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What do you think about children being enrolled part time?  

post #1 of 13
8/4/08 at 5:28pm
Thread Starter 
Our local public Montessori is being approached more and more by home-schooling families to "duel-enroll" their children. They would only come to school part time, and then be home schooled the rest of the time. While at first I thought that it was a great idea, maybe the best of both worlds... now I am not so sure. With older kids I wonder if they will actually get enough time at the school to work with Montessori materials and complete a work cycle. What do you think?
post #2 of 13
8/4/08 at 11:18pm
Thread Starter 
What, no opinion?
post #3 of 13
8/5/08 at 12:58am
It's a toss up, just like you said.
On the one hand, every child should have a "homeschooling" relationship with a parent who is "present" to them with a strong relationship....searching for answers, learning together, encouraging practice.
On the other hand, the adult who directs a Montessori classroom has specific training and some incredible materials to introduce to the child. The child should have the time to establish meaningful relationships with the both the adults and the other children in this new environment. Much of the learning happens in small groups. Alot of the "teaching" happens because of peer tutoring (slightly older students) and independent research, much like homeschooling.
There is some interesting information about this on Michael Olaf:
http://www.montessori.edu/homeschooling.html
post #4 of 13
8/5/08 at 4:15am
I'm looking at possibly enrolling DS only 3 days a week. My main reason is that the 3 day program is much cheaper than the school that does 5 days. OTOH I like that it will give DS and me time to do other stuff, but OTOH I worry that he won't get into a rhythm. Of course he is only 2 1/2 yo.
post #5 of 13
8/5/08 at 12:55pm
What kind of "duel" enrolling are they asking for? A few hours each school day? A day or 3 each week? How would that effect the current program? How would that effect funding if it's a charter program?
post #6 of 13
8/5/08 at 11:16pm
Thread Starter 
Well that's where it gets political. The division of time between "homeschool" and "public school" (Montessori) affects which program receives the money. In the past only a couple of students have wanted to "duel-enroll" and they did half days a couple days a week. They were at the upper el or middle school level with no previous M experience. So I really think what they got was more project based learning not necessarily Montessori. Certainly not math. Which I'm kind of a Montessori purist about, I don't see how you could just pick that up at a 6th grade level? Any other thoughts? Thanks for taking the time to read and post.
post #7 of 13
8/6/08 at 12:55pm
Well - from a public school perspective - you need the funding as it will require more teachers and materials and such. And of course schools - public and private - are always in need of more funding.

From a practical perspective - would it interfere with the full time students learning? Would all the children - full and part-time - benefit from this kind of situation? It seems like you think the part-time students are not getting the full benefit of the Montessori education. But doesn't Montessori believe in 3 hour work periods? Is this true at higher grade levels?

What are the parents of part-time students hoping to get out of this arraignment?
post #8 of 13
8/6/08 at 1:26pm
Are they wanting "duel" or "dual" enrollment?

I do think dual enrollment could lead to dueling conflicts, but I think it would really depend on the arrangement, the expectations, and the management of both types of schooling.
post #9 of 13
8/6/08 at 3:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by thyme View Post
Are they wanted "duel" or "dual" enrollment?

I do think dual enrollment could lead to dueling conflicts, but I think it would really depend on the arrangement, the expectations, and the management of both types of schooling.
Well, maybe they want their children to learn the art of dueling? Can you envision that in a Public Montessori School? Though maybe it's the extra curriculars that they want their kids to have access to? I've seen that be an issue with home schooling families.
post #10 of 13
8/6/08 at 5:28pm
Thread Starter 
Ha ha I totally missed the spelling on that one! You got me.... dual enrollment...
post #11 of 13
8/6/08 at 5:38pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Koloe View Post
From a practical perspective - would it interfere with the full time students learning? Would all the children - full and part-time - benefit from this kind of situation? It seems like you think the part-time students are not getting the full benefit of the Montessori education. But doesn't Montessori believe in 3 hour work periods? Is this true at higher grade levels?

What are the parents of part-time students hoping to get out of this arraignment?
Oh no, I don't think it will interfere at all with the learning of the full time students. I was mostly just curious if anyone has any experience in their neck of the woods with this concept of "dual-enrollment." Is this something that is done elsewhere? As far as motives, some of the parents of students that I have spoken with have stated that they feel full day school is "too much" so they have to say that they are "homeschooling" to get their child enrolled only for half days. So that appears to be their motivation. Like I said, I guess I don't entirely agree with that. I must be a Montessori purist. But I am also very pro-homeschool, I just think maybe you should pick one and concentrate on building your resorces and community around your decision. I dunno. To each their own...
post #12 of 13
8/13/08 at 2:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TattooedMama View Post
Oh no, I don't think it will interfere at all with the learning of the full time students.

Sorry to jump in here, but I disagree. I have had experience with teaching a group where some are full time, and some are part time. It is equally disturbing to the full-time students, as they are unable to depend on which of their friends will be there on any given day. At the elementary level so much of the learning is through the group dynamic. What if you were fired up about learning about a particular ancient civillization, and you and your friend were bouncing ideas off each other, and he didn't show up for school tomorrow, or left at lunchtime just as you were getting in a groove?

I agree that you should 'pick your pony', the lack of consistency would possibly feel quite chaotic to the children -both full- and part- timers.
post #13 of 13
8/14/08 at 2:52pm
Thread Starter 
Well I guess technically I agree with you, I was just trying to be all "to each their own" instead of my usual judgemental self. I truly do think that if your primary reason for wanting to homeschool is because you want to control how much time every day your child spends being schooled, then OK. Fantastic. But maybe also putting them in a M-program part time is not the answer.
I think I have discovered I am more of a purist than I realized.
Thanks,
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