula Polk Lillard gives a day-to-day account of a preschool Montessori class - some of the issues she comes across might be relevant. She talks extensively about the problems of dealing with a full class of children new to Montessori.

 

Dd11 (Grade 6) is in the "Upper Primary" Montessori level. The classroom operates very much as we did at home. She gets given a workload at the beginning of the week, and works through it at will, although there are set lessons along the way. When lessons are given, they are given in small groups, with the children grouped according to ability, rather than Grade level: e.g. Dd is in the lowest foreign language group (as she is new to the language), the middle maths group and the upper English group. Otherwise, the biggest differences to a traditional school is the weird combination of a constant hum of activity and movement with relatively little disruptive and/or disrespectful behaviour. The children have more freedom to work outside the classroom (e.g. doing science experiments on the grass outside) than you would see in a traditional set-up. As well as doing set lessons, the teacher moves around between individual children checking what they are working on and how they are going.

 

Incidently, the school dd attends is not keen to take children who have been in the traditional school system - their experience is that these children cannot easily adapt to the degree of independence Montessori requires. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule.

[Kathleen.]

There are 30 kids with ten from each grade 1, 2 and 3. I think that's a lot, but was told by a founding family that it's the norm. After reading these posts I'm wondering if the first year will be a waste with everyone adjusting to the system.

We were driving by the school site located in a business park and I did not feel excited about sending my daughter to a random building with no place to play outside. I know it's a new school and just starting out, but I want my daughter to have a good experience.

 

On the flip side, she did a shadow day at a Catholic school and loved having her own desk and going to a cafeteria. Her current school has no cafeteria and the classrooms have tables only. They do tons of projects and hands-on activities. The class size is too small (10) and created problems this year that were never resolved. So we've been looking at schools the last few months. I don't want to send her to our local public school. So we're left with few options. We've thought of homeschooling but she's been in school long enough that she wants to go. We just have to figure out where.

[nd293]

There are 30 kids with ten from each grade 1, 2 and 3. I think that's a lot, but was told by a founding family that it's the norm. After reading these posts I'm wondering if the first year will be a waste with everyone adjusting to the system.

We were driving by the school site located in a business park and I did not feel excited about sending my daughter to a random building with no place to play outside. I know it's a new school and just starting out, but I want my daughter to have a good experience.

 

 

One of the strengths of Montessori is the mixed age group classes, which allow the older children to lead the younger ones. In the Montessori in the Classroom book I mentioned in my previous post, the author says that a new Montessori class should ideally start with a third of the total number, adding a third of younger children each year (or words to that effect). So I agree, the first year or so in a new school might be tough going.

 

Do you know where the teachers are coming from? How experienced are they? What sort of reputation did their last school have? Those are the questions I'd be asking.

 

Regarding the playground: I am not sure if this is standard for Montessori, but there is no traditional playground in dd's school - no swings, slides, climbing frame. The younger kids have a sandpit, sticks and logs, and a water channel. The school grounds are very beautiful, though, in natural bushland.

[Kathleen.]

The principal is still in the hiring stages so no teachers yet. And the principal can only be reached by e-mail since he has no office since they have yet to begin preparing the site.

 

The "playground" will be a fenced in area in the parking lot. It's in a business park so there are no surrounding green areas other than the grass between the parking lots and streets.

[bolt.]

My daughter is in grade one at a Montessori alternative school. Our experience has been great. The kids ate self motivated and focused in an age-appropriate way. Hers is a grade 1+2 classroom, about 18 kids and one teacher. There is a daily shedule involving some large group activites, some individual time to work with materials, and some small group presentations of materials. The whole day is not 'choose your own material' time, just some of it.

 

The kids receive individual teaching, but not constantly, obviously. Kids are encouraged to be focused on work, but they are not 'pushed' their motivation is respected, even if it involves a lack of motivation. I think that's why it's hard for force-fed kids to just be about their work from internal motivation. In M, learning is fascinating, and that's why it happens. If a child has reason to believe learning won't be satisfying in that special way, they are set up by those experiences to resist engaging with the materials for pure satisfaction. It can take a while to get past or through that resistance, and a good M teacher will not try to overcome it with pressure. You can see why that might not meet some parents expectations.

[bolt.]

My daughter is in grade one at a Montessori alternative school. Our experience has been great. The kids ate self motivated and focused in an age-appropriate way. Hers is a grade 1+2 classroom, about 18 kids and one teacher. There is a daily shedule involving some large group activites, some individual time to work with materials, and some small group presentations of materials. The whole day is not 'choose your own material' time, just some of it.

 

The kids receive individual teaching, but not constantly, obviously. Kids are encouraged to be focused on work, but they are not 'pushed' their motivation is respected, even if it involves a lack of motivation. I think that's why it's hard for force-fed kids to just be about their work from internal motivation. In M, learning is fascinating, and that's why it happens. If a child has reason to believe learning won't be satisfying in that special way, they are set up by those experiences to resist engaging with the materials for pure satisfaction. It can take a while to get past or through that resistance, and a good M teacher will not try to overcome it with pressure. You can see why that might not meet some parents expectations.

[Mo_Babee]

I am not a montessori parent but in my opinion I would give it a chance. Worse case scenario, it doesn't work and next year you pull her and place her in the Catholic school. Best case, she loves it, you love it and she grows with the program.

 

My ods was a part of the first group of spanish immersion students in his school. It was rocky that first year and a few parents pulled their children which was to be expected. For the ones who stayed, our children are now in 3rd grade and we all love the program. My yds is now also in the program now and dd will be in 4 years. There's still some growing pains that's happening because they are the first but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I say give it a chance.

[Guest LaraK]

Hi,

 

I just registered and I'm new here. I see this question was from a while ago but I wanted to weigh in, because here is something I might actually know about. I am a public school teacher with a lot of Montessori training, because our school has been undergoing a transformation into a Montessori magnet school. There was a lot of good feedback about the pros and cons of the Montessori method itself, and the good thing is that Montessori curriculum is uniform and easy to research. If it is an accredited Montessori school there should be no surprises (if it's new, ask if they plan to follow the curriculum to the letter.) You can even browse a Montessori catalogue and look at the materials available for teachers. That will give you an excellent idea of what is covered. As someone with an interest in classical education, you would probably want to supplement the reading and history. (I am a middle school English and history teacher, and I unfortunately don't know as much about the merits of Montessori math education.)

 

What I would like to say, however, is that the ideal Montessori classroom is extraordinarily difficult to recreate in real life. I think that this potential school is a public school (can't go back and reread the original post now, alas.) That means that they will most likely make modifications to the Montessori method. Private M schools have three teachers in a typical elementary classroom. Our public M school didn't have that. Private schools also frequently expel or deny admittance to students whom they believe will not flourish in a M setting; public schools do not have that option. So while the classroom of a private M school may be humming with the quiet busyness of students with years of M experience, in my experience, a public M classroom (as was the case in my school) may be chaotic. This will definitely be the case in a school's first year, and it will definitely be the case in older grades in which the children did not have previous M experience.

 

Those potentialities are not necessarily reasons to turn down the opportunity, but I just wanted you to bear them in mind.

[Princess5]

Hi Kathleen. The school you mention sounds familiar to the o e my dd will go this fall. Is it Carroll creek school in Fredrick md?

[Blessedmomof4:)]

I had always heard of Montessori school but never understood what it was. This has been very eye opening!

[Guest WellMinded]

My local Montessori School just launched an incredible video that defines exactly what Montessori is all about! Take a look: http://youtu.be/JJ8Emb0eUUU 

[Cammom220]

You have a lot of replies! My son attends a school that is montessori through second grade, then switches to a more traditional classroom 3rd and up. First, I want to say that i toured the school with a close eye on the math program--DS would be fine even in a mediocre language arts program, but needs top notch math to meet his early potential. I also wanted to see how the classrooms are managed- with skilled teachers, and students with few learning problems, very well in our case. 

 

Why I love montessori:

1. for younger elementary, if it's done right, it can teach the most powerful lessons of independence and motivation. 

2. young kids can achieve excellent number fluency because the materials 

3. kids can work at their own pace- they are not penalized with a lot of seat time and boredom for understanding things quickly

4. If you have a "full speed ahead" kid like mine, montessori is awesome- my ds is leaping through the program, and his teachers just keep it coming. 

 

I think for a child your daughter's age-- you're right to be nervous. Classroom management is predicated on children who are able to manage themselves. The later elementary years are when kids are learning hard skills to prepare for the writing and math expectations of middle school. Rocking the boat in an untried school with a non traditional curriculum, would make cause me some angst. 

[jenbrdsly]

Lara K had a great answer, and so did others. My only addition, as a former non-Montessori/charter school teacher, is that the first year of ANY charter school can be rough. That would probably be true of any brand-new organization. Plus, (and I say this as a big supporter of charter schools) charter schools often attract a higher percentage of children who had difficultly being successful in traditional environments. This is even more true the first year a charter school opens. In layman's terms, that means the first year a charter school opens it usually has a higher than normal percentage of students with behavior problems.

[toawh]

As a Montessori teacher, I would ask to sit in for a morning of observation. Schools that are working smoothly are generally welcoming of this as the proof is in the pudding. If this is denied I personally would decline the offer. I have worked in all types of Montessori schools; some I would have been happy to send my kids to and others not at all. Teachers can vary from room to room and the directress can also make a big difference in the current of the school. Montessori schools are businesses so they market themselves to parents quite rosily. Something to remember is that Maria Montessori never taught or developed a program for school aged children. Her epiphany was with 2-6 year olds. The general ideas are adapted to older grades, but there are challenges. She advocated, for example, following the child and letting him choose what to learn. Because her children were not school age anything they chose was more than what a traditionally educated child would arrive in first grade with. For older grades you might find depending on the school and your child and her teacher that there are learning gaps or that she becomes very behind in a subject she does not consider fun. I think, like in exercise, there is a need in education to push yourself a bit out of your comfort zone in order to grow. For some kids this doesn't come naturally. If there is not natural space around the school that would be a concern to me as natural exploration is a foundation of the method. Hope that helps. Feel free to ask me for more information if you need.

[Laura Corin]

There are 30 kids with ten from each grade 1, 2 and 3. I think that's a lot, but was told by a founding family that it's the norm. 

 

When Calvin was in Montessori there were two teachers for about twenty-five pupils.

 

Just an FYI: if your child is someone who doesn't learn at all through using their hands (avoids using maths manipulatives, or even finds them confusing) I would not recommend Montessori.  Calvin is one of those and didn't learn any maths in the first year he was in Montessori.  As summer approached, his (very experienced) Montessori teacher suggested I teach him the concept of borrowing and carrying on paper, as the equipment was not putting the concept over to him.

 

L

[Farah Iram]

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