Pros/Cons of Montessori?

[dancingirl21]

We are looking at putting J into daycare when my sister finishes nannying for us in July. So far we are on the waitlist at a great school that only takes 15+ months and is more of a preschool type of setting. It is at a local community college and is highly regarded.

I am also interested in a Montessori school that gets great reviews (and I have friends of friends that send their kids). Admittedly, though, I know very little about Montessori.

Can anyone tell me the pros/cons of Montessori and how it differs from other schools?

[Deleted]

Since we live close I know exacly what you're talking about.

I've heard negative reviews of one of the Montessori schools in our area and very little about the others. Reggio Emelia (sp?) seems to be the new hot thing.

If you're open to it, I think my in home may have an opening this summer. She is amazing and has a 15 month old so in some ways perfect.

[Deleted]

Feb 2, 2015 11:45:22 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

Has anyone else wondered why Italians aren't taking over the world given that they are the birthplace of both Montessori and Reggio Emilia? I mean, I guess they weren't that widely adopted, but I'd guess the real reason is that these things make such a marginal difference for most kids, all other things being equal.

haha, you sound exactly like my H did this morning. J got accepted to a preschool we both really like and the decison and deposit is due by March 1sT. We are also considering a montessori school but wont have a decision until sometime in March. I have been hesitant to drop out of the Montessori admission process we are currently in but H has brought up that the other school is a great school and how we can't afford to not enroll him for fear we don't get in to the montessori, we would be sol with no school! As H keeps saying, this will not define J's success in life! He says each kid has a spectrum of potential and since neither of the schools is a "bad choice" the impact from choosing one over the other is likely to be negligible.

[niq]

Feb 2, 2015 11:45:22 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

Has anyone else wondered why Italians aren't taking over the world given that they are the birthplace of both Montessori and Reggio Emilia? I mean, I guess they weren't that widely adopted, but I'd guess the real reason is that these things make such a marginal difference for most kids, all other things being equal.

I think it's just that someone said "hey, there's an educational theory that people will pay more money for! Why don't we try to do something similar-but-different and see if we can charge even more money? OH LOOK, another Italian hamlet with its own educational theory that happens to comport with current upper middle class American values!"

... snark aside, I do think these differences can matter. I went to a straight laced, uniforms and weekly episcopal services, all the bros wear whitehats (are these still a thing?) private school K-8, and by 8th grade I was so bored and frustrated my grades started dropping. I moved to a Montessori school with much crunchier teachers and went on to do fabulous things.

[motzie]

We're going with a Montessori because it seems here it's either that or church based, which I am definitely not interested in. My top pick has music, sculpture and yoga classes, and is also Spanish immersion.

[Deleted]

Feb 2, 2015 12:10:24 GMT -5 @kirkette said:

Feb 2, 2015 11:45:22 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

I'd guess the real reason is that these things make such a marginal difference for most kids, all other things being equal.

That may be partially true, but a bit narrow. I think a reason that there isn't wider adoption with something like Montessori, or anything that counters the traditional school system, in the US,  is because it will be met with great resistance. It's not often discussed publically.

Structurally, societal systems do not truly want to breed masses of independent thinkers. The traditional model helps to promote social order.

:fistbump:

[Deleted]

Feb 2, 2015 11:45:22 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

Has anyone else wondered why Italians aren't taking over the world given that they are the birthplace of both Montessori and Reggio Emilia? I mean, I guess they weren't that widely adopted, but I'd guess the real reason is that these things make such a marginal difference for most kids, all other things being equal.

Or because the point of Montessori is not to create an army of children to fight for Italy?

[niq]

Feb 2, 2015 12:13:20 GMT -5 page said:

Feb 2, 2015 11:45:22 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

Has anyone else wondered why Italians aren't taking over the world given that they are the birthplace of both Montessori and Reggio Emilia? I mean, I guess they weren't that widely adopted, but I'd guess the real reason is that these things make such a marginal difference for most kids, all other things being equal.

Or because the point of Montessori is not to create an army of children to fight for Italy?

Well, but they're not even taking over the world of education. All the hype I see these days -- in terms of "who can the US learn from" -- is about Finland, South Korea, other Scandinavian countries ... not Italian principates.

[Deleted]

Feb 2, 2015 12:17:11 GMT -5 niq said:

Feb 2, 2015 12:13:20 GMT -5 page said:

Or because the point of Montessori is not to create an army of children to fight for Italy?

Well, but they're not even taking over the world of education. All the hype I see these days -- in terms of "who can the US learn from" -- is about Finland, South Korea, other Scandinavian countries ... not Italian principates.

South Korea! My favorite Scandanavian country!

I don't think a particular pedagogy has to be the most popular one in order to be a good one, or at least right for an individual child.

[niq]

Feb 2, 2015 12:19:48 GMT -5 page said:

Feb 2, 2015 12:17:11 GMT -5 niq said:

Well, but they're not even taking over the world of education. All the hype I see these days -- in terms of "who can the US learn from" -- is about Finland, South Korea, other Scandinavian countries ... not Italian principates.

South Korea! My favorite Scandanavian country!

I don't think a particular pedagogy has to be the most popular one in order to be a good one, or at least right for an individual child.

Clearly my Montessori education didn't teach me enough about sentence construction

[Deleted]

Feb 2, 2015 12:18:34 GMT -5 @kirkette said:

Feb 2, 2015 12:01:19 GMT -5 niq said:

I think it's just that someone said "hey, there's an educational theory that people will pay more money for! Why don't we try to do something similar-but-different and see if we can charge even more money? OH LOOK, another Italian hamlet with its own educational theory that happens to comport with current upper middle class American values!"  

 

Bless your heart to parents who buy into that, and don't actually understand, or at least look into the ed theory  and credentialing behind programs, before cutting a check. 

unfortunately, I think this does happen and it is sad. There is a " montessori" here that I dont even think the founder has any experience/training/or knowledge of montessori other than "her kids attended montessori." Thats seriously yhe "selling point" of the website.The whole school appears to be exactly what was described above, a school claiming to use the methodology and appeal to parents looking for that without understanding it. Completely different from the Montessori we are considering but I'm sure some parents wouldn't even know there was a difference!

[Deleted]

Sorry niq. It was just too easy to let slide.

[meij]

Montessori has such a wide range since anyone can claim to be Montessori it's hard to give pros/cons without being familiar with the specific school.

I worked at one, so I'll just give some pros and cons I had with my school.

Pros

focus on Life Skills- in our Life Skills work the kids worked on things like pouring water from a pitcher into cups, buttoning/snapping/zipping, cleaning windows, sweeping, setting a table, folding small towels.

children able to do things at their own pace

Cons

multi age range. This can be a pro for a lot of people and depending on how they do the age break down I agree it could work well. Our age range was 2-5 which was awful. It made the ratio higher than it would be for 2s (1:10 instead of a 1:6 you might have in a 2s room). I was having to deal with diapers and potty training at the same time as Kindergarten readiness. With that age range I found myself teaching to the middle. Circle time, art activities, etc. What two year olds can do and their attention span and interests are so different than a five year old.

Free play
Montessori typically does not like free play and you aren't allowed to do the "work" (the activities you see in the classroom) outside work time. So for days we couldn't go outside due to weather (which were plenty) the classroom didn't have anything like blocks, dress up, dolls, house area, puzzles, sensory table for the children to play with. In a half day program this wouldn't be a big deal, but in a daycare setting where kids can be there 10-11 hour days I think they should have some free play opportunities.

Of course centers differ greatly, so those would just be a couple things I would ask about but might not be issue at another center.

[Deleted]

Feb 2, 2015 13:01:36 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

Feb 2, 2015 12:13:20 GMT -5 page said:

Or because the point of Montessori is not to create an army of children to fight for Italy?

I meant taking over the world in terms of scientific breakthroughs, new technology, GDP/capita, Nobel peace prizes, etc.

lol. My jokes are flying over everyone's heads today.

[Deleted]

Feb 2, 2015 13:14:41 GMT -5 @barefootbarista said:

Feb 2, 2015 12:43:58 GMT -5 @kirkette said:

Side note, Maria Montessori ruled. She was the original special educator.
She taught students, who at the time were considered cast offs, social misfits, and unteachable.

And given this, I wonder why so many of the Montessori programs around here don't accept students unless they are self directed, self-regulated or have learning differences.

And can't self-regulation be taught, especially if caught early enough?

I don't know....I'm dealing with a lot of this right now.  

This is an interesting point. One of the reasons I am leaning away from the Montessori program is because although J is a good fit for this methodology it's impossible for me to tell at 10.5 mos if it would also work for both of the girls. I cannot be running around between multiple schools so I am having to choose something now that I know will work for all 3.

[Deleted]

We love the Montessori philosophy but unfortunately couldn't even COME CLOSE to affording it. Our local Montessori preschool is $600 A MONTH. That's rent for an apartment IMHO, not a preschool tuition. Sheesh.

And I live in BFE virginia. Not HCOL.

[oliviapope]

As previous posters have said, it really is school dependent. Our Montessori school has been amazing and a great for for both of my boys even they have polar opposite personalities.

Overall they have learned how to take care of themselves, responsibility, how to problem solve, how to self regulate, and many practical life skills. They also have learned the traditional skills. My oldest one is currently working above grade level in math and reading.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is how the school has affected the family. For me personally it has been incredible. Our school offers a ton of parent education. Also, they do not give homework, and our students don't even have textbooks until 4th or 5th grade. It certainly makes it much easier as a family to not have these constraints when we get home.

Our school is also frequently asking us what we need from them and how they can support us as parents. My three year old bit a child on the playground. They called to tell me what happened, how they solved the problem, and asked me to give him some 1:1 attention that night (it was right around the time I had my third so they thought he might be acting out). This is instead of a warning letter or something similar.

Overall it is about finding the individual school with the philosophy you believe in.

[Deleted]

I like the idea of Montessori for preschool (not sold on it for elementary and beyond), but it costs $400-700/month here and DS is in public preschool for free. I don't like it hundreds of dollars worth.

[Deleted]

Feb 2, 2015 13:01:36 GMT -5 @littlemoxie said:

Feb 2, 2015 12:13:20 GMT -5 page said:

Or because the point of Montessori is not to create an army of children to fight for Italy?

I meant taking over the world in terms of scientific breakthroughs, new technology, GDP/capita, Nobel peace prizes, etc.

To be fair though, there are some pretty illustrious Montessori graduates, including Jeff Bezos (Amazon founder), Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google founders). I would say they are world changers.

Also Beyonce and Taylor Swift. lol.

www.mslf.org/famous-montessori-students/

[Deleted]

Feb 2, 2015 14:49:59 GMT -5 @supergreen said:

We love the Montessori philosophy but unfortunately couldn't even COME CLOSE to affording it. Our local Montessori preschool is $600 A MONTH. That's rent for an apartment IMHO, not a preschool tuition. Sheesh.

And I live in BFE virginia. Not HCOL.

lol. One of them near me is $2700 a month also equivalent to my mortgage.

[ringstrue]

Idk. Whenever someone gives a factoid about Montessori- build independence, make personal choices, teach them to care for themselves BUT learn at their own pace - that is exactly how DDs experience in daycare and kindergarten has been - with a "traditional" setting.

Idk if anyone else has said it, but I dislike that my child wouldn't learn something until she "discovered" it or showed interest or whatever. I guess I like a more challenging environment than that. If I had to wait for my kid to zip up her own jacket until she wanted to on her own, without any encouragement from any adult, I'd probably still be zipping it up for her in highschool.

[redheadk]

I've always been very drawn to Montessori and would love for DD to go to a Montessori school but my options are a) excellent, establish, true Montessori school with a fabulous huge outdoor space and playground, gardens, etc that is full time only, b) a new and sort of odd Montessori school in a strip center with a very sad playground/outdoor space that is hyper focused on peace education, and c) one that looks acceptable but is a 25 minute drive. I'm not driving 25 minutes for acceptable.

Thankfully, the preschool we chose and which she attends now for MDO incorporates some of the things I like about Montessori with some things like free play. It's by no means Montessori but it's also not worksheets, either. If option A offered a part-time schedule that was 2/3 the price of a full time, I'd do it, but I'm just not paying over 1k/month for preschool for 1 kid.

[lilac05]

Ultimately, you just need to visit both and see which one you feel better about. Every Montessori is different, so the pros/cons of DS1's school may not be true for another school.

DS1 was in a Montessori daycare when he was 3-15 mo. It was no different than any other daycare. We chose it bc it was the most convenient and allowed us to bring him 3 hours a day, 4 days a week, and we essentially paid per hour.

We moved, and he started Montessori at 3 yrs, 8 mo. It has been a good fit. We chose it because DS is highly distractible and VERY energetic. We felt the overly calm and controlled vibe of the room would be to his benefit. I have seen improved self-control and attention span, but that could also be maturity rather than the school philosophy, I guess. My con for Montessori is the lack of fun (by my definition) and lack of letting kids be silly kids. They get outside play at the end of morning session and at the end of the afternoon session. DS says he has fun, but he also calls it "My Working School." We just increased him to 3 mornings a week, but I would not choose that environment for 5 full days. Being silly is important for kids, too, and HIS Montessori doesn't have room for enough of that, IMO. He has learned SO much this year, I'm amazed at the variety of things he learns & that it's not surface learning, but lots of investigating. I also love that next year, he'll be able to continue with his work from where he left off instead of having to go back through all of the letters/numbers with the entire class again.

It works for us, but I did think long & hard before registering him again for next year. It's not the best fit for every child.

[game blouses]

I love the idea of Montessori. When I've toured local Montessori preschools, I've gotten the idea that the preschool blends so seamlessly into elementary levels that it's difficult to leave after preschool. We bought our house into a great school district and the Montessori teachers were like "Um, you COULD take him out for kindergarten, but no one ever does..."

[game blouses]

Feb 2, 2015 15:51:46 GMT -5 L said:

Feb 2, 2015 15:46:21 GMT -5 game blouses said:

I love the idea of Montessori. When I've toured local Montessori preschools, I've gotten the idea that the preschool blends so seamlessly into elementary levels that it's difficult to leave after preschool. We bought our house into a great school district and the Montessori teachers were like "Um, you COULD take him out for kindergarten, but no one ever does..."

K is the pinnacle of the whole 3yr experience, they can do everything in the classroom, they are the leaders, mentors, etc...taking the kid out for 1st is typical. I'd pretty much go so far as to say if you don't intend to do the full 3yr cycle, don't do it. Each year builds on the prior in a way that's different than Preschool & K.

Totally agree, we wanted him to be in kindergarten in our district, so it wasn't a good fit for us. The school I looked at went 18 months - 6th grade, so they really wanted to keep you throughout elementary. I was a little nervous about how being in the Montessori system for so many years would impact a transition to a standard middle school class.

[lilac05]

Feb 2, 2015 15:49:14 GMT -5 L said:

Feb 2, 2015 15:09:16 GMT -5 ringstrue said:

Idk. Whenever someone gives a factoid about Montessori- build independence, make personal choices, teach them to care for themselves BUT learn at their own pace - that is exactly how DDs experience in daycare and kindergarten has been - with a "traditional" setting.

Idk if anyone else has said it, but I dislike that my child wouldn't learn something until she "discovered" it or showed interest or whatever. I guess I like a more challenging environment than that. If I had to wait for my kid to zip up her own jacket until she wanted to on her own, without any encouragement from any adult, I'd probably still be zipping it up for her in highschool.

This is not accurate.  

I agree & ringstrue, I think this is the most common misconception about Montessori.  Kids don't get out of doing anything for a length of time because it doesn't interest them.  They are allowed to choose interests, but are also guided towards other things if they haven't been explored.  We saw that already this year in DS's first year.  He wasn't exactly excited to do his "sounds book," but the teachers would work with him to do it.  Not learning basic skills is not an option in the classroom, though it's hard to get that unless you've seen the teachers do the guiding in a way that encourages a child to make that choice.

As far as zipping jackets, all kids are expected to do it on their own (except, I'm sure an exception would be made for physical limitations).  It's amazing how quickly kids can learn almost anything when the expectation is there (& confidence in their ability to complete a task)!  That's why you'll see glass pitchers filled with water, permanent markers, and real saws out in the classroom without an adult hovering over it.  Kids are really amazing and responsible, if the expectation is there...and you can't ignore the herd mentality...the big kids are modeling it, and the little ones want to do it just like them!  (Which us why my 1st year kid now does his 'work' as soon as he gets to school.  That's when the "big boys" have yo do it, so he needs to do it then, too.)

[Deleted]

Feb 2, 2015 15:51:46 GMT -5 L said:

Feb 2, 2015 15:46:21 GMT -5 game blouses said:

I love the idea of Montessori. When I've toured local Montessori preschools, I've gotten the idea that the preschool blends so seamlessly into elementary levels that it's difficult to leave after preschool. We bought our house into a great school district and the Montessori teachers were like "Um, you COULD take him out for kindergarten, but no one ever does..."

K is the pinnacle of the whole 3yr experience, they can do everything in the classroom, they are the leaders, mentors, etc...taking the kid out for 1st is typical. I'd pretty much go so far as to say if you don't intend to do the full 3yr cycle, don't do it. Each year builds on the prior in a way that's different than Preschool & K.

Thank you for this perspective. This is also something we are facing. We bought our house in an excellent school district with the intention of sending the kids to public school. The montessori preschool we are considering goes 3s to k. They also recommend keeping them through k but said because it is in our town some parents choose to switch to the public schools. Since we would have 3 in at the same time if we kept J through k we just couldn't afford it as the program is only 9 to 12 or 2 for k and would cost us about 40k for 3 of them. And then we would still need additonal childcare for the remaining hours so that's not going to work

[oliviapope]

Feb 2, 2015 16:29:25 GMT -5 @awinter said:

Feb 2, 2015 15:51:46 GMT -5 L said:

K is the pinnacle of the whole 3yr experience, they can do everything in the classroom, they are the leaders, mentors, etc...taking the kid out for 1st is typical. I'd pretty much go so far as to say if you don't intend to do the full 3yr cycle, don't do it. Each year builds on the prior in a way that's different than Preschool & K.

Thank you for this perspective. This is also something we are facing. We bought our house in an excellent school district with the intention of sending the kids to public school. The montessori preschool we are considering goes 3s to k. They also recommend keeping them through k but said because it is in our town some parents choose to switch to the public schools. Since we would have 3 in at the same time if we kept J through k we just couldn't afford it as the program is only 9 to 12 or 2 for k and would cost us about 40k for 3 of them. And then we would still need additonal childcare for the remaining hours so that's not going to work

Our school goes up to 8th grade, but some kids transition after 5th. Feedback from the parents has been that the transition was pretty seamless. Our school has also gone to the teachers of the students who transition and asked for feedback. The consensus from the teachers was that the students adapted exceptionally well. Some things they cited were that the students were able to manage heir time, and they were used to seeking answers. They said that the students with a history of Montessori were used to viewing the teacher as a resource. so they were more likely to ask questions and seek help if needed.

[drloretta]

As others have said, you'll need to tour the place and ask questions, as each school is different. MIL's BFF taught Montessori for 20 years, so DH was into it. One school was horrible at returning phone calls, so they were out. One was $$$ and we would be paying more for the building than the education. We ended up sending DD to a small Montessori program that's very homey.

She loves it. Her first year was all about doing what the big kids did. She had all her basics down by the end of the year.

This year she had a challenging start, but she seems to have hit her stride. She's starting to journal, spells her name and 3-letter words, and her math skills have taken off. I've seen how the second and third years build on the first, which is why the full 3 year cycle is encouraged.

It's not for every child, so definitely check it out and research it. When I did a class visit, the director gave me a brochure on the Montessori philosophy and how it works. It was very helpful

[missmaddie]

I've taught two students who were transitioning to the public system come grade 5, and both struggled with several areas of the curriculum (and certainly had highly developed skills in other areas they were drawn to), and also with the structure of the day and not excelling as they were used to. One in particular had a hard time socially too, but that could also be moving from a small school to a larger class of peers who already knew each other well at an awkward age...or it could have been her attitude.

This student's parents also continued to raise a fuss with admin weekly that she couldn't skip a grade (which is pretty unheard of here) until some of her assignments and tests started come back with marks barely above passing. They were certain she would be years ahead of peers and were flabbergasted when she was not.

I also know people who work at wonderful Montessori preschools in our new city that have a great reputation. While I would personally consider it for a preschooler, I wouldn't continue it into the elementary grades.

And, like others have said, it is so very, very school specific to what degree the philosophy is followed, so get a good feel for the schools you're looking at, not just the theory of Montessori in general.