DD wants a contract w/more challenging work

[isaoma]

Dd is 38 months old and is in her first year of a 3-6 classroom. I met with the teacher today for a casual parent-teacher conference. In general dd is adjusting well and likes school. I did mention to the Directress that dd wants a contract and more challenging work (she has told me this many times, but I wasn't sure what it meant until the meeting).

The Directress said that she doesn't want to give dd a contract because all of the 3 year olds will want one and she doesn't have that much time. As for work, dd is gravitates to math and working on the continents and the Directress said that those were considered challenging.

Is it a big deal that the Directress doesn't want to give a weekly contract because dd is only 3 years old? I guess my feeling is if it makes dd feel more connected to her work and she really wants one, what is the harm?

[sapphire_chan]

contract?

[isaoma]

Sorry, I should explain. The older kids in her classroom (I'm guessing 4&5 year olds) have a contract each week. On Monday they decide along with the teacher what work they are going to do & complete that week. Some work on the contract will be challenging (I guess meaning a little outside of their comfort zone). This way, the older kids take more ownership in their work. I don't really know much about it, since the Directress only talked about for a minute or so.

[daytripper75]

I think I would try to resign dd to the idea that she isn't going to get a contract this year, that it will be something to look forward to for next year. Last year there were a few things the older children in my dd's class did that she desperately wanted to do but couldn't because they were reserved as privileges for the older children.
I think the directress was being honest when she said she wouldn't have the time to do one for each child and that all of the other children would likely want one if your dd had one.
I think that keeping an eye on what your dd is doing is a good idea to make sure that more challenging works are introduced as needed but it may be that the directress is waiting until your dd has mastery over certain work before moving her on.

We have conferences next week and I am interested to see how they will play out. I have similar concerns about my dd being presented with more challenging works.

[ADirrim]

Originally Posted by isaoma

The Directress said that she doesn't want to give dd a contract because all of the 3 year olds will want one and she doesn't have that much time. As for work, dd is gravitates to math and working on the continents and the Directress said that those were considered challenging.

Is it a big deal that the Directress doesn't want to give a weekly contract because dd is only 3 years old? I guess my feeling is if it makes dd feel more connected to her work and she really wants one, what is the harm?

I have seen classrooms where "work checklists" are used with all older (usually kindergarteners) children to ensure that they are developing in all areas (in this case children generally have to pick one work from each main curricular area- language, math, etc); more commonly, this is used selectively as a technique for helping older children who routinely fail to choose a particular type of work (perhaps a child who never wants to do math lessons). Rather than asking a child to do the work (and completely removing the child's sense of control), the guide has the child choose the date and time when they will complete the work. Additionally, it is my understanding that most elementary classrooms use a somewhat similar practice in which children complete a weekly journal (although the journal generally entails a child recording what they have done during the day, not checking off a prescribed checklist).

Personally, I would not consider it problematic that your child does not have a contract (in fact, I would generally consider it to be a benefit). The goal in a Montessori classroom is for the child to have as much freedom as possible within the limits of the classroom, with as little interference from the guide as possible. We want children to select works that are inherently interesting to them (without using extrinsic motivators). Montessori guides observe and evaluate children's work, as much as possible, without the child knowing that they are being evaluated. There have been numerous studies which confirm that imposing deadlines is demotivating to children (see Lillard- the Effects of Deadlines on Performance and Motivation) and that the external reinforcement that accompanies contracts is also both demotivating and negatively impacts children's performance (see Alfie Kohn- Punnished by Rewards). If you are interested in reading The Science Behind the Genius, Lillard specifically discusses the research which supports her opposition to work checklists and contracts on pages 101-102. Additionally, I wonder, if your child got a contract and didn't live up to it, would you want the guide to enforce it and remove freedoms?

Assuming that your child is able to choose her own work, I strongly support your guide's decision to minimize the amount of externally imposed structures on her and to give her as much freedom and personal control as she can handle. Personally, I would only use a contract with a child whose development was really uneven.

Abigail Miller
www.bloommontessori.com
www.bloommontessori.blogspot.com

[isaoma]

ADirrim thanks for the insightful response. At home, we are trying to parent using much of Kohn's philosophy. I never thought about the contract as an external motivator, since I thought the child was the one coming up with the goals. I'll have talk with dd and try to explain that a contract is not in her future at school. I was just thinking about it since dd brought it up.

DD is still so young and I just want her to enjoy herself at school. But, dh has told be that dd has complained to him as well about not having challenging work (he picks her up in the afternoons). Should I try to help her communicate that with her guide. Or, should I tell her to be patient and hope that her guide will figure out what dd needs from school?

[ADirrim]

Originally Posted by isaoma

DD is still so young and I just want her to enjoy herself at school. But, dh has told be that dd has complained to him as well about not having challenging work (he picks her up in the afternoons). Should I try to help her communicate that with her guide. Or, should I tell her to be patient and hope that her guide will figure out what dd needs from school?

I guess that I am not really sure what she means, especially given your description of your daughter and her work choices (it certainly sounds challenging to me). I would inquire about what she means by "challenging" work with both your daughter and with the guide(as opposed to what?). The reason I ask this is that is that I have observed in classrooms where work contracts were used and the children were told that they needed to complete their "challenging works" first (as a way of reminding them that they were supposed to begin with those lessons). Since this is often only a requirement of older children, it is not uncommon to hear younger children use the same phrase. If that is what she is speaking of, I would tell her that her work is challenging or that she should choose a challenging work then (which is, in my opinion, what is supposed to happen anyway and it is too bad that the guide has set up that dichotomy in the first place). Given that the child is choosing their own work in a Montessori classroom and has the opportunity to freely join and observe in the work of other students, "challenging" work should always be available (not something the guide would have to offer up or prescribe). Hopefully, the classroom is cultivating an atmosphere where children feel at liberty to take some initiative and try things that look interesting to them (one of my greatest joys as a teacher was to discover a 2 1/2 year old child quietly copywriting text, with amazing handwriting, from a Whole Foods advertisement she pulled out of the recycle bin- no one would have dreamt of presenting a copywriting lesson to a child that age, but she was ready for it, seized the initiative, and did it).

On the other hand, if your understanding is that she is using that to convey that she is bored or in need of more presentations than she is getting, I would not hesitate to talk to the guide (maybe even start by asking your daughter if there is a specific lesson that she wants to do or curricular area where she is feeling understimulated and then speak with the guide to find something similar that would be a good match for her abilities).

Hope that helps!