Need advice - not sure Montessori is a good fit for my son!

[Prajnamom]

Hi there,

I have a six year old son who is in grade one at a private, preschool to grade 7, Montessori school in Canada.  My son has been at this school since he was 4 years old and in preschool.   Report cards went home Monday and the teacher comments were rather negative saying that he is rarely able to complete his work cycle and needs support in working independently and managing his time.  He's very bright and is meeting grade level expectations (except in reading where he exceeds them) so I feel that there is a disconnect between what he is capable of and what he is doing.  He also has very poor handwriting which seems to be holding him back as the school puts a lot of emphasis on cursive writing in grade 1.

It's very discouraging because we have been getting reports like this since he has been at the school, but I would expect that after three years in a Montessori school he would be better able to complete his work cycle.  I've asked him why he doesn't finish his work and he can't really tell me.   He has said there is too much noise but I'm not sure that is the real reason, although he is in a large class of 24 kids grades 1-3 and the few times I have looked in during school hours I didn't see a quiet Montessori class like he had in preschool.  DS goes to German school for a half day on Saturdays where they run a traditional school program and the teachers haven't had the same problems.  When I speak to his teachers they approach the conversation as though the problem is entirely my son's but I feel that after three years of Montessori that he should be better able to concentrate and show more maturity.  They do a lot of things that are not strictly Montessori at the school and I'm wondering if that is part of the problem, or if it just isn't a good fit.  I have a parent teacher conference tomorrow and any advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

[mattemma04]

My ds is 8 and in the 1-3 grade lower el class.He has about 20-21 kids in the class. Over the past 3 years he has complained about the noise level too. He gets his work done,but there are some in his class that do not do well with it.

Maybe the work he is directed to do is not holding his interest. Hope your teacher conf. was productive.Ours is in 2 weeks. I always let my kids know they need to complete the work the teacher requires of them.I  let them know if they can not do what is expected of them in class,or if they are unhappy with the class/school-then they will need to leave the school.

There are some parents at our school who have told their kids that they are not completing enough work(they do all the teacher says to do),and they will be pulled if they don't do more.

You know your child best.If he is happy and you are satisfied with his work then let the teachers know they can (should) back off a bit. If you expect more out of him then tell him he must improve or you will need to place him elsewhere.