Montessori preschool not working - Page 2

[Elphaba]

i just wanted to stick my head in here and say that many places that advertise themselves as being montessori schools, are not following the philosophy at all. they think if they have some cubby holes and some of the tools they are montessori.
i went to montessori for 2 years, and those were the only 2 years i was ever happy in school.
i want very much to get my daughter into a montessori program, but here in disgusta, ga there are no true montessori programs. there are 3 schools/daycares calling themselves montessori, but none of the "teachers" are certified, the schools are not certified, and they are just regular schools/daycares who charge more for the name.
i have to give you for taking your kid out of a place where the teachers suck. my niece was enrolled in a montessori school, but then the certified teacher left, and they replaced her with some 19-year-old girl with zero qualifications. one by one the parents pulled their kids out, but it was only after the kids were mistreated.

[mommy22]

elphaba...you are so right when you say that just because they call themselves Montessori, doesn't mean they are. We had a brief experience with a different Montessori from the one we attend now(long story). Anyway, they had a beautiful building, wonderful Montessori equipment, and the staff were very knowledgable about Montessori philosophy.

Our first year there was OK. Good Montessori instruction, etc. Our second year there was a NIGHTMARE. It wasn't until that second year that I found out most of the teachers had no Montessori certification and not even any real prior experinece in Montessori at all. My son's second grade teacher had 20 years experience in a Catholic school, but none in a Mont. school. They had all this beautiful equipment, but never used it.

I could go on and on, but you hit the nail on the head. Just because it says Montessori, doesn't mean that actually use Montessori methods. They can even have Montessori credentials, and still not use Montessori methods. This 'bad' 'Montessori' had 5 differenct credentials from 5 different Montessori Associations (including International Montessori), and was just a horrible school for us.

The lesson is...be informed on good Montessori practices, and spend some time at the school to make sure these practices are being used in the classroom, and at the same time, pay attention to how the teacher/staff are treating the children.

One good indication of how well a Montessori school is doing (and any other school for that matter) is teacher/staff turn-over.

But a true Montessori is a gift, and I cherish our good fortune in having such a school available for my children!