Upper Elementary Montessori Challenges

[cynssmith]

DS (10) attends very small AMI accredited school.  Excelled at lower elementary level, consistently performing above and beyond in many areas (and at level in others).  Loved school, loved learning, etc. He has moved to the upper elementary level this year, with a new teacher who has been with the school for the majority of its 50 years.  A marked change has taken place this year. He seems floundering, directionless. Too many "urgent and important" deadlines/directions, not enough insight into setting actual priorities. Bored is in math and gets very little science. Started two grade levels ahead in math and feels as though other than fractions hasn't learned anything new. Feels like he's waiting for lessons; some lessons are repeats; most material is review. He also has to wait quite some time for report feedback -- usually a week -- and then there's not much there in terms of insights for improvement.  

 

Is this normal for an upper elementary classroom? Up until this year, he's been allowed to move ahead (or not, as the case may be -- hello, spelling!) as quickly as he learned the material.  The fact that he's "bored"  is very disconcerting. Does anyone have any insight or experience with these issues in a Montessori classroom?  I thought one of the main benefits of Montessori was that the child could learn at his/her own pace and that the "whole" child was being taught.....  Thanks!

 

 

[EKS]

With the caveat that my experience with Montessori elementary schools is limited to my son's first grade year 15 years ago...

 

My understanding was that our upper elementary classroom had math materials that would take students through the equivalent of Algebra I (the school ended in 5th grade or 6th if you wanted to stay, but most didn't because the school fed into a private middle school that started in 6th grade).  I knew one family who had kids go all the way through the program and from what I remember, they were allowed to go at their own pace through the materials just like in the lower elementary room.

 

Hopefully someone who actually knows something will chime in here!

[wapiti]

BTDT.  Pulled my oldest out mid-4th to homeschool.  Next two I pulled in the middle of 7th (waited way too long), transferred to STEM charter.  Next kid I transferred to the same school at the start of 5th (had been in MM4 in 4th grade at the Montessori no matter how much I advocated something higher; new school placed him in algebra 1).  I still have two younger ones at our Montessori; how long they'll stay will depend on how it goes with the Upper Elementary teacher, but probably no later than 5th/6th.

 

For my kids, the fit problem involved the failure of the teacher to require anything above grade level and my kids' lack of initiative (due to fear of failure/perfectionism, laziness, etc) to request it.  Certain teachers still had the grade level mindset (it just so happens that now they are no longer working there) and the other ones were a bit too busy to manage one-on-one math for my advanced learners.

Bearing in mind that all Montessori schools are different, Montessori worked well for us in the lower levels.  In the upper levels, I have to wonder if the individualized learning pace becomes a bit too impractical for classroom management purposes.

 

ETA, if your child isn't asking for appropriate-level work, that is a recipe for trouble in Upper El, with the possible exception of a very special teacher.  I'd look ahead to middle school, where you want him to be (what school, what level of work) and how to make that happen.

Edited April 7, 2017 by wapiti

[cynssmith]

BTDT. Pulled my oldest out mid-4th to homeschool. Next two I pulled in the middle of 7th (waited way too long), transferred to STEM charter. Next kid I transferred to the same school at the start of 5th (had been in MM4 in 4th grade at the Montessori no matter how much I advocated something higher; new school placed him in algebra 1). I still have two younger ones at our Montessori; how long they'll stay will depend on how it goes with the Upper Elementary teacher, but probably no later than 5th/6th.

 

For my kids, the fit problem involved the failure of the teacher to require anything above grade level and my kids' lack of initiative (due to fear of failure/perfectionism, laziness, etc) to request it. Certain teachers still had the grade level mindset (it just so happens that now they are no longer working there) and the other ones were a bit too busy to manage one-on-one math for my advanced learners.

 

Bearing in mind that all Montessori schools are different, Montessori worked well for us in the lower levels. In the upper levels, I have to wonder if the individualized learning pace becomes a bit too impractical for classroom management purposes.

 

ETA, if your child isn't asking for appropriate-level work, that is a recipe for trouble in Upper El, with the possible exception of a very special teacher. I'd look ahead to middle school, where you want him to be (what school, what level of work) and how to make that happen.

[cynssmith]

Thanks! He is asking for more math, and being told to "wait" for Tom, Dick and Harry to be at the same level so she can give the lesson once to all 4 kids (or however many are within a few works of each other.) Or, if he's already had a lesson, he's been told "it's so important that he needs to" sit through it again. Hence, the boredom.

[wapiti]

In that case, time for a chat with someone - probably the principal.  I'd see about switching teachers, at least starting in the fall.  (That can be a tricky request at some schools.)  Or I'd leave the school.