positive effects of Montessori

[bu's mama]

I mostly just lurk around here, but I read an article today on the positive effects of a Montessori school on children. The study was based on the Milwaukee Monetessori school, which follows Montessori pretty stirctly. I read it in Science but couldn't find that online. Here is a good summary.

[sciencemama]

neat! thanks for the heads-up!

[Drummer's Wife]

Thanks for the link. I think it's great that the M children did better in Math and reading since that tends to be a misconception, especially with math.

The only part that bothered me was the critics concern about Montessori not using a grading system or testing:

Parents worry that their children won’t be able to compete if they aren’t exposed early to competitiveness in school,” she says.

That doesn't make any sense to me becuase I think your own personal inner drive is what motivates you to do better and competition isn't always a good thing anyways

[Lillianna]

Parents worry that their children won’t be able to compete if they aren’t exposed early to competitiveness in school,” she says.

That doesn't make any sense to me becuase I think your own personal inner drive is what motivates you to do better and competition isn't always a good thing anyways

I think she was saying that even though the Montessori children are not exposed to early competitiveness in school, they are still able to achieve an equal if not higher level of achievement in subjects like reading and math, and that their social skills benefit as a result of a non-competitive environment. She is contrasting Montessori education (non competitive) to parents worrying that it is the competitiveness that creates the will to achieve.

[late-night nan]

thank you for posting this! i'm going to check out the original article in Science. We nearly had to pull our son out of one of the Milwaukee Montessori school for bureaucratic reasons because we moved, but we just found out this morning that he can continue there. what a relief!

[Lillianna]

"Peace is our gift to each other." ~ Elie Wiesel
What an awesome quote, and I just noticed it when I came on to post about Montessori's most positive effect (and what I think she would be most proud of in regards to this study) is the positive finding in social relations. Her highest aspiration was to have her philosophy of education contribute to world peace She wrote a book called: "Education and Peace" to describe her perspective on how to achieve a true and lasting international peace.
I just read an article in Women's Intl League of Peace and Freedom rag. One of the quotes is "Our true security lies in peace" I think this is very true and pertinent to our current political climate.
Peace Sistas!