My DS (6) is currently in his fifth week in a Montessori Grade 1-3 program in a public school, and I am having some serious reservations about what is happening in the classroom. This is fifth year of Montessori education and I feel like we have a good sense of what to expect from a Montessori program (though not necessarily a 6-9 program), and I just don't get a very Montessori vibe from his class.
I am concerned that he is not being encouraged to explore what interests him in the classroom -- he is being told which materials to choose. Each week, his teacher chooses materials that she wants him to work on that week, and puts them on a work plan. He is only supposed to choose materials that are on the work plan.
I am frustrated because DS's teacher, rather than DS, is the one choosing the materials. And my frustration is compounded by the fact that his teacher has been selecting materials that are several grade levels too low for him.
For example, every week he has a long list of spelling list of words that he already knows how to spell. Each week, regardless of whether he knows the spelling words, he is supposed to spell out each spelling word 6 times with the movable alphabet, in addition to practicing writing the words. Forcing him to spell words he already knows strikes me as violating core Montessori principles.
In math, there is an even bigger gap between the materials that he is working on and what he can do. He has finally, in week 5, moved up to doing addition strips, which is an improvement over the bead stair, but is still something he could do three years ago. He is not allowed to choose any of the harder materials in the classroom, because he has to demonstrate mastery of all of these basic materials first. I am despairing of him ever getting up to the multi-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division that I think he is ready for.
As a result of the combination of too-easy work and limited work options, DS gets very bored and frustrated during work time. For awhile, he just chose lacing, tweezing, and SRAs, but his teacher told him he couldn't choose lacing and tweezing anymore, and so the only things he likes now at school are SRAs.
I thought the Montessori classroom was supposed to an enriched environment brimming with enticing work for children to choose -- I never expected the classroom to be such an impoverished environment that my son would have nothing worthwhile to choose.
I did address my concerns about the work not being challenging to DS's teacher, and she replied, "Just wait --- the work will get harder." She also said that as the year goes on she will give him work that is more and more tailored to his individual needs, and that she is following the recommendations of the Montessori pacing guides on how quickly to introduce materials. [What exactly is a Montessori pacing guide? I am confused about that.]
She also said that she can tell that DS is being challenged because he does not finish his work on time. I replied in what I hoped was a positive way that I suspected he wasn't finishing his work because he found it basic and uninteresting, and I provided concrete examples of how he is can work far above the level of the work that he is doing in class. That was a week ago, and she did not reply to me.
In the midst of all of this, I requested a parent-teacher conference, which she agreed to, but then I asked her to reschedule, and she suggested just waiting until after Sept. 15, when she knows DS better. [That was last week, when Sept. 15 was further away].
I am also concerned because I see many things going on in the classroom that strike me as not embodying Montessori principles. For example, we got a letter in the mail asking us to "praise" our children when they memorized an addition fact correctly. There is also a public shaming behavior chart on the wall.
This is getting really long, and I am still leaving out some key details, but my point is that I am so sad that this "Montessori" school is turning out to be a lot like a regular school, where they happen to use Montessori materials and work on rugs on the floor. I am disappointed because I had hoped that my son would be able to work at his own pace, and I thought that, as one of the younger children in a three-grade split, there would be lots of interesting work for him to do. I am frustrated that more-challenging work is right there in the classroom, and other children are doing it, and he's not allowed to do it.
I did end up getting him tested by a psychologist, so today in his backpack I sent along a copy of his achievement test scores (showing how far he's testing above grade level), and another request for a parent-teacher conference.
I am struggling to figure out what my next step is. How long do I wait for a parent-teacher conference? How long do I wait to see if DS's teacher responds to the test scores I gave her by giving him more challenging work? What are the chances that things are going to meaningfully change? It is hard for me to imagine that I can have a significant impact on how Montessori the classroom is. But is there a chance if I just keep waiting and advocating for DS that he will end up doing appropriate work?
I know it has only been a month, but I am impatient with waiting. And I imagine that month has seemed longer to DS than to me. I would like for DS to be able to get settled in the place where he is going to end up, and I am thinking more and more that it is not here.
I guess what I am trying to tease out is, at what point do we decide "We're done trying to make this work?" I am available to homeschool and there are private schools in the area that we could afford (although it would be a sacrifice). I just feel crazy throwing in the towel before we've even had a parent-teacher conference, but that's what I want to do.
Any advice on how to decide how long to keep trying would be appreciated.
I am concerned that he is not being encouraged to explore what interests him in the classroom -- he is being told which materials to choose. Each week, his teacher chooses materials that she wants him to work on that week, and puts them on a work plan. He is only supposed to choose materials that are on the work plan.
I am frustrated because DS's teacher, rather than DS, is the one choosing the materials. And my frustration is compounded by the fact that his teacher has been selecting materials that are several grade levels too low for him.
For example, every week he has a long list of spelling list of words that he already knows how to spell. Each week, regardless of whether he knows the spelling words, he is supposed to spell out each spelling word 6 times with the movable alphabet, in addition to practicing writing the words. Forcing him to spell words he already knows strikes me as violating core Montessori principles.
In math, there is an even bigger gap between the materials that he is working on and what he can do. He has finally, in week 5, moved up to doing addition strips, which is an improvement over the bead stair, but is still something he could do three years ago. He is not allowed to choose any of the harder materials in the classroom, because he has to demonstrate mastery of all of these basic materials first. I am despairing of him ever getting up to the multi-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division that I think he is ready for.
As a result of the combination of too-easy work and limited work options, DS gets very bored and frustrated during work time. For awhile, he just chose lacing, tweezing, and SRAs, but his teacher told him he couldn't choose lacing and tweezing anymore, and so the only things he likes now at school are SRAs.
I thought the Montessori classroom was supposed to an enriched environment brimming with enticing work for children to choose -- I never expected the classroom to be such an impoverished environment that my son would have nothing worthwhile to choose.
I did address my concerns about the work not being challenging to DS's teacher, and she replied, "Just wait --- the work will get harder." She also said that as the year goes on she will give him work that is more and more tailored to his individual needs, and that she is following the recommendations of the Montessori pacing guides on how quickly to introduce materials. [What exactly is a Montessori pacing guide? I am confused about that.]
She also said that she can tell that DS is being challenged because he does not finish his work on time. I replied in what I hoped was a positive way that I suspected he wasn't finishing his work because he found it basic and uninteresting, and I provided concrete examples of how he is can work far above the level of the work that he is doing in class. That was a week ago, and she did not reply to me.
In the midst of all of this, I requested a parent-teacher conference, which she agreed to, but then I asked her to reschedule, and she suggested just waiting until after Sept. 15, when she knows DS better. [That was last week, when Sept. 15 was further away].
I am also concerned because I see many things going on in the classroom that strike me as not embodying Montessori principles. For example, we got a letter in the mail asking us to "praise" our children when they memorized an addition fact correctly. There is also a public shaming behavior chart on the wall.
This is getting really long, and I am still leaving out some key details, but my point is that I am so sad that this "Montessori" school is turning out to be a lot like a regular school, where they happen to use Montessori materials and work on rugs on the floor. I am disappointed because I had hoped that my son would be able to work at his own pace, and I thought that, as one of the younger children in a three-grade split, there would be lots of interesting work for him to do. I am frustrated that more-challenging work is right there in the classroom, and other children are doing it, and he's not allowed to do it.
I did end up getting him tested by a psychologist, so today in his backpack I sent along a copy of his achievement test scores (showing how far he's testing above grade level), and another request for a parent-teacher conference.
I am struggling to figure out what my next step is. How long do I wait for a parent-teacher conference? How long do I wait to see if DS's teacher responds to the test scores I gave her by giving him more challenging work? What are the chances that things are going to meaningfully change? It is hard for me to imagine that I can have a significant impact on how Montessori the classroom is. But is there a chance if I just keep waiting and advocating for DS that he will end up doing appropriate work?
I know it has only been a month, but I am impatient with waiting. And I imagine that month has seemed longer to DS than to me. I would like for DS to be able to get settled in the place where he is going to end up, and I am thinking more and more that it is not here.
I guess what I am trying to tease out is, at what point do we decide "We're done trying to make this work?" I am available to homeschool and there are private schools in the area that we could afford (although it would be a sacrifice). I just feel crazy throwing in the towel before we've even had a parent-teacher conference, but that's what I want to do.
Any advice on how to decide how long to keep trying would be appreciated.
s I'm right there with you. (Although, I have to say that your ds's classroom sounds more Montessori than my ds's.) But I completely understand your frustration!
