What is Montessori?

[Night Elf]

I'm a Montessori teacher in training and in class tonight, we're discussing why people seem to be afraid of Montessori and why they don't understand it.

 

Are you familiar with Montessori? Have you even heard of the term? What do you think about it?

[swellmomma]

I have heard of it. I looked into putting my 3rd into a Montessori preschool back when he was 3 but could not afford it, I have talked to my sister about it because she is leaning towards putting my nephew into a montessori preschool. When I hear the term I visualize lots of manips and hands on work, children being taught daily living skills through experience. I love the small hands catalogue I must confess. I know a woman who runs a Montessori homeschool and home daycare, and love how the kids work with the materials but do not have much knowledge of the actual philosophy.

 

I think that unless someone is told explicitly what Maria Montessori's philosophy was and why it is a sound method of education it is easy to think that the kids are doing nothing but playing all day, when in reality the period they use those materials is in fact work. I know some I have spoken too also think the teacher is using the materials to avoid teaching, not realizing that the children are taught initially how to do each activity and the rest of the time it is for them to practice.

 

I think of Montessori much like how we all homeschool. We all teach our children daily living skills, cleaning, organizing, buckles/buttons/snaps, cooking etc. For many children these skills are missed in favor of earlier academics, Montessori does a fabulous job of allowing children to develop the daily living skills alongside their academic learning just like we do in our homes everyday.

[....]

I love the idea of Montessori school and I like the Waldorf ideas, too - even tho they are very different.

 

There are several Montessori preschools in our area.

[wapiti]

Three of my kids currently attend a public charter montessori elementary school. One morning in car line a while ago, one of the youner ones asked "What does Montessori mean?" My dd10, then 8 (who I recently pulled out of the school halfway through grade 4), began, "Well, there once was an old lady named Maria..." :lol:

[Giraffe]

DD is in Montessori preschool. I will be teaching her reading using the Montessori method (sort of) this summer as she's on the cusp of reading and we don't want to lose momentum.

 

I was afraid of Montessori before I started researching it (at DH's insistence) for DD. I thought it was some kind of nutty-crunchy mumbo-jumbo to which (rich) touchy-feely types sent their kids. We are not nutty-crunchy or rich, but we are touchy-feely, I guess. My biggest fear was that it was so QUIET in the classrooms we observed that I was afraid it would be oppressive for DD. I likened the children in Montessori classrooms to "Stepford children" - robotic, overly formal. Actually, it's just not chaotic, but rather humming along peacefully.

 

It really is a lot like home schooling - practical skills, an ordered environment, approaching the child where they are, not where the class as a whole is, individual lessons. I like it very much for DD.

[Rosie_0801]

My mother worked in after school care at a Montessori school for a while. She said if she'd had the money, she'd have liked that for us up to the end of grade four, but then she'd have transferred us out to a normal ( ;) ) school. She thought they got a bit too "airy fairy" in grade 5, and their maths skills weren't as strong as she'd like. This school only went to the end of grade 6, so she didn't have any comments on teens schooled that way.

 

:)

Rosie

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

What I have heard about Montessori schools was that they didn't have good discipline/didn't believe in punishments.

[Giraffe]

What I have heard about Montessori schools was that they didn't have good discipline/didn't believe in punishments.

 

My daughter would CERTAINLY disagree with that. There are definitely consequences to not following the rules - as she learned today!

[elizabeth]

I am glad they took me as a student as my mom had thyroid cancer after having me and it provided a wonderful learning experience for me. My teacher's name was Mrs Woods, I attended from 4 to 7 years of age.

[elizabeth]

There are uniformed people who think it is only for "advanced learners," that is a hoot considering that Dr Maria Montessori had entirely different aims. Furthermore, I have a lifelong friend I met at the school. Molly has a condtion known as Downs Syndrome. We were table partners and colearners at the school.

[RoundAbout]

I guess what turned me off from Montessori is the stereotype of kids quietly doing independent work as early as preschool. I have a very active and social boy and would be reluctant to try him in anything with that vibe. Also I believe there's a perception out there that Montessori is fairly rigid in the use of materials and discourages imaginative play (ex. you can use the toy animals for a matching "work" but can't play farm with them). Maybe none of this is true. Or maybe these things are not features of the Montessori philosophy but just attracts those kinds of teachers, parents, and students. Still, its what I've heard from some friends and online discussions.

 

My best friend's daughter is absolutely thriving in Montessori preschool but she does fit the stereotype - smart, quiet, shy girl who has no problem sitting on a rug doing the little shelf activities.

[Dmmetler]

I love Montessori's philosophy. Unfortunately, the good Montessori schools in the area were both expensive and a long drive, and the close one was the most "sparkless" Montessori I've ever seen. I've used a lot of Montessori techniques with DD.

[Farrar]

I'm familiar with Montessori. I did a short term class on Montessori as part of my master's degree that included a visit to a Montessori school. It was interesting to me. While I'm anything but an expert on it, I feel like I know a little about Montessori method and materials as well as Maria Montessori's life.

 

But, as an educational philosophy, it doesn't speak to me really. Many of the materials are really cool - for example, one of the things I saw demonstrated was this thin rope that represented the history of the earth and I've borrowed that many times in my teaching and adapted it in different ways. However, the overarching ideas - in particular where "work" is stressed for young children and "play" is dismissed just doesn't really jibe with me. Also, the carefully prepared environment thing also goes along with that. For me, I see early childhood as more about learning through imaginative play. I think spontaneity is really important. I think interacting more directly with kids is important. But that's just my own take. I don't think it's a terrible philosophy or anything and I think it's totally right for many families and kids.

 

I'm not trying to paint Montessori schools as dour, harsh places where children must work all the time or anything like that - I mean, I get it and they're not like that at all - but if you're wondering what it may sound like to someone who is just hear some of the Montessori philosophy for the first time, I think it may in fact sound like it is that way and that may be a turn off.

[Kebo]

All three of my children have attended the same Montessori preschool, and I would not hesitate to recommend that school. I think MOST schools are better suited to calmer, more thoughtful kids. But, I have two fidgety boys and one fidgety girl and they have all done very well there.

 

My niece was getting into trouble at a traditional elementary school because she would finish her work early and try to "help" the other kids. She was moved to a Montessori school and thrived there because she didn't have to pace herself with the rest of the class.

 

There is a big emphasis on hand-on work, and they don't "dumb down" the materials. They use wood and even breakable materials rather than plastic. There is also a big emphasis on learning to be independent and responsible and to respect the environment and each other. There are definitely rules and structure, but it is all handled in a way that is respectful to the children. My daughter loves going to school. My boys didn't love it as much as she does (they had some separation issues), but they always came out smiling at the end of the day.

 

Our experience (again with one particular Montessori school) has been very positive.

[helena]

I'm a Montessori teacher in training and in class tonight, we're discussing why people seem to be afraid of Montessori and why they don't understand it.

 

Are you familiar with Montessori? Have you even heard of the term? What do you think about it?

 

My mom owns a Montessori school, as do most of my aunts. For years there was a training course taught at her school on the weekends, now she takes in teachers in training from a local university. I grew up in the Montessori world, and I'm a Montessori teacher who is now staying home with my kids.

 

I don't know that afraid is the word I would choose, maybe.. turned off?

too expensive

too rigid

no fantasy allowed

was she a fascist? (mostly older folks know she has some connection to this)

out dated

Those are off the top of my head.

 

The truth is that every Montessori school is different. The training, and the philosophy are at the mercy of the directress/director of the school. Some people claim to be Montessori and all that they really have is a shabby pink tower with a missing baby cube. Some schools are full of passionate Montessori purists. And then you've got everything in between.

Montessori isn't for every child. But with a good teacher/directress there's a lot of working room to try and make it work.

 

One thing I always thought was kind of funny, were how many parents would pat themselves on the back for having Montessori children, but in fact didn't know a thing about the woman or her philosophy. :rolleyes:

In my opinion even people who are into Montessori don't always understand her method. And even though every school interprets it differently, it is a specific method with specific reasoning behind each and every step of each and every work on the shelf.

[Night Elf]

Thank you for all the responses. My university has just started 2 new Birth-to-age-5 programs, one for traditional sequence and one for Montessori. They are in the process of building the programs and there are alot of misonceptions about the importance of learning for children under the age of 5 years old.

 

The professor I am working with has been involved with training Montessori teachers for many years. He was trained by a woman who was trained by Dr. Montessori herself. And as a side note, the thing that impresses me the most is that John Holt (a big influence on my homeschooling journey) was a personal friend of his! My class got a laugh out of my reaction. :)

 

Anyway, he has encountered a great deal of fear and mistrust about the Montessori system of education. But he has worked with government in trying to introduce Montessori into the schools. Trying to get them to change anything is a task indeed. But he's done some awesome work, including convincing my university to offer a Montessori teacher training program.

 

Oh well, I could obviously go on and on. Thank you for the responses. These will be helpful in him preparing to advertise for teacher candidates.

[Rivka]

I always thought I would be totally in to Montessori, and then when I started researching it I was turned off.

 

Things I like:

- Self-paced work, lots of freedom to choose among works.

- Taking children seriously and having high expectations of what they can do.

- Practical life skills.

- Real materials (e.g., real knives, glass glasses).

 

Things I don't like:

- Discouragement of fantasy and imaginative play. (It doesn't help when Montessori enthusiasts online jump in to explain that this is okay because really children don't want to pretend if they are given alternatives.)

- Rigidity in use of materials.

- Endorsement of Montessori by Ayn Rand types who value selfishness. ("Montessori is great because children are never expected to share or work with others! Finally, I've found a school where my children won't be learning those crummy pro-social values!")

[wapiti]

- Endorsement of Montessori by Ayn Rand types who value selfishness. ("Montessori is great because children are never expected to share or work with others! Finally, I've found a school where my children won't be learning those crummy pro-social values!")

This part is a misconception. The classroom could not function at all if they weren't taking turns. And there is actually quite a bit of working together, in small groups of two or three, though that's an age-appropriate thing - less likely to happen with three year olds than with older preschoolers. (One of my introverted boys apparently was quite the social butterfly during his second year of preschool ;).) At the K and the lower elementary (gr 1-3) levels, working together on academic works happens all. the. time.

 

ETA: an atmosphere of mutual respect is a central theme.

Edited April 14, 2011 by wapiti