Montessori/Waldorf = play-based?

[purplelilacs]

I am exploring Montessori and Waldorf for my daughter and I am trying to get a dear friend to check into these for her daughter who is not doing well in her school - her 2nd parochial school in 3 years. She is actually repeating 1st grade and once again not thriving. This girl seems perfect for Montessori actually.

Anyway, my friend contacted the director of the childcare center she attended from 6 weeks through pre-K whose instruction/philosophy was play-based and this director encouraged her to not to try Montessori and Waldorf because moving a student from play-based to regular school back to play-based has not been shown to make a student successful.

So are the higher grades in M/W considered play-based? This women admits to not being an expert in anything past pre-K. She has convinced my friend not to even look into these alternate schools and let her daughter struggle in school (on top of struggling through a messy divorce!) hoping that things will work out.

TIA!

[emmaegbert]

Well, probably others more knowledgeable can weigh in here, but I wouldn't think that either Montessori OR Waldorf is "play based" at the elementary school level. From what I understand, with that age group Montessori is very child-driven (teacher as facilitator, children should be getting a lot of free choice within a structured set of activities/materials, children should be working independently and in groups as they choose). Waldorf is more focused on creating a tight-knit social and learning group in the classroom, with teacher-led 'main lesson', and should also include a lot of art, music, handwork, and physical activity, and a lot of investment and care in the long-term progress of each student (their teacher stays with them from grade 1- grade 8 at most schools).

I do believe that people say it can be hard to switch OUT of either type of school in mid-elementary because the kids move at a rather different pace than in more mainstream schools. But if she's "failing" at the school she's at, it sounds like thats sort of a moot point, you know?

You and your friend could take a look at a book "Montessori, The Science Behind the Genius" for an interesting analysis (very pro-M) of the strengths of the educational system.

Of course, a lot depends on the actual school. So that should be a very important part of the decision- actually visiting the school, perhaps involving her daughter in the decision-making process to some extent (as she is older).

[eepster]

I suppose it depends on how one defines "play." I would not call either play based.

It may be difficult for a student who has become accostomed to the strict structure of a parocial school and possibly started to hate learning to transition to a free choice environment. However, it is impossible to determined if the student in question is capable of the transition without a lot more info (most schools would probably want to do an interveiw to decide for themselves.) I would say though, since she is doing so poorly in the school she is in, that even if she "wastes" half the year adjusting to the new school she is no worse off than if she stays where she is.