My Feedback on Montessori Schooling

[Thparkly]

I attended Montessori school from the age of 4-8.  There was plenty of unstructured learning and I gained a great advanced education (in areas I felt like learning about).

Due to circumstances I had to be entered in to a public school.  I had a very hard time adjusting to structured learning and discipline. Focusing on anything I found less than interesting was extremely difficult because I had never had to do this before.  By the time I was in high school I still struggled with concentration in my studies and eventually dropped out, only to become employed in an area I found interesting and would accept me without the formal education most fields require. Sadly fields such as these become very difficult in bad economies. Would things have been different if I had been taught how to study and focus even if I don't feel like it? 

My husband, who attended private schools in India, had a highly structured and fiercely competitive learning environment.  He has three college degrees (two masters degrees), and quite literally got his MBA while studying on the toilet each morning before going to a full-time job as if he was reading an interesting novel.  He is absolutely disciplined and approaches the process of studying with enthusiasm, instead of merely the subject itself. Not learning, but studying.  How did he learn this skill?  He had a very supportive family-oriented community of parents who think putting pressure on kids builds character as long as it's in a loving way.  This atmosphere is hard to find in the west. Americans are far from the richest ethnic group in the United States: not that money is a measure of how fulfilled one's life is, but my husband is a pretty darn happy camper. Is it wrong to push so hard for achievements of this nature? I think it depends on the world your kids are going to be faced with.

After having seen both sides of the spectrum, I intend to take a balanced approach with my own kids educations.  I want to avoid a school that focuses solely on self-esteem, self expression, and creativity.  I want my kids to also have coping skills, discipline, appreciation for the sciences, and not shy away from competition.

After all, I probably won't have money past supporting them through college, so they kind of need to find a good job in any economy.

I hope I didn't touch any nerves.  Just giving my own rambling opinion about the experiences I've had and observed. 

[Rose-Roget]

Originally Posted by Thparkly 

I attended Montessori school from the age of 4-8.  There was plenty of unstructured learning and I gained a great advanced education (in areas I felt like learning about).

Due to circumstances I had to be entered in to a public school.  I had a very hard time adjusting to structured learning and discipline. Focusing on anything I found less than interesting was extremely difficult because I had never had to do this before.  By the time I was in high school I still struggled with concentration in my studies and eventually dropped out, only to become employed in an area I found interesting and would accept me without the formal education most fields require. Sadly fields such as these become very difficult in bad economies. Would things have been different if I had been taught how to study and focus even if I don't feel like it? 

One learning style is not best for everyone, and if the approach you choose for your children best suits them, then that's what matters. 

What I want to comment on is that this part quoted above doesn't seem very Montessori in my opinion.  True Montessori allows freedom of choice within limits.  One of the primary goals is to develop intrinsic motivation and deep concentration in learning.  There is a specific progression, and I would think any elementary level would build in ways to provide a well-rounded learning experience.  Many schools teach prioritizing and scheduling with work plans early on. 

I wouldn't necessarily say Montessori was responsible for the difficulties you had in school.  If you were in public school from ages 8-18, then you were there longer than you were in Montessori.  Another way to look at it would be that maybe Montessori met your needs in a way that the public school didn't, or maybe there were other factors influencing your learning/motivation. 

[GuildJenn]

Thanks for the feedback.

My Montessori is only a Casa, so it goes up to age 6. My son is in the final year there and because they know almost all the kids go to public or non-Montessori schools afterwards, they actually do work with the kids around some of these things.

For example, this month they are doing a bit of blackboard-based group work, because they've heard that kids have had trouble with the skill of copying off a board in grade 1 (Montessori allows all the materials very close). It's really helpful.

My son sounds close in personality to you - he has had the freedom to do his own thing and we have been worried about the transition. But his school again helped with that, requiring him to do one language and one math activity of his choice each day, and as his parents we've also started to work with him on the transition.

I myself transitioned a few times in education and there is no question that each time, there was a period of  time that was difficult. BUT the adults around me acknowledged it and worked together to manage it. That way I got the benefit of both. So for me, the problems of transition itself have never been a good argument for not doing what works today.

When I read your story I have to honestly say that my impression was that your public school failed you when it failed to engage you and your strengths and skills in the new curriculum/reality, and it may be your parents could have helped as well, either before, by helping you stick to other activities outside of school, or once it was clear there was a problem - not your Montessori where you were learning really well.

[midnightwriter]

I'm sorry you feel this way, but I really don't see how one can blame early Montessori for inability to be disciplined later on. There are many countries where formal education doesn't even start until one is 7, and before that, it is all non-academic "preschool." In the former USSR the official age was 7, but earlier ages were discouraged. So those who had birthdays in the spring / summer started academic as late as almost 8.

Your assumption that more rigorous academics during the early years transfer to high academic abilities at the age of 8 and on is based on the North American belief in pushing children into academic environments very early on. There are many problems with this assumption.

[CatsCradle]

I have to echo what previous posters have said, and I also would like to add that one method vs. another does not necessarily produce the "desired" result and/or discipline.

Take for instance, me and my siblings.  We all went to the same public schools, had basically the same teachers, were provided with the same opportunities.  Each of us are hugely different in terms of 'success.'  Overall I was a good student and excelled at many creative pursuits, but I was horrible at math and shied away from the sciences because I didn't think I was 'smart' in that respect.  I went on to study the arts and then late in life decided to become a lawyer (still shying from math now!).  My sister on the other hand, went on to university with a full scholarship to study chemistry and physics.  My brother, who had the very exact primary and secondary education, shunned professional studies altogether and became an electrician (he's probably the happiest one of the bunch job-wise!).

Another variable to all this is parental involvement.  My parents took absolutely no part in our formal education.  They fully expected the public system to educate us and prepare us for adult self-sufficiency.  I think this was pretty common.  But then again, this would have been their attitude if they had put us in Montessori and any other educational setting. 

Without undermining those who homeschool full-time, I like to think that there is an element of homeschooling that goes on in my family despite the fact that DD goes to full-time Montessori.  I think that ultimately parents are responsible for their childrens' education, and they must insure that the child is progressing according to his/her abilities.  I see my DD's experience in Montessori as an educational approach in this phase of her life, but I would also think that monitoring her strengths and weaknesses is my responsibility ultimately, and that I need to provide her with other avenues of learning in addition to what she gets in school (I'm not talking about additional classes, etc. - but instilling in her the love of learning and providing her with the tools to progress).  That ultimately leads me to the conclusion that one method isn't superior over the other.  One must find what works and what best suits the developmental needs and progress of the child, and supplement those needs when necessary. 

Finally, Montessoris are not created equal.  While following the general philosophies of Maria Montessori, I would wager that no two schools are alike.  DD's Montessori tends to be much more academically inclined than a lot of schools I hear about.  What I like about it, though, is this is coupled with acknowledgment that a child has strengths and weaknesses and the indivdual teachers work closely with each student to assist them in their development. 

[Thparkly]

I am sorry for the delayed reply everyone; my internet sucks right now.  I have read everything and think everyone had some really good points.  I haven't changed my mind about the experience I had in my own Montessori school, but I suspect it was not one of the better ones out there. That said, I think there is a reason so few women are in the sciences that has a lot to do with how we are schooled.  I hated math and science in school but my ideal career ended up dealing in IT and accounting. So go figure.  Females learn different things at very different ages than boys, and by the time I was an adult I was far better in math than writing or any other subject.  (I still hate math tho, FWIW)