Montessori education -- what are your thoughts?

[Kallista]

I was not allowed the choice of educating my child in Montessori.

None of our local accredited schools had before- or after-care. They specifically stated that it was best for the kids to have the shorter day. So they excluded a single parent with a commute with their 9-3 hours. So, at least in my area, Montessori would only work well for every child with a stay at home parent. Single parent children need not bother.

That's not true for every (or even most) accredited schools. Most schools run before and after programs, or parents use another daycare center which transports their kids to and from the center.

It is better for kids to have the shorter day. It's just not always possible.

 

[Tiger926]

I was not allowed the choice of educating my child in Montessori.

None of our local accredited schools had before- or after-care. They specifically stated that it was best for the kids to have the shorter day. So they excluded a single parent with a commute with their 9-3 hours. So, at least in my area, Montessori would only work well for every child with a stay at home parent. Single parent children need not bother.

Sorry this happened to you, but Montessori is an academic program, so most school programs, whether private, public or Montessori in my area, follow this schedule. That is the regular school day around here, give or take a few minutes (eg. 8:30 - 3:30). This has nothing to do with Montessori methods - it has to do with being able to have before/after school care. That is not necessary for Montessori schools - in my city, before/after school care, regardless of what school program kids are in is not available everywhere. It has to do with government grants, access to classrooms, etc. It would be great for all schools to have this, and it sounded like it would really have fit your schedule, but this is not a Montessori only problem at all. Our school has before/after school care, but it's not Montessori curriculum - it's childcare at that point, so our school offers it because there is a great demand for it, it's a big school, and principal has staffing for it.

Hope you were able to find a school program that fit your schedule, Tiger

 

[JUJU814]

I was not allowed the choice of educating my child in Montessori.

None of our local accredited schools had before- or after-care. They specifically stated that it was best for the kids to have the shorter day. So they excluded a single parent with a commute with their 9-3 hours. So, at least in my area, Montessori would only work well for every child with a stay at home parent. Single parent children need not bother.

I wonder if things are different in different areas. I live in the Northeast and most, if not all, of our Montessori programs have at least after school care. some have before as well.

Our school that the children attended for three years was accredited and none of them told us it was best for the kids to have a shorter day. They encouraged full day so that the children got the two full work cycles. We had several single parent families in their school that utilized the before and after care. Nowadays, single or not..it's necessary for many families to have those options available.

I'm sorry that happened to you. I can see how inconvenient that is! But it has nothing to do with the Montessori method as most Montessori schools are aware of and try to accomodate they needs of their families. Hey, they are a business after all and if they want the enrollment, they need to be sensitive to the needs of their students' families.

 

[justhat]

I was not allowed the choice of educating my child in Montessori.

None of our local accredited schools had before- or after-care. They specifically stated that it was best for the kids to have the shorter day. So they excluded a single parent with a commute with their 9-3 hours. So, at least in my area, Montessori would only work well for every child with a stay at home parent. Single parent children need not bother.

Our school does offer before and after school care, so the school is open 8am-6pm. Regular day ends at noon for the half day kids, 3pm for the full day kids. The only kids not eligible to stay past their normal hours are the toddlers (18 months -3yo), but that is really just cause of the licensing and space issues at the school. The after school program is run out of the toddler classrooms, 1 room is used for naps from 1-3 and the other for kids who don't nap. The toddlers have different age ratios so if they were to stay with the 3&4yos then they would need more staffing and it would cost more, etc.

 

[justhat]

I guess do as you are told were the wrong words to use. How about "fulfill your responsibilities"? Utimately we all answer to someone, with varying degrees of autonomy in doing so. The bottom line is that we all have certian things that are required of us as a condition of employment, and choosing not to meet those requirments will almost always result in negative consequences for us. This was something that I saw students from the program in my area struggling with. They would tell the teacher that they were choosing not to do something and think that it ment they were no longer responsible for it. It would be like you telling your dean that you were choosing not to teach at all that you wanted to write a book instead. Ultimately you were hired to teach, and if you don't do it you will loose your job. Hopefully that better articulates the point i was trying for. It is nto really about donig what you are told so much as meeting expectations. The kids we got from the mont. program in our area had never been asked to meet someone else's expectations of them. They had always been allowed to set the expectations and change them at will.

This is something you would never see happen in an accredited program. Kids do not dictate what it is they choose to do, long-term anyway. Kids have math, reading, science, history assignments to do on a regular basis with deadlines. They don't have to necessarily work on them in a specific order, but they do have to have them completed by the deadline. They simply can't say 'no, not doing that."

 

[Tiger926]

This is something you would never see happen in an accredited program. Kids do not dictate what it is they choose to do, long-term anyway. Kids have math, reading, science, history assignments to do on a regular basis with deadlines. They don't have to necessarily work on them in a specific order, but they do have to have them completed by the deadline. They simply can't say 'no, not doing that."

Glad you mentioned this, as I was going to as well. Our program is merged with the government curriculum. My daughter has homework each night, plus spelling test each Friday as well. She has deadlines and such, and she has only just turned 6, and entered grade 1. They do have more freedom when choosing a "work", but that time is less when in Montessori elementary, as practical life skills have all been pretty much mastered by that age.

Forgot to add, that my DD's two teachers are amazing at keeping notes and monitoring the students. The head teacher, can tell exactly where each student is (14 students, 2 teachers, both of whom are university educated, certified government teachers, as well as Montessori trained), how they are progressing, next steps, concern areas, etc. The Montessori tracking system at our school is amazing.

HTH, Tiger

 

[justhat]

Glad you mentioned this, as I was going to as well. Our program is merged with the government curriculum. My daughter has homework each night, plus spelling test each Friday as well. She has deadlines and such, and she has only just turned 6, and entered grade 1. They do have more freedom when choosing a "work", but that time is less when in Montessori elementary, as practical life skills have all been pretty much mastered by that age.

HTH, Tiger

Our school is just like that in the Lower El classes, which I learned last week when touring them. My kindergartener doesn't get homework really (she does bring home books to read, but that's it), but starting in 1st grade they do have nightly homework, spelling tests. etc.

 

[princessmom29]

This is something you would never see happen in an accredited program. Kids do not dictate what it is they choose to do, long-term anyway. Kids have math, reading, science, history assignments to do on a regular basis with deadlines. They don't have to necessarily work on them in a specific order, but they do have to have them completed by the deadline. They simply can't say 'no, not doing that."

That is good to know. I think they have really just messed it up big time here, and it has left a bad taste in people's mouths about it. Sorry to harp on about it, but i was just trying to clear up a question soemone had, and it really does bother me that in general good programs of any educational philosophy tend to be judged along with the bad.